A pair of statement victories from contenders, as VFL availability looks to shape September

Round 15 saw straightforward results, with no upsets to speak of. The higher ranked side won every match up, with two of these victories coming in ominously dominant fashion.

St Bedes/Mentone Tigers were lethal going forward, piling on 26.11 (167) enroute to a 111-point victory over Mazenod. A 10-goal final term exacerbated the margin, with coach Brad Berry impressed with his side’s strong finish.

“Playing every minute was a theme for us. We’re starting to rehearse for finals footy, so the strong final quarter, after a very direct three-quarter-time address, was pleasing,” he said.

The Tigers list sits in a good place, according to Berry, evidenced by the balance of youth and veteran experience in the bests on the weekend.

“We‘ve got competitive pressure on spots, through a strong reserves program, and have reasonably good luck with injuries at the moment, touch wood. VFL availability will be key to our chances come September, as it will for other contenders.”

Two such VFL talents, in Sam Buck and Jack Behnk, were instrumental in the weekend’s performance, with Berry full of praise for the team-first approach both men take when available at VAFA level.

“They’re totally invested when we get access to them,” he said. “It’s great for our culture to have such talent willing to play roles in our system – they’re wholly team-oriented.”

Berry was also full of praise for his ‘most stable line’ – defence. “Our back six or seven rebounded really well from centre half back, kickstarting offensive chains. David Goodman was instrumental in that space, working in tandem with Zac Calvez to minimise the damage of Hayden Boyce.”

In the midfield, Jake Ryder ‘took responsibility’ for Matt Fewings, with Berry proud of the way the young man’s pressure reduced the effectiveness of the reigning league B&F’s possessions.

“We’re full of admiration for him (Fewings). You’d love him playing for you – he wears his heart on his sleeve, and we have to acknowledge his impact,” Berry said.

Ben Murphy’s ‘busy’ first half also drew Berry’s praise, while a seldom-seen goal from veteran defender Patrick Tyquin was a cultural highlight.

“There’s plenty of fight in the old tiger yet,” Berry said.

Second-gamer Keanu Nadji contributed five goals to the Tigers’ cause, getting goal side on numerous occasions, and getting some ‘reward for effort’, after coming up the ground to help in team defence.

Nodders coach Peter Banfield was complimentary of the Tigers after the match, with their myriad of contributors a focus of his praise. “We played a great side, full of talent and class. They have great depth. We tried hard, but were simply outplayed, with not enough players to match them,” he said.

Another six goals to Hayden Boyce sees him rocket to outright second in the division’s goal-kicking stakes, only behind Tiger, Jack Behnk, with Ayden Rubino and James Mucha contributing the other two majors for Mazenod.

In Bulleen, Beaumaris completed the season double over Marcellin, defeating the Eagles 21.18 (144) to 7.5 (47). The 97-point victory means the average winning margin for the Sharks across the two meetings this season sits at 93, having won their first meeting by 89 points.

Beaumaris have not lost a game since late April and are in rare form as September approaches. Their percentage now sits above 200, having won their last 12 matches, by an average of just under 11 goals.

The body of work to date, however, is not where coach Josh Bourke’s focus lies.

“We’ve had a good run but are very much talking about the importance of what’s to come, versus looking back at what we’ve done. We’ve got a chance of finishing in the top two and are focused on ensuring we do what we need to achieve that,” he said.

On the game, Bourke spoke of his pleasure with his side’s ability to overcome periods of momentum against them.

“Marcellin had some moments and certainly got on top of us for periods throughout the game, but I was particularly pleased (with) the way we worked through those periods.”

“We’re very fortunate to have some terrific young players, who are VFL listed, and all 3 of those youngsters – O’Rourke (Williamstown), Haeata (Richmond), Seers (Sandringham) – had fantastic games. I think it was particularly pleasing for Seers (4 goals) who played his best senior game for us,” Bourke added.

Fellow VFL talent Riley Mihailovic (Frankston), was also influential for the Sharks, booting four goals of his own, and appearing to be hitting some serious form.

The Sharks had nine individual goal scorers on the day, showcasing their attacking versatility, and Joel Cusack led all comers, registering six of his own.

Lachlan Rush booted four in a losing effort for Marcellin, whose homestand continues with clashes against St Bedes/Mentone Tigers, PEGS and Prahran rounding out their year. The Eagles have registered one more win than the three teams below them, but with Mazenod boasting a greater percentage at the time of writing, a slip-up in the final rounds could spell danger for Bernie Dineen’s men.

In Carnegie, AJAX overcame a quarter time deficit to professionally dispose of a plucky Glen Eira/Old McKinnon side.

Straight kicking from the home side was a determining factor in this early lead, with the Jackas not able to maximise the greater number of scoring shots they’d generated. Cleaning this up in the middle stages saw them two goals to the good at the final change, before truly gaining scoreboard ascendancy in the last quarter, finishing the match 15.15 (105) to 10.9 (69) victors.

“Credit to Guy Martyn – he got his team up to compete really well. We took on a well-coached side who play their very small ground exceptionally well,” AJAX coach Lachlan Buszard said.

Youngster Phoenix Janover, a Sandringham Dragons prospect, debuted for the Jackas in May, and played his third senior game on the weekend. He was named Buszard’s best, with the first-year coach praising his dare.

“It would not have been a pretty watch if you were an AJAX supporter, as the game was riddled with errors. However, Janover was again very good – his leg speed, agility and ability to take the game on was a highlight, on a day that did not have too many for us, to be honest.”

Max Herzel, Jordan Cohen and Justin Vogel contributed three goals each for AJAX, while Rhett Weidemann, Dan McDonald and Ben Reid kicked two each for the Gryphons. 

A blockbuster, finals-shaping clash with Parkdale Vultures now awaits AJAX, while a victory over Prahran this weekend will consolidate Glen Eira/Old McKinnon’s safety in the division.

Prahran and Parkdale Vultures played out a surprisingly entertaining affair, with the winless Two Blues threatening a monumental boil over against the ladder-leaders, late in the piece.

Five minutes into the final term at Toorak Park, Craige Milward’s men levelled the scores through Tully Loomes, but it was all Vultures after that, with 5.3 to 0.1 after the knotted scores enough to see Parkdale claim a 15.9 (99) to 10.7 (67) victory.

Club greats, triple-premiership players, Prahran team of the decade members, and best friends James Musster and Tim Maya announced their retirements prior to the match, on 279 club games apiece; their importance to the club no doubt inspiring a valiant effort from Milward’s men.

Musster was afforded a mention in Milward’s bests for his contributions in his final game for the club, with his early goal a highlight, and the two men were chaired off post-match, despite Maya not suiting up, as he recovers from knee surgery.

Rory Brodie secured his fourth bests nomination in five games for Prahran, joined by Shaun Chapman, Joel Hume, Jonathon Simonetta, and Jayden Williams.

Young talent spurred the Vultures to victory, with Oliver Green, and second gamer Darcy Kelson named in Owen Lalor’s bests. Five goals to Mitch Brown continued to frank his return to something near his best, now injury-free, while Matt Emmanouil and Jack Cheep continued their fine seasons.

PEGS registered their second-largest winning margin of the season, trouncing Parkside 14.7 (91) to 2.10 (22), in Alphington.

“We started well – lots of run and handball meant we were well in control,” said Bomber’s coach, Rob Kerr. “Max Philpot was winning a heap of ball, which ensured we had plenty of supply going forward. Parkside was small-ish down back and with Matty Barake, Riley Simmons and Jack Fenner, we were stretching them in the air.”

“In the second, Parkside chipped the ball around to try and control tempo, and we struggled to stop that.”

“After half-time they went 1v1, and we were trying to stop the short possession game, with mixed results. Parkside did a good job of denying us opportunities to get speed on the ball, and they should have kicked a couple more goals, but missed some very gettable shots, so the scoreboard didn’t reflect their effort,” he added.

The Bombers sit in a no man’s land, of sorts, three wins adrift of the top four, and four wins above sixth-placed Glen Eira/Old McKinnon. With seemingly little consequence to their remaining fixtures, Kerr was asked what is to be gained from the last three weeks of matches.

“Morale is good,” he said. “The boys have seen some improvement in the back half of the year. (The) messaging now is ‘don’t waste a game’ – continue to improve as individuals and a team.”

Kerr alluded to a player-led ‘goal-setting session’ during the week. “It’s up to each player to work on their areas and be accountable to each other.”

“We know there is a gap to bridge, and we get the chance to see how we are measuring up in the next few weeks,” he finished.

Matt Holden has been a shining light in a tough first year in the division for Parkside, and he was again strong against PEGS. Max Silber enjoyed his first nomination in Rick Frost’s bests for the year, while Ciaran Cotter backed up last week’s performance against AJAX, with another nod against PEGS.

Parkside have a chance to usurp Mazenod, and climb into safety, when the two sides meet this weekend. With an already poor percentage counting against them in their bid to stay in Premier C, the Devils can ill-afford blowout losses in the final fortnight, with matches against the Gryphons and Tigers following the clash with Mazenod.