Geelong Amateur suffers its maiden loss of the BFNL season at the hands of Queenscliff
It was billed as a David and Goliath battle of the BFNL and the unbeaten favourite was up-ended by a talented tall who hadn’t played for two years.
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The mighty have finally fallen, in a stunning result which may point to the tightest race for the BFNL premiership in years.
Last Sunday, Queenscliff coach Heath Jamieson told this masthead his Coutas’ meeting with the 5-0 Geelong Amateur in Round 6 shaped to be a David and Goliath battle.
Under new co-coach Sam Lloyd, and bookends of Mitch Day and Dan Weigl, the Ammos had beaten all of last year’s finalists, plus Barwon Heads, and comfortably too.
However, the mid-table young Coutas managed to upstage, upset and ultimately outscore the unbeaten Ammos in a stirring six-point victory built off turnover, discipline, execution and pressure, winning 19.7 (121) to 17.13 (115).
At least they were the qualities Jamieson was demanding from his charges at quarter time on Saturday in perfect conditions for footy at the Couta Bowl.
However, the esteemed former Joeys mentor had also pulled the ace of injecting former Ocean Grove big man Jayden McHenry into the mix – who hadn’t played since April, 2023 – and would boot the opening two goals of the game, finish with four and drag down a few telling grabs at crucial times.
The Coutas have not had a forward to kick more than 25 goals in a season since Luke Di Lizo’s 34 in 2021 in an abbreviated season.
Jamieson might have two on his hands if Saturday was anything to go by, with Hepburn recruit Izaac Grant kicking his second successive haul of five and was clever when the ball hit the deck.
At the first break, Jamieson urged his team to get under the skin of the Ammos, force them to defend and continue to cause turnovers.
You wouldn’t say the Ammos were rattled but they certainly didn’t appear settled, with key defender Weigl reading the riot act to the back six and remonstrated with Grant by the boundary line.
The Ammos ultimately responded with a major before 30 seconds had ticked on the clock, but it would prove to be a false dawn as the Coutas controlled the term.
It started with a defensive turnover which Che Durran caught and converted for his second.
He had previously taken a stunning mark – more gully snare than slips catch – to trim the margin to just four points before the first break.
Queenscliff’s ability to lock the ball into its forward half was on show, with the visitors battling to get it past the flanks at times.
With the Ammos boasting plenty of height down back through Weigl, Jai Sheahan and co, the Coutas found ultimate success below the knees with Grant – who booted five the previous round against Ocean Grove – kicking three for the quarter.
Meanwhile, Patrick Bradley showed his flexibility to scoop up the ball and snap truly to give the Coutas the lead.
It was a buffer the home side would not relinquish as captain Liam Cogan was sent to quell the red-hot Grant.
The Coutas outscored the Ammos 5.2 to 3.3 but it felt like the margin could easily have been far wider than just seven points at the main break.
If the second term was promising, the third must have been awfully satisfying for Jamieson to watch, who was well aware of the mighty challenge ahead when signing on as coach back in July, 2023.
The Coutas would kick 8.3 to 5.2 as the game remained open and relatively stoppage-free, and
two of those majors came through superb snaps from Jordy McIvor-Clark and McHenry which had the Couta Bowl buzzing.
Later, up the other end, McIvor-Clark and Harry Gower gang tackled Harrison Orr in a clear sign of intent from the home team.
Only some brilliance from Mitch Day from the pocket kept the visitors in the game.
However, every time the Ammos would threaten to get a run on, the home side would answer on three separate occasions and steady the nerves of local fans.
At the final break, Jamieson said his charges had been “immense”, but encouraged them to remain disciplined and to execute, expecting the Ammos to hit back hard in the last.
“It’s been the perfect game until now,” Jamieson said.
“But we’ve got to finish it off against the good teams.”
A Coutas fan yelled out that “30 minutes of pressure” would get the job done.
A huge pack mark from McHenry, then another coast to coast conversion, extended Queenscliff’s lead to 33 points.
However, the visitors kept on coming and clearly controlled play for the final stages – enjoying the last seven scoring shots – but the home side had built up enough of a buffer to hang on.
By then it didn’t matter how they got home, as long as they did.
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Originally published as Geelong Amateur suffers its maiden loss of the BFNL season at the hands of Queenscliff
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