Third-quarter barrage gets Dees out of big hole

SATURDAY’S comeback win over fellow battler Beaumaris could be a season-defining moment for De La Salle. VAFA WRAP

VAFA: Old Xaverians v Uni Blacks

A STUNNING third-quarter turnaround may be the season-defining moment if De La Salle manages to stay in Premier Section.

De La still sits bottom of the table but found a way back from a 43-point deficit at quarter-time and 35 at half-time to pile on 10 unanswered goals in the third quarter against fellow battler Beaumaris on Saturday.

Allowing just three Beaumaris goals after quarter time, De La completely strangled the Sharks in the second half to claim a stirring 46-point win at Waverley Oval.

“At quarter time I didn’t know if we were going to get that win but it was a fantastic result, particularly after quarter time,” coach Paul Satterley said.

“When the opposition comes out and kicks nine against you and you’re sitting on the bottom of the ladder and playing three debutants, you’re scratching your head thinking that win’s not going to come.

“In that third quarter we clearly played our best quarter for the season. Not just the offensive stuff but defensively that tackling pressure was ferocious and we put a hell of a lot of pressure on them and we were actually kicking straight, and that’s been a bit of an issue for us.”

Adrian Indovino kicked four goals while Leigh Harrison and Hugh Nicholson each got three of their own.

“There was some great leadership shown from a lot of our guys and looking at the review briefly it wasn’t just one player,” Satterley said.

“Everyone contributed throughout the whole game, including the three debutants.”

The Sharks were without playing-coach Brayden Hayes, who suffered a season-ending knee injury last week against Old Trinity.

Former long-time AFL assistant and champion Footscray midfielder Brian Royal took the helm for the Sharks but could only watch as his side crumbled in the second half.

“We just took our foot off the pedal and didn’t apply as much pressure as we did in the first quarter,” Beaumaris president John Murton said.

“De La have a good running game and they’re not a particularly tall side so they always get run off the backline and then it comes back to our forward line putting pressure on their guys running.

“Our delivery was pretty good in the first quarter but after that it tapered off.”

Murton is expecting Hayes — who followed Saturday’s game online from his hospital bed — to coach out the remainder of the season when passed fit to do so.

A game and a half clear in the relegation zone with De La, the Sharks are hoping to salvage something from their disappointing year but with finals-bound St Bernards and Old Carey next on the agenda, time is running out to get out of the bottom two.

“There’s no point in looking down at relegation because if that’s what you’re going to do then that’s what’s going to happen,” Murton said. “You’ve got to look up and try and look at the games and hope that other people trip over.”

Patrick Tiernan of Old Xaverians marks in front of Angus Drysdale of the Uni Blacks during Saturday’s VAFA clash. Picture: Paul Loughnan

Meanwhile, Old Xaverians’ slip-up against reigning premier University Blacks could prove a costly one in its bid to get back into finals action.

Xavs fell to sixth on the table after coughing up five goals to one in the third quarter and eventually fell 13 points short at Toorak Park.

While four of the final quarter’s five goals went Xavs’ way, a poor start coupled with an equally slow third quarter was enough to see off any resistance against Blacks.

Chris Larkins snagged four goals and Matthew Handley got among the action with two but the visitors simply had more contributors throughout the day.

Adam Pitt was best-on-ground for Blacks.

Fitzroy at Brunswick Street Oval loomed as a danger game for St Kevins and nothing came easy for the runaway premiership favourite.

The Skobbers were behind at every change and trailed by 12 at three-quarter time, but went on to finish the game with six goals to one to remain undefeated.

Callum Matheson was the main man up forward with three goals while ex-Hawk Stephen Gilham and Anthony Lynch each got two of their own.

Brad McCann was the star in the Skobbers 10th consecutive Premier B win.

Old Geelong scored win number three on the trot and was impressive in a 27-point win over St Mary’s Salesian.

However with Jackson Strangward nailing four goals for the visitors at Como Park, the Ogs were made to work for their eighth win of the year.

After coughing up a 16-point quarter-time lead, an inaccurate Old Geelong handed back the lead through the middle portions of the game and trailed by nine points at three-quarter time. While their kicking woes continued in front of goal, the Ogs ran over the top of St Mary’s in the final term and eventually kicked clear with 7.7 to 1.5.

Aaron Bird again starred up forward with four goals and best-on-ground Hugh McKay saluted with two.

Behind only Ormond and Kew on the Division 1 table, Old Geelong should expect to come away with wins against Whitefriars and Yarra Valley before seeking revenge against the top two after the second bye week.

Lachlan Devine of Uni Blacks gets his hands on the footy despite the best efforts of John Shaw of Old Xaverians. Picture: Paul Loughnan

CAULFIELD Grammarians would have entered its crucial Round 10 clash with Parkdale Vultures feeling confident about getting win number three in what has been a lean year to date.

The Vultures have struggled with the jump to Premier B and until Saturday also had only two wins to their name.

The game at Gerry Green Reserve lived up to expectations and was Premier B’s pick of the day, with just three points separating the two by the final siren.

While Tom Small (best-on-ground) and Declan Reilly each finished the day with three goals for the Fields, it still wasn’t enough to get Grammarians over the line – leaving them bottom of the table and in the relegation hot seat.

Jay Neratzoglou and Will Barker battled hard for the Fields, who led by nine points at halftime.

A three-point loss in a low-scoring game was also the result AJAX was hoping to avoid at home to Old Melburnians.

Only 13 goals were scored at Gary Smorgan Oval as both sides struggled to thread the sticks but the Jackas were a little more wasteful throughout the day and it proved the difference in the end.

Five behinds to open the account didn’t help going into the quarter-time huddle and a scoreless third quarter was just as bad, but up the other end Old Melburnians was keeping Ajax in it.

The margin was three points at three-quarter time and while the game opened up to allow some free-flowing footy in the final term, the Jackas still fell short against one of the main challengers to St Kevins.

David Fayman kicked three of the six AJAX goals.

Up in Premier Section Collegians fell to an inexplicable second consecutive loss and is now one of four teams at 5-5.

The Lions were in third place going into the mid-season break but have since slipped to seventh on the table courtesy of a lowly percentage.

On Saturday the battling Cardinals were the opponents at Harry Trott Oval and for three quarters it was going to script, until a stunning turnaround from Old Scotch changed everything.

Collegians was well ahead at all three breaks but fell asleep at the wheel in the final term, failing to goal and allowing the Cardinals six the other way to steal victory. A tough assignment against ladder contender Old Trinity is next.

Meanwhile a two-game cushion inside the Premier C top four may be of little use come finals time for Old Haileyburians if Saturday’s 91-point loss is anything to go by.

Close wins and sizeable losses have been the story of the Bloods’ season to date and the third-placed Monash Blues did a number on them at Frearson Oval.

It was a close two-point game at quarter-time but the Bloods didn’t score another goal until the final term – well into junk time after the Blues kicked away. Jack Hayes was the Bloods’ best.

South Melbourne Districts is still winless but was at least competitive against Division 2 finals aspirant Eltham Collegians.

Down by 40 at three-quarter time after a good first half, the Swans eventually went down by 47 with Jordan Heis kicking six.

Elsternwick is second-last on the table with two wins and was never really in with a sniff away to Monash Gryphons, going down by 54 at East Caulfield Reserve.

Justin Hunter kicked seven despite the heavy loss.

In Division 3 Power House rose to ninth on the table with a four-point win over Albert Park.

Meanwhile down in Premier B the Hampton Rovers’ finals chances took a blow with a 63-point loss to St Bedes/Mentone.

A costly second term was the difference as the in-form Tigers kicked clear to establish a handy 35-point buffer at half-time, before going on to keep Hampton at arm’s length for the rest of the day.

Luke Velluto (five goals) and Luke Terrell (three goals) proved a forward duo too hard to stop for the Rovers the longer the day went at Boss James Reserve and by three-quarter time the game was shot with St Bedes 51 points ahead.

Josh Schmitz and Daniel Corp each kicked two goals for Hampton and Richard Atkins was serviceable around the ground.

But the main challenger to St Kevins for the Premier B chocolates was simply too good.

A clear two-game gap now separates the current top four and the three teams next in line at 4-6.

The Rovers are right in the middle of that trio with a percentage of 85.19 and will look to safeguard themselves against relegation at Mazenod this weekend.

Old Brighton Grammarians are up next in Round 12 after a two-week break.

The Tonners remain outright fourth on the table and simply got the required job done against lowly Mazenod at Brighton Beach Oval.

Charlie King kicked four goals and was best-on-ground in a 43-point win that was set up in the second and third quarters.

After a slow start to the game from both sides, Old Brighton got going in the second term to establish a 25-point half-time buffer, before extending the lead to 42 by the final change.

Jack Rutter and Ben Jacobi were King’s main support acts up forward with two goals each while Tom Mariani and Dylan Verney played well in the Tonners’ sixth win of the year.

Old Brighton forward Charlie King kicked four goals against Mazenod on Saturday. Picture: Chris Eastman

Old Mentonians recorded its most impressive win of the season to snap a four-game losing streak on Saturday.

Coming into the Round 10 clash at home to NOBS/St Pats, the Panthers had faced each of the current top four Division 1 sides in their previous six outings and fared miserably, scoring no more than 11 goals and giving away at least 15 in each game.

Fifth-placed St Pats was another test for Gareth Snow’s men at Turner Road Reserve and with the help of a six-goal best-on-ground performance from forward turned part-time ruckman Dustan Mills, the Panthers were able to roll the visitors by a substantial 88 points.

The win provided a much-needed percentage boost and lifted Old Mentonians to sixth on the table at 4-6, now just two games outside the top four and well clear of the relegation battle.

“They’re still daring to dream,” club president Rob Sinclair said of the Panthers’ finals hopes.

“It was an improvement, especially with the delivery of the ball but they’ve certainly not stopped trying and to think in most games this year at three-quarter time we’ve been thereabouts, it’s just made us a lot stronger when in other times we’ve tended to let it slip.

“We probably should have won another one or two (games) so I’d like to think that the four is not out of our sights just yet.”

There was no such fade-out on Saturday with the Panthers dominating from half-time after a closely fought first half.

Up by just two points at the main break, Old Mentonians piled on seven goals to two in the third quarter before finishing the job with nine more in the final term to complete its most accomplished performance of the year.

Kyle Conlon (three goals) and Keiffer Smith-Cameron (one) were the other main contributors alongside Mills.

The Panthers will enter their next two games against Bulleen Templestowe and Prahran Assumption (both away) as favourites before a two-week break in mid-July.