Old Paradians pips Ivanhoe in first Northern Football Netball League meeting

If Northern rivals weren’t aware of Old Paradians captain Marcus Nolan they will be now after a star performance and the match-winning goal on Saturday.

Old Paradians are undefeated in the opening two rounds. Picture: Field of Views Photography

Marcus Nolan wrote another chapter into his legendary Old Paradians career on Saturday night.

The Raiders skipper slotted the winning goal in the thrilling four-point win over Ivanhoe – the first meeting between the two former VAFA clubs in the Northern Football Netball League.

It was the only goal kicked in a tight, tense final quarter at Ivanhoe Park, clinching a 6.6 (42) to 5.8 (38) victory under lights.

Already a five-time Old Paradians best-and-fairest winner, NFNL Division 3 rivals are quickly discovering Nolan’s quality.

Five goals in Paradians’ maiden win over Heidelberg West in Round 1 saw him poll a maximum 10 Coaches’ MVP votes and he will likely feature strongly again this week after a three-goal performance.

Sam Gilmore soars in the ruck for Old Paradians. Picture: Field of Views Photography

Nolan finished runner-up in the VAFA Division 2 league best-and-fairest in 2021 and 2022 and was eighth last season.

Raiders coach Ben Turner said Nolan was relishing a fresh start in a new competition.

“The skipper found himself in space and kicked the goal with only three or four minutes left, so it was pretty timely,” Turner said.

“He was at the back of the pack, swept up the footy and ran into an open goal.

“He’s had a great start, he’s got a decorated career at Old Paradians prior to this season.

“He’s enjoying the transition to the Northern Football League and he’s leading from the front.”

Paradians jumped out to a 14-point lead at quarter-time and led by eight points at half-time.

Ivanhoe fought back into the contest in the third quarter and took a slender two-point lead into the final change.

Neither team could land a punch in a nail-biting finish, the Hoers booted 0.3, while Paradians had kicked 0.2 before Nolan stepped up.

Boom recruit Sam Gilmore was named best-on-ground for the Raiders, ahead of Nolan, while Jack Nicolo and Nick Kolotylo also impressed.

“Obviously a great start to the season and a massive challenge heading over to Ivanhoe, so to walk away with four points was great,” Turner said.

“The conditions were pretty tough, once the lights kicked in the dew on the surface made it a bit slippery and the ground dimensions contributed to a pretty contested game of football.

“The third quarter, it was tough for us, we’d defended manfully as Ivanhoe had stacks of the footy and kept pumping it inside 50m.

“We’d borne the brunt of their attack and stood up so if we could get our own momentum there was no reason we couldn’t score at the other end.”

For Ivanhoe, Aaron Marks, Flynn Bergman, Nick Vines and Nick Geary were among the best.

Star forward Ash Close booted three goals, making his season debut along with ex-AFL gun Scott Selwood.

An unknown before the season, back-to-back wins has elevated Paradians to genuine finals contenders.

Another massive contest looms as fellow undefeated team Fitzroy Stars visits Garvey Oval on Saturday.

“Early wins are really important and I think a lot of teams are going to find it difficult playing Ivanhoe at Ivanhoe,” Turner said.

“They obviously had some handy additions and both those guys (Close and Selwood) had an impact on the ground.

“Ash finished with three goals but we thought our defender, Will Gilmore, did a pretty good job and was left one-on-one several times.

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“We’ve got ourselves into the season and found a couple of wins and we’ve been rapt with the support – we’re riding a wave of momentum at the moment.”

Ivanhoe will look to bounce back against Heidelberg West.

The Hawks are still looking for a first win for the season after going down to Mernda by 46 points.

Elsewhere, Old Eltham Collegians came from behind for a second week in a row to pinch a two-point win over Epping, Fitzroy Stars eased past Lalor by 67 points and Kilmore took care of Reservoir by 64 points.