Mitch Day handed one match ban for striking in Ammos’ big win over Queenscliff

A star forward leading the Bellarine’s goalkicking leaderboard has been rubbed out of an important clash for striking. Plus, how coach’s mix of humour and tactics has spearheaded club’s 12-1 start.

Mitch Day kicked his seventh haul of five goals or more against Queenscliff - but was reported for striking in the same game. Picture: Alan Barber

Star Geelong Amateur forward Mitch Day will miss a tough road game against Drysdale after the bye, after accepting a match ban for striking.

Day was rubbed out for one week following an early guilty plea for striking Queenscliff’s Harry Gower in the third term of the Ammos’ eventual 54-point win over the Coutas on Saturday.

Graded intentional, high contact and low impact by the match review panel, the incident drew a two match ban reduced to one with Day’s guilty plea.

Day kicked six goals in the Ammos’ win over Queenscliff to take his season tally to 58 – five clear of Anglesea forward Ayden Gras.

The Ammos are currently 12-1 and three games clear at the top of the BFNL ladder with five rounds to play, but come up against top 3 Drysdale (9-4) away on July 19 following a league-wide bye.

Earlier: Mentor’s jovial approach has the Ammos humming

Geelong Amateur co-coach Riley Kershaw has been mixing a bit humour with his tactical nous during his player addresses as the 12-1 Ammos continue to boss the BFNL.

While there has rightly been plenty of talk about how competitive the league has been this year, the Ammos remain three wins on top after downing one of the Bellarine’s most in-form teams on Saturday in Queenscliff by 54 points.

The Coutas, without key goalkicker Izaac Grant – he reportedly suffered a ruptured spleen against Ocean Grove last Saturday – were no match for the Ammos at Queens Park Reserve in their biggest loss of the season.

However, the Ammos were without some key pieces too with Tom Gorrell, Riley Ferguson and Luke Hillier overseas and Jai Sheahan (foot) and Harry Kershaw (minor syndesmosis) injured.

Ammos co-coach Riley Kershaw. Picture: Alan Barber

Geelong Amateur has a three-win buffer over its nearest rival on the ladder, Torquay. Picture: Alan Barber

New recruit and defensive leader Dan Weigl said co-coaches Kershaw and Sam Lloyd had formed an effective partnership, especially when it came to preaching the importance of mental strength during the grind of a long season.

“Skill execution, that will come and go ... but the mental side of it is where it can wane a little bit, they’ve been brilliant in their messaging in regards to that,” Weigl said.

“To keep everyone on their toes and keep us, as much as you can be in footy as it’s a game of ebbs and flows, but just trying to keep us as consistent and level headed in our approach as possible.”

When asked how the coaching structure changes each week, Weigl said it was “pretty fluid” but Kershaw was traditionally in charge of the pre-match address.

“He’s very good on the PowerPoint, gets a few gags in there as well, keeps it nice and lighthearted,” Weigl said.

“They work extremely well together.”

Geelong Amateur’s Mitch Day leads the league’s goalkicking by five majors from Anglesea’s Ayden Gras. Picture: Alan Barber

When pressed on his point, Kershaw said he was keen to inject some levity, when the opportunity arose.

“I’ve been in trouble from the boys for being too serious,” Kershaw said with a laugh.

“On game day they think I’m a little bit grumpy, I’ve got to try to get in the jokes and ... be jovial when I can be.

“At the end of the day you spend four or five hours of your weekend there on a Saturday, blokes might be working 50-hour weeks, so you want to use it as an outlet for them.

“We’re all sort of guilty of getting too caught up in it.”

It comes after Modewarre coach Mark Hovey said he wanted to bring some fun to his coaching style after signing on for the 2024 season.

Kershaw said his comic stylings usually involved a bit of playful “potting” of some players.

“Each week’s a bit different, but the idea is it’s about keeping a vibe there and not taking ourselves too seriously,” he said.

There’s probably a fair degree of room for levity with the Ammos enjoying such a strong start to the season after dropping four of its last five in a horror conclusion to 2024.

The rucks soar for the ball. Picture: Alan Barber

On Saturday, Mitch Day produced another bag with six – his seventh haul of five or more – as Amateur inflicted the Coutas’ biggest loss for the season.

“I think he’s just loving being part of a successful team and that environment,” Weigl said of Day.

“The days that we’re looking after him with delivery he’s pretty hard to stop.”

The former Lara defender has struggled with bone bruising and inflammation in a hip joint since Round 2, but it had been improving as the season had gone on.

“It’s been a little bit lingering ... but everyone over the age of probably 25 I’d say at this stage of the year have got niggles and soreness, it’s nothing to complain about,” he said.

Meanwhile, Weigl, who returned to his junior club of Geelong Amateur after a long career at Lara, said the reality had exceeded all of his expectations.

“It’s been brilliant, can’t fault it at all,” he said.

“It’s been everything I hoped it might have been, and then some on top of it.

“It’s a really well-run club from the top down, it’s really good to be a part of it.”

While the Ammos are 12-1, the Lara cricketer, who won a GCA2 first grade title bac in March, said it had been an incredibly even season with no easy beats.

“That’s good fun as well because you’ve got to be on your toes at all times and against everyone,” he said.

Queenscliff coach Heath Jamieson addresses his charges against Geelong Amateur. Picture: Alan Barber

He said it was good to get one back over Queenscliff following their six-point, Round 6 loss at the Couta Bowl.

“We probably weren’t on our A game the first time we came up against them,” he said.

“They were really really impressive that day.

“A couple of key players out for them yesterday too probably hurt a little bit, but you can only play what’s in front of you.

“It was really good internally to put a much better performance (together) than that last time we played them.

“Not exactly owing them as such, but more so owing it to ourselves to put up a performance more in tune with what we want to see.”

Originally published as Mitch Day handed one match ban for striking in Ammos’ big win over Queenscliff