Northern Blues claim first VAFA Division 2 with despite wayward effort in front of goal against Elsternwick

NORTHERN Blues added another chapter to their growing Victorian Amateur Football Association history with their first Division 2 win against Elsternwick on Saturday.

VAFA Division 3 grand final: Northern Blues V Richmond Centra at Garvey Oval Bundoora. Norththern Blues coach George Wakim Picture: Richard Serong

NORTHERN Blues added another chapter to their growing Victorian Amateur Football Association history with their first Division 2 win against Elsternwick on Saturday.

The Blues made the most of a fast start at Sportscover Arena, never being threatened after booting six goals to one in the opening term.

The eventual margin of 38 points could have been much greater had the Blues kicked straight, George Wakim’s side finishing with a wayward 14.23 (107) to 10.9 (69) victory.

After two losses to open its campaign, Wakim said the result was crucial for the Blues’ confidence.

But he tempered any excitement, admitting his side needed to improve its efficiency in front of goal to match the competition’s top sides.

“We let ourselves down up forward a bit,” Wakim said.

“We had quite a few points and a lot of them were very gettable goals.

“There were certainly periods in that game where we’d be dominant or have the ball in our forward line for 15-20 minutes and I’d look across at the assistant coach and say ‘we’ve only got one goal out of all this’.

“We didn’t really hurt them enough on the scoreboard.”

Daniel Sansonetti, Jordan Hull, James Hodson and Adrian Farchione impressed in the win.

Wakim said it had been difficult to judge the difference in quality between Division 2 and 3 as his side juggled a long injury list over the first three weeks of the campaign.

If the opening rounds have taught the Blues anything, it’s that they can’t afford to give their rivals an inch because they will take a mile.

“I think last year ... we could probably go to sleep for a quarter and still win a game, or even two sometimes,” Wakim said.

“This year we’ve found that if we put in one quarter, it’s definitely not good enough.”

He said the club hoped to include Mark Cigagna, Hugh Schiavello and skipper Matthew Holmes in its side to tackle unbeaten ladder leader Ivanhoe at W.R Ruthven Reserve on Saturday.