Old Brighton wins another thriller, but woes continue for St Bedes Mentone Tigers

OLD Brighton wins another tight one in VAFA Premier, nosing out Uni Blues, but St Bedes Mentone Tigers suffers a ninth consecutive loss.

Old Brighton again displayed its recent knack for winning the close ones when it held out a determined University Blues outfit at Brighton Beach Oval on Saturday, 10.14 (74) to 10.9 (69).

The Tonners have won five games by under three goals this year, including a two-point triumph, a pair of five-point results, an eight-point margin and a “comfortable” 14-point victory.

Having led by 23 at halftime, a wider differential looked to be on the cards for the top flight’s surprise packet, but it was outscored three goals to one in the last term.

“It did get a bit tight; it got interesting,” said Old Brighton coach Greg Hutchison.

“At three-quarter time when we were still two-and-a-half goals up I thought it was headed for an OK sort of win, but they were really good in the last quarter.

“Still, the boys went pretty well and I was really pleased to grab the win.”

Skipper Dylan Verney, who had been out of the line-up for a few weeks, returned with a vengeance for the Tonners, as did Nick Pavlou, while Will Lewis (two goals) was excellent in the front half against the visitors.

Old Brighton is bracing itself for some mid-season absenteeism so banking its eighth win of the campaign — and shoring up third spot on the ladder — was important.

“It’s a critical period for us,” Hutchison said. “We have a few challenges coming up — as all Amateur clubs have — with people travelling overseas.”

Up to this point the Tonners have made light of the worrying pre-season forecasts that referenced a host of off-season departures, but can they dodge this latest depth charge?

“That’s a good question and it’s hard to know,” Hutchison said. “The reserves have struggled for much of the year.

“The under-19s are going really well, but we don’t want to dip into them too much.

“We’ll rely on the players coming up from the reserves to play their role and do what they have to do.”

And Old Brighton wants to stay on the heels of Collegians and St Kevins in case there’s a chance to snaffle the double chance.

“Who knows what could happen,” Hutchison said.

While the good times are rolling for Old Brighton, the hellish run being endured by the St Bedes/Mentone Tigers stretched to a ninth straight loss on Saturday, this time at the hands of ladder-topping Collegians.

The Tigers were smacked with a seven-goal-to-one opening stanza by the Premier powerhouse at Harry Trott Oval en route to a 20.10 (130) to 8.8 (56) defeat.

“It was a pretty average game where we got worked over in both the first and last quarters, and broke even in the second and third,” said Tigers mentor Sam Anstey.

While rooted to the bottom of the table at 1-9, five of St Bedes Mentone’s losses have been by three goals or less, with three of those final margins in single figures. So hope is far from lost at this point.

“We’ve still got eight games to go and there are a few other teams that are a couple of wins ahead of us on the ladder so we just have to start winning, effectively,” Anstey said.

“We do have a few good games at home in the second half of the year against some of the middle-of-the-road teams.

“It’s the old chestnut where we just have to start playing some good footy.

“At the start of the year we proved that if we do that we’re more than a good chance.

“We’ve got to find our mojo. If we can hang in there and a get a win in the next couple of games, hopefully the wheel turns and the place becomes that little bit more positive.”

Injuries, as they always do, have played a part, but after losing four or five of their best 22 for the year early doors, the Tigers have been pretty healthy.

“One of the issues for us is we have lots of VFL boys going up and coming back,” Anstey said.

“You throw that in with your injuries each week and your team does change a fair bit.

“Lots of guys have had opportunities and we’re always open to giving youngsters a debut, so we’re certainly hunting (through the list for in-form players).”

Michael Barnes is setting the standard for St Bedes Mentone Tigers.

But Anstey is adamant the talent is there.

“Most of our guys that have played in the seniors this year, at different times they’ve all proven how they are really high-quality players,” he said.

“We’ve just lacked consistency through the team. Each week we kind of have a couple of guys that don’t fire, but each time it’s a different couple of guys.

“We just have to get better collectively because individually everyone has shown glimpses.

“And we’re still very young with a lot of guys in their early 20s that we’re developing.”

One man that has been a model of consistency and, in fact, has thrived amid the adversity for St Bedes/Mentone, is Michael Barnes.

“He’s the one who is really firing for us,” Anstey said. “He played in the VAFA rep game against South Australia and his past six or seven weeks have been phenomenal.

“He’s been averaging 30 touches and kicking a goal every week in a losing team so his efforts have been amazing.”