VAFA ROUND 21_Col.indd - Victorian Amateur Football Association

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PREMIER DRIVEN DE LA DESTROY BATTERED BLUES Michael Fitzgerald It began well enough for the Varsity, but when it missed some gettable shots, turned the ball over in defence and key backman Al Austin limped from the field, the signs were not good. Still, Blues led at the first change and though their other key defender Mark McLeod could barely move, were still well in it at the half, though seasoned watchers were wondering how that could have been. Early in the third team, De La blew it out to 31 points with some quick goals. Game over. We thought so, anyway, until Blues suddenly found their mojo. Immediately, their fumbling and fiddling disappeared and they mustered the confidence to play the corridor. Before anyone realised it, the margin was back to six points. Sensing trouble, De La lifted it another notch, eliminating its own errors. For a while, the teams went blow for blow, but then the Blue and Golds blitzed them. We looked at the scoreboard as the third quarter siren sounded. It showed a sixteen goal scorefest, ten of them to the Dees, enough to see them through. Uni Blues did their utmost early in the last to disprove that, but the De La forward line – Matt Moore, Josh Oakley, Sam Pickett, Mick Duggan, Luke Semmel and best on ground Nick Roberts (Leigh Harrison optional extra) – pulled out the party tricks and the Dees ran away. On the day, they had a staggering fourteen goal scorers, and with the long kicking of David Lowe and Michael Collins, everybody had a chance to get in to the act. It was a sad way for the Varsity to end its season, but it was an unsettled line-up that they put on the park. Blues needed to be at their best to stay with the hard-running De La, and despite some great efforts from Mark Paterson, Ben McConnell and Paul Butko around the ball, they lacked a big gun around the sticks. Jack Watts, Paddy Smith, Ed Clark and Andrew Lowcock looked dangerous at times, but none of them could muster the superhuman game that would bring home the bacon. DLS has been fine-tuning for a month now, worried more about which of their in-form players would miss selection. It will take a very good team to beat them next week or in the end game, but then again, there are two very good teams standing in their way. Sunday: Collegians arrive in the second semifinal after just two losses, neither of which was to Old Xaverians, whom it beat on Opening Day at the Trott and again at Toorak Park in R12. The big question is whether they can pull the hat-trick and beat them at Sportscover, not quite the home of the Red ‘n’ Blacks, but for a decade and a half, their very own holiday resort. While both teams are highly capable of shutting down the opposition on a smaller field, the attacking phase of each is suited to the spaces. However, the expanse is one thing and the conditions entirely another. We’ve all witnessed games played almost entirely on the outer wing, with the westerly serving as virtual prison walls and forays into the corridor as rare as successful jail breaks. In this circumstance, it’s about making those shots at goal, when they come, count to the maximum. Both clubs have topped the ton on six occasions. Fergus Watts can be a big force here. He rarely misses when in range and that ability extends beyond the arc. Balancing this, Matthew Handley and Dan Rush can score from distance too. Perhaps it comes down to which team’s tall forwards get more of it. Both defences are solid. The Lions conceded a hundred just twice, and over twenty per cent of their season points against in just two mid-season defeats. Xavs are tighter still, conceding the ton just once, to, you guessed it, these Purples in R1, who also held the Xavs to their season low offense in the return bout. Xaverians should win in the ruck and their midfielders should enjoy first use, but then they must 2 THE AMATEUR FOOTBALLER 2010
steer their way through or around James Jorgensen and Nick Stone, bogeymen that regularly haunt them. Collegians’ speedsters will see plenty of ball too, but penetrating the Xavs’ back six will be like chipping away at granite. Don’t expect the fireworks of last Sunday’s encounter. This will be a more dour, conservative affair. Collegians have lost just two games in twenty-five and their success has been built on discipline. They are an imposing bunch, with plenty of top flighters including Trent Zimbachs, Daniel Strahan, Shura Taft, the brothers Bull and their great skipper Chris Blumfield. Xavs have plenty of star power themselves, with Jon Mercuri, skipper Matty Ball, Ryan Colbert and Josh Agius, plenty of goalkickers and a rear guard that boasts Damian Lynch, Nick Wynne and Dan Noonan, all big, solid types who can also play forward, as well as Andy Biddlecombe, one of the strongest and finest players in the VAFA. Choosing anyone over Xavs on the Plain is risky business, but last time they met here, Collegians won the day comfortably, turning it on in attack while holding the Red ‘n’ Blacks. I sense a very tough, tight tussle in less than optimum weather and I can see a purple haze in my crystal ball. No other team has consistently given Xavs as much trouble as these Lions. Of course, all things must pass. PREMIER LAST ROUND PREMIER RESERVE SEMI FINAL 1 DE LA SALLE 3.3, 8.5, 18.9, 24.12 (156) UNI BLUES 4.5, 6.7, 12.10, 14.15 (99) GOALS, DE LA SALLE: S. Pickett 4, M. Duggan 4, M. Moore 3, N. Roberts 3, A. Shields 1, L. Harrison 1, J. Pollard 1, T. Hunt 1, J. Gotch 1, J. Moloney 1, L. Semmel 1, D. Lowe 1, S. Williams 1, N. Stewart 1 UNI BLUES: J. Watts 2, A. Lowcock 2, S. Chadwick 2, P. Hayes 1, Q. Gleeson 1, C. Slattery 1, T. Muhlebach 1, D. Nicholson 1, E. Clark 1, P. Smith 1, M. Paterson 1 BEST, DE LA SALLE: N. Roberts, M. Collins, L. Harrison, S. Pickett, M. Moore, D. Lowe UNI BLUES: P. Butko, P. Smith, B. McConnell, E. Clark, M. Paterson, M. Monteith SEMI FINAL 1 OLD MELBURNIANS 6.2, 11.6, 15.6, 17.7 (109) OLD XAVERIANS 0.2, 2.3, 4.6, 7.7 (49) GOALS, OLD MELBURNIANS: R. Matthews 5, H. Turner 3, M. Kennon 2, T. Beaumont 2, T. Cudlipp 1, T. McLardy 1, A. Carter 1, T. Oman 1, B. McKie 1 OLD XAVERIANS: J. Pasceri 2, J. Glen 2, T. Lloyd 1, D. Higgins 1, M. Allan 1 BEST, OLD MELBURNIANS: S. Playfair, R. Matthews, T. McLardy, A. Carter, H. Turner, A. Lapin OLD XAVERIANS: D. Lloyd, J. Ulbrick, B. Coburn, J. Douglas, T. Agius, J. Glen THE AMATEUR FOOTBALLER 2010 3
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Page 8 and 9: PREMIER B NO-GO HOES! STUDENTS DELI
Page 10 and 11: PREMIER C THEN THERE WERE THREE, UM
Page 12 and 13: DIVISION 1 BEES BOOK A BERTH IN THE
Page 14 and 15: DIVISION 2 DA BEARS AND DAVE BOUNDY
Page 16 and 17: DIVISION 3 PARADISE LOST AND FOUND
Page 18 and 19: DIVISION 4 BACK TO THE FUTURE Jim S
Page 20 and 21: THIS WEEKEND’S FINALS SATURDAY Pr
Page 22 and 23: RESERVES Tom Brain ED NOTE: Opening
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Page 26 and 27: RETROSPECTIVE Geoff Reilley 12 Mont
Page 30 and 31: PREMIER RESERVE - 2ND SEMI FINAL Su
Page 32 and 33: PREMIER B - 2ND SEMI FINAL Saturday
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Page 36 and 37: PREMIER C RESERVE - PRELIMINARY FIN
Page 38 and 39: DIVISION 1 RESERVE - PRELIMINARY FI
Page 46 and 47: FOR THE LOVE OF Six VAFA players ha
Page 52 and 53: Zac Hubber Darren Dawson Richard Wi
Page 54 and 55: LAST ROUND U19 RESULTS U19 NORTH (1
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U19 PREMIER - 2ND SEMI FINAL Saturd
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U19 SOUTH (1) - PRELIMINARY FINAL S
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U19 SOUTH (2) - PRELIMINARY FINAL S
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UMPIRES NIGHT OF NIGHTS Steve McCar
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Coach: Danny Hall Runner: Michael H
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VAFA LADDERS 2010 U19 NORTH 1 P W L
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WINNING EDGE CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP The
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VAFA ROUND 21_Col.indd - Victorian Amateur Football Association

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