Old Brighton defeats St Kevin’s in VAFA Premier clash

Old Brighton, described by coach Greg Hutchison as “not a bad little side’’, might be able to achieve big things in the VAFA this season.

Harry Hynes takes possession for Old Brighton against St Kevin’s. Picture: Steve Tanner

Old Brighton had just given a rousing rendition of the club song after defeating Old Melburnians, and there was much back slapping and excited chatter as the players peeled away from the celebratory circle.

After a minute or two they took a seat and coach Greg Hutchison appeared for his post-match address.

He kept it short, praising first-gamer Ben Pryor and highlighting the efforts of Dylan Verney in defence.

“You’re not a bad little side when you play like that,’’ Hutchison said. “You’re a solid side.’’

This was after the Round 5 match at the Brighton Beach Oval.

Old Brighton coach Greg Hutchison.

Contacted on Monday and reminded of his comment, Hutchison had a chuckle.

“Look, I think we’re a bit better than solid. We’re a pretty good side,’’ the experienced mentor said.

“We’ve got some talent. We’ve got some well-known players who do a good job every week, but it’s the unsung players who step up and do their bit when they need to who help us go pretty well.’’

Well enough to be occupying third place on the VAFA Premier ladder with eight wins and three losses.

Last Saturday the Tonners held on to defeat St Kevin’s by three points at TH King Reserve, gaining another good scalp.

Captain Harry Hill, a Woodrow Medal prospect, was outstanding again.

“I thought we played pretty well,’’ Hutchison said.

“That’s probably with the exception of the last quarter when we were a bit fatigued. A few of our blokes didn’t touch it in the last quarter but overall we did a really good job. They (St Kevin’s) are always hard to beat there and I knew they’d come pretty hard in the last quarter. They kicked a goal on the siren so it was effectively a nine-point win.’’

Old Brighton has never won a premiership in the top grade of amateur football, although it did make the 2007 grand final under Greg McLaughlin, falling to Barry Richardson’s Old Xaverians.

There is, then, some history to be made. But Hutchison, 64 and the coach since 2015, deflected talk of it.

Gotcha: the Tonners bring down St Kevin’s opponent Conor Ross.

“I just like to see the players get a reward for the effort they put in,’’ he said.

“It would be great if the club could win an A grade flag. But if you don’t, you don’t. All I ask of my players is to turn up, do the work and see what happens after that. There’s no guarantees in footy. There’s no guarantees in anything. Do the work, see where it takes you and if takes you to somewhere really good, that’s great.’’

He added: “I’m not surprised they haven’t won one. They’re hard to win at any level. It’s hard to make the finals, it’s hard to play off. And Old Brighton have predominantly been a B grade side.’’

There has been much discussion and debate in the past few years about the influx of former AFL players to the VAFA.

The Uni Blues team that bolted to the 2019 premiership had 10 players who had been on AFL lists.

The Old Brighton side sitting third on the ladder, however, is what the coach calls a “true homegrown group’’.

Will Lewis has been a good key forward for Old Brighton this year. Picture: Valeriu Campan

There are a few exceptions: ruckman Lachlan Filipovic and his mate Reuben Hayward, both of whom played juniors at Ormond but went to school at St Leonards and live locally; former interstater Andy Doyle; and Collingwood VFL player Cal Wellings, a country boy who lists the Tonners as his local club.

“The rest are all from the Brighton area, which is just staggering,’’ Hutchison said. “It’s a real credit to the club and how they’ve gone about being as competitive as they are with a true homegrown group. A lot of them went to school together, a few of them are living in a house together. I’m not sure if that’s ideal but anyway that’s what young blokes do. They hang out together, they spend time together, they play footy together.’’

Hill, 24, is at the heart of the team, as captain and a midfielder who you fancy would crawl over a bed of broken glass if there was a football on the other side of it.

VFL clubs have been contacting him for a few years but he’s happy to be a Tonner.

“He’s a good player and a good leader. He sets a good example. He trains extremely hard and the blokes follow his direction,’’ Hutchison said.

Hutchison arrived at Brighton as senior coach in 2015, with a resume that sets him apart from most coaches at local level.

He played league and association football, getting in 96 games for Melbourne and then moving to Prahran as playing coach. He also went on to coach Dandenong Stingrays in the TAC Cup (now NAB League) and Casey Scorpions in the VFL. And of course he served as caretaker senior coach of the Demons for 13 games in 1997.

Harry Hill and Dylan Verney with Greg Hutchison after the 2017 premiership.

The Tonners won the Premier B flag in 2017 and have consolidated in the top division, something they struggled to do previously.

Tackling fiercely and applying unrelenting pressure, they’re a particularly tough opponent on their home ground.

“We’ve got good leg speed and we’re pretty hard at it,’’ Hutchison said. “We’ve got lots of guys who can impact the contest around the ball. I like to think we play hard footy.

“Our pressure in the front half is pretty good. We haven’t got a lot of key forwards. (Will) Lewis is having a really good year but predominantly our goals come from forward pressure and our smalls kick them. We try to keep it in there for as long as we can. But I don’t think that’s much different to any side.’’

Hill said the team would take a lot of confidence from the victory over second-placed St Kevin’s, which it lost to earlier in the season.

Old Brighton has also defeated fourth-placed Caulfield Grammarians and Uni Blues (twice) this season.

“We’d lost to Xavier and St Kevin’s already … to win out there after a month off from footy, it gives you the belief you can actually match it with those top sides,’’ Hill said.

Old Brighton, “not a bad little side’’, might be able to achieve big things this season.