Double delight for Big V as hosts record big wins over GVL

Representative football returned to Revo Fitness Park over the weekend, as the VAFA hosted the Goulburn Valley Football League in a memorable double-header.

After walking away with a 1-1 record against the Adelaide Football League earlier this year, the Big V were determined to go one better and complete a clean sweep on home soil.

Big V U19 Men’s 14.14 (98) def GVL U19 Men’s 8.10 (58)

First up was the U19 fixture, led by coach Paul Gilmour and skipper Harry Dixon, who, along with the rest of the squad, were desperate to prove that the on-field future of the VAFA remains in safe hands.

Provided with the opportunity to kick with a strong breeze at their back, the Big V made early inroads as they controlled the opening exchanges of the game, dominating both clearances and inside-50s.

Marcelin’s Josh Kol would eventually be the first to hit the scoreboard for the Big V, intercepting an errant handpass before snapping truly five minutes into the game.

Despite that, the Big V found scoring difficult in the opening 10 minutes of the match, with the GVL defence, led by Oscar and Will Emmanuelli, proving resolute.

But the resistance broke in a devastating three-minute patch midway through the opening term, with Patrick Klonis, Sacha Levine and Blake Foley all scoring majors for the Big V. The three goals came in just nine possessions.

Eventually, the GVL began to settle and found their feet in the contest. Shepparton’s Liam Broom started to take control in the hitouts, and despite struggling to generate many entries inside-50, Echuca pair Baxter Cowley and Darby Jones both booted goals to draw the margin to 20 points at quarter-time.

With the opportunity to kick with the wind in the second quarter, the visitors sought to chip away at the deficit, and they were rewarded as Riley Myers converted following a turnover deep in the Big V defence.

But the hosts lifted and matched the visitors’ intensity. Old Camberwell’s Lachie McGowan was tasked with quelling the growing influence of Jones and won several key duels, while Wellers teammate Luke Davidson was thrown into the ruck and was matching Broom both in the air and around the ground.

Myers scored a second goal late in the quarter – a terrific long-range effort on the run – to drag GVL to within 13 points at the main break, and give the Big V plenty to think about at half-time.

With another opportunity with the breeze to begin the second half, the Big V quickly burst out of the blocks as they looked to build a match-winning lead.

Sam Niklaus and Keanu Nadji both kicked truly in the opening six minutes of the second half to quickly have the GVL on the back foot again, before Davidson stood up again to kick two more goals before the quarter was done.

Noah Muir managed to snare a goal into the breeze for the visitors after pouncing on a loose ball inside-50, but the Big V found a response just moments later through Ben Fergusson, who capped off a lovely move as the hosts worked the ball from one end of the ground to the other.

With the margin sitting at 41 points at three-quarter-time, any hopes of a late GVL comeback were dashed in the opening minute of the final term, as Old Carey’s Will Hart capped off yet another end-to-end move from the Big V.

The margin hovered around a similar range for most of the final term, as the visitors just won the quarter 3.4 to 3.5. But the result was never in doubt, with the Big V leading by 40 points as the final siren sounded.

Paul Gilmour (Big V U19s Coach): “We started well with a strong wind and wanted to make sure the first quarter set us up for the rest of the game. We kicked some great goals early and took advantage of a three-to-four goal wind.

“The main point for me was the team sticking to our game plan for a full four quarters and having trust in our decisions. From first bounce to final siren, the lads were locked in. Our ability to stay focused for the entirety of the game was a big focus in our preparation and game plan and I couldn’t fault the lads on that.

“Lachlan McGowan and Harry Dixon were super down back. They were relentless with their pressure and attack on the ball and keeping tight on opponents. Their ability to run off their player and push the ball forward into attack was very impressive. Keep an eye on their progression.

“Sam Niklaus was a special mention from the coaching team. I was fortunate enough to watch his game for Xavier the week before where I assisted the commentary team and he dominated around the ground in that game. We still had a cut to make early that week and he solidified his position after that local performance. When he played on Saturday he again impressed with his ability to be flexible in where he played and when we threw him in the middle, he lifted to the next level. He’s clean, balanced and rarely gets caught. A super talent.

“Keanu Nadji was solid all game. A very strong lad with a good pace and great football sense. Used his big frame to his advantage and brought other players into the game.”

Big V Prem B-Div 3 Men’s 20.9 (129) def GVL Senior Men’s 5.8 (38)

Following the U19s fixture, the seniors took to the field not long after; the squad made up of the very best players competing from Premier B down to Division 3.

However, unlike the previous match, this time it would be the visitors who would start with the advantage of the breeze, which had only grown stronger as the afternoon had progressed.

As a consequence, both teams struggled to manage the conditions well in the opening term. The Big V were able to create several opportunities despite kicking into the wind, but Jarrod Geischen’s men were wayward in the efforts at goal.

They were made to pay when the GVL kicked the opening goal of the game, after some good work from Matt Casey found Harry Mahoney in space inside-50.

Undeterred, the Big V continued to push on and force their way back into the contest, and their efforts were duly rewarded a few minutes after Mahoney’s opening goal when the ball fell to Rohan McKenzie following a goalmouth scramble.

It was a fitting reward for Big V after dominating out of the middle from the opening bounce, with Hugh Johnson controlling the ruck battle and Matt Harvey picking up possessions at will.

McKenzie was involved minutes later as his kick inside-50 landed fortuitously into the lap of Liam Thomas, who judged the breeze well to give his side the lead 12 minutes in. Remarkably, it proved to be the last score of the quarter, as both defences started to get on top in the contest.

The fierce pressure from both backlines continued into the second quarter, with scoring hard to come by for either side. It took a driving kick out of defence from Nathan Ligris to find Liam Thomas at half forward to break the second-quarter deadlock.

Thomas’ second goal came in the 10-minute mark of the quarter, breaking a run of 25 scoreless minutes either side of quarter-time.

The goal then brought about a Big V onslaught as the clock ticked into time-on in the second term. Goals from Ben van Twest, Matt Fewings and Tom Ferguson all within a three-minute burst powered the Big V away, before Tom Gorrell converted from a tight angle late in the half to rubber stamp the Big V’s dominance.

With a 43-point advantage at the main break, the Big V quickly built on it at the start of the second half, with McKenzie kicking his second goal only minutes into the restart following a smart kick inside-50 from Will Bockman.

However, the remainder of the term closely resembled the first quarter, with flashes of brilliance intervening during long spells of strong defence from both sides. Dylan Cook nailed a difficult set shot from the boundary line for the visitors, before Luca Di Lallo kicked a clever goal into the breeze minutes later.      

Jacob Watts rounded out the scoring in the third term after taking a fine mark inside-50, but while the GVL won the quarter by one point, they still trailed by seven goals at the final change, with the persistent breeze still to contend with.

The Big V started the final term the same way they began the third, with Rohan McKenzie bobbing up to snap through his third goal in the opening moments of the quarter to quell any hope of an unlikely GVL comeback.

Much like in the second quarter when the Big V also kicked with the wind, the McKenzie goal paved the way for another big quarter from the hosts, who piled on eight goals in the final term to storm away with the win.

After struggling in front of goal early, Tom Gorrell’s confidence grew as the afternoon progressed, kicking four goals in the final term to finish with five for the match, while McKenzie, Di Lallo and Thomas all hit the scoreboard once again.

Only the final siren could prevent the Big V from inflicting further damage on the scoreboard, wrapping up the day with a 91-point win and completing a memorable double for the VAFA.

Jarrad Gieschen (Big V Senior Coach): “We had a focus on our pressure and contest, and this was clearly visible in the way we played on Saturday. And the stats backed it up with 57 tackles to 39, 41 pressure acts to 24.

“This pressure created opportunities from turnover, and this is where we were able to capitalise and get most of our scoring opportunities.

“We also played the conditions well, controlling tempo into the wind which denied the Goulburn Valley the ability to get any real momentum when they had the strong breeze. Having the home ground advantage definitely helped.

“The Goulburn Valley certainly didn’t make it easy for us, they showed some real fight in various parts of the game and it was obviously they had some very talented players. The scoreboard wasn’t a real reflection on how contested the game was.

“We were thrilled with the buy in we got from the playing group to play connected, selfless footy. And this meant we had an even contribution across the group. Every player had key moments and executed their roles really well.

“Truthfully, I was happy with the whole group.

“Our midfield was superb, Hugh rucked for the majority of the day and competed against the Goulburn Valley really well, then used his running ability to generate scoring options for us. He’s a very unique ruckman that way. Max Pinchbeck was the barometer for our pressure and hardness, and having James Allen come off the bench and do the same was a real luxury well supported by Will Bokma, Matt Harvey and Matt Fewings.

“Nathan Ligris was freed up in the second quarter and changed the game with his elite kicking, and I was really happy with our running players Ben Van Twest, Josh Gale, Tom Filopovic and Kesh Raju as well.

“Our back six kept them to 5 goals. Cal Linehan, Matt Warren and Tom Oliver (who came into the team on Friday without training with our group) led the defensive effort and were outstanding.

“And we have a mix of goal kickers, Rohan McKenzie and Liam Thomas got us going early and then Tom Gorrell finished it off with four in the last quarter showing his class. Whilst Luke Healy and Jai Florent played high half forward roles and providing huge pressure but also creating space for the other forwards.

“And to have Tom Ferguson, Luca Dillalo and Jayden Williams have key moments throughout the day was a great showcase of the depth of the VAFA

“It really was a team effort.”