Debutant's Ball

No less than four new faces took the field for their first Senior game in home colours, but their inexperience mattered not as SKOB registered a 7 goal win over Uni Blues at TH King. In the process shaking their “dour” tag with a full on attacking show that saw them be the only team in Premier to register a score over 3 figures for the weekend. Earlier, the Ressies staged a brilliant fight back to reel in Uni and eke out a tough win, whilst preceding them, the SKOB Dogs kicked things off with a win over Richmond Central. Away from TH King there were wins to the Saints Gold and Blue - their first in 2025 - as well as success for the Under 19s Premier and 19 2s. The Stingers slid past Xavs at Basil, overturning a half time deficit for a comeback win. Only the Saints Green, who were short a player or two, and the Academy, who found Sunday morning - and AJAX - a bit too hard to handle, were unable to salute over the weekend as SKOB had a return of 8 out of 10. A big weekend of results.

The Department of Youth

A minor injury crisis enforced some major changes for the Senior team this weekend, but as they say, with every injury there is opportunity for others to step up. With a few youngsters banging the door down at selection, Coach Lynch had the perfect opportunity to give them a shot on the big stage - and they didn’t let him down. On a fabulous day - yet again - for football (we’ve been so lucky) SKOB shed their tag of being a dour defence led operation, and instead opened the floor for a veritable shoot out at the OK Corral. One of the four first gamers opened proceedings with his first kick at this level. Seb Duffy showing great composure and maturity to land his early set shot and register a major with his first kick. Blues responded but then the twin towers for SKOB, Kerr and Critchley opened their accounts. Blues kicked two more in a row and the shoot out was well and truly on. Sam Barnett - fresh from a handful of snags last round - landed a long bomb, then Kerr from a snap and Cal Jones from a set shot extended the margin out to three goals before the Blues jagged one after the siren.

The second term was much like the first with SKOB skipping away early - including another first gamer goal with Angus "Flop" Phillips bagging his first after a fine mark taken when running with the flight of the ball. Blues were able to chip away, but once Barnett and then Pfeiffer both goaled from forward half stoppages, the home team was five goals to the good heading into time on. Having leaked the last goal of the first term, SKOB then leaked the last 3 - all in time on, including another one after the siren. Coach Lynch must have been tearing his hair out at the long break as his side didn’t quite seem able to close out the quarters. 

Emerging from the sheds, SKOB looked to be a bit more defensive in the third term and the shootout of the first half reverted more to a ceasefire as the speed went out of the game and both teams looked to control the ball and the tempo. The result was that only 3 goals were kicked in the quarter, but importantly, the home team landed two of those goals to take an increased lead into the final quarter, when hostilities resumed and the scoring frenzy continued. Sam Barnett kicked a brace to open out the lead but the Blues answered both of those. The lead was still a comfortable 20 odd points, but memories of leaking the last 3 snags in red time of the second quarter would still be lingering in the coach’s mind, so he would have been happy to see his team - not the opposition - finish with a flourish, nailing 3 on the trot and ultimately running out 42 point winners. 

For the four on debut it was a great way to start out their Senior careers. Given that other youngsters, Xavier Duke playing game number 2, and Tom Ferguson game 3, SKOB are getting remarkable output from their Department of Youth. Congrats to Seb Duffy, Angus Phillips, Dexter Prime and Gus Hanrahan (the elder statesman of this quartet) on making their SKOB Debut. We hope to see lots more of these and others in future, starring for the tricolours. But it wasn’t all about the youth, with experienced campaigners Jack Andriske, Sam Tucker, Anthony Seaton, Patrick Kerr (5 goals), Sam Barnett (4) and clearance machine Luke Winter, all standing tall for SKOB on the day. 

In the early game it was a huge second half comeback win for the Ressies. Our intrepid reporter Yanni was there to capture all the action in his weekly report

Comeback Kings: SKOBs Stun Uni Blues

The SKOBs returned to their spiritual home following an impressive victory against Old Brighton the previous week, looking to make it three wins on the bounce.

The game began with the SKOBs boys on the back foot as Uni Blues attacked the scoreboard with great intensity. However, the boys held strong in the contest to keep the game close. Both teams vied heavily for the ball as it pinged from end to end, with Jacob Smith kicking a crucial goal to keep the scores tight at the end of the quarter.

The second term saw the boys finding their groove in ball movement and forward-half plays, but they were unable to convert their momentum into scoreboard pressure. Despite dominating much of the quarter, SKOBs went into the halftime break facing a 26-point deficit.

During the pre-game and halftime addresses, Coach Clough urged his players to emulate the African Wild Dog and bring "Relentless Pressure." The boys flipped the switch in the third quarter, going on the offensive. Andrew Butler, William Cooper, and Luke Mazzeo were key contributors in the four goals scored, cutting the deficit to just 10 points and leaving everyone wondering, “Could they pull off this magical comeback?”

A grandstand finish was upon us as the game turned into an intense scrap, with both teams desperate for the four points. It was clear that whoever could be more clutch in the critical moments would emerge victorious. As the game opened up, the boys took full advantage of their home ground, with goals from Thomas Williams, Tom Davidson, and Hudson Lefoe. They kicked six goals for the quarter, outscoring Uni Blues six goals to one and pulling off a stunning comeback in front of a huge crowd.

The boys were beaming inside the rooms and very satisfied with the result. They’ll now look to carry this momentum into their clash with Collegians next Saturday at Harry Trott Oval.

Trip to Kew rings true for Saints Gold and Blue

An early kickoff for the Saints Gold at Victoria Park Kew as the Senior Women’s played curtain raiser to the Reserves. The Kew Bears took it right up to the Golds who nearly ran out of petrol tickets in the last quarter and a half as they went scoreless to the finish line, but had just enough in the bank to get the four points against a team that always proves a challenge and tough to beat at home. Led by goal scoring machine Hanna Smith who booted 3 in the first half, the Saints held a good lead on the back of twin snags from Freya Taylor - the first a brilliant snap from the pocket - and looked home and hosed, until the Bears fought back late - but Coach Tommy’s Golds held on for the win. Again it was Emily Condon who led from the front with Mischa Beaconsfield, Bree Doyle, and Zara Guss showing the way whilst Hannah Smith (3 goals) and Freya Taylor (2) kept the scoreboard ticking for the Golds.

Camo's Cameo does it for the Blues

The Blues celebrated their first win of the season with a commanding performance over Kew Bears in the later game at Vic Park. With a certain Sarah Cameron chiming in with 5 goals, they had too much firepower for their opponents. A great win for the Blues who would have celebrated hard. Best for the Blues were Sienna Vallejo, Steph Chong, Camo, Jess Mounas, Zoe Kritikides and Caitlin McDonough

Greens get the Blues

Our Green Machine had to “host” a game at Chadstone and although they gave their all came up short against Monash Blues. Fighting the good fight for the dreamers were Gen Holden, Mathanki Winayakan, Edenn Baczyk, Sofia Zielonka, Antonietta Di Cosmo and Kate Shannon.

Sunday morning Academy come down / Stingers storm home / Dogs bite Snakes

A tough Mother's Day Morning for the Academy, who took a while to get the engine revving against a fired up AJAX at Gary Smorgon. An improved second half was good, but all the damage was done early. One to put past them quickly and move on from here. The Academy were best served by Daniel McCarthy, Darcy Grace, Nicholas Jackson, Flynn McCallum, Michael Naughton and Joey Martin

Comebacks were all the rage in the midday battles with the Stingers mirroring their Ressies cousins with a synchronised second half surge just a few clicks down the creek from TH King at Basil Reserve. The Stingers hauled in Xavs' early lead on the back of standout performances from Jesse Battistella, Oliver Phillips, Sam Close, Anthony Parente, Noah Montague and Lachie Haig - Jumping Jimmy Hill booted 4 goals. A win to savour against Xavs as they prepare next week to face...Xavs.

Coach Sam Doyle was a busy man on the weekend, leading his SKOB Dogs to a big win over Richmond Central on Saturday before backing up the next morning to help out the undermanned Academy. His lads were on fire, but couldn't hit a barn door as they racked up just 10 majors from 30 pings at the sticks. They straightened up in the last, kicking 6.2 from steadier shots, but the Stationmasters wouldn't be denied, booting a handful of their own to fight the game out well. As always, Big Bad Ben Griffin hit the scoresheet hard, booting a half doz, whilst 10 other SKOB Dogs found their way into the Amatuer Footballer with goals of their own. Best were Alex Smith, Andrew Smale, Lachie Groves, Tommy Batchelor, Nick McMahon and Ben Griffin.

Early bird Premier teens dominate HQ

All sorts of switching and swapping was happening late in the week as the fixturing changes in Thirds and Under 19s divisions played havoc with the schedule. As happened, the 19s Premier got the opportunity to have an early hitoff at Elsternwick, and the boys didn't

hesitate the chance to dance on VAFA HQ. With all the phone calls made, they took to the early stage and were dominant from the first bounce. Having pushed some players up into the Seniors, the 19s didn't look fussed at all, running out to an early lead and putting the gas on the throttle all the way through to the finish. Lucas May had a day out in front of the sticks with six, whilst Dante Tomarchio, Nick Nank and Ben Palmer all hit the scoreboard 3 times each. Johnathon Gambaro, James Kerr, Tom Bromhead and Edward Burley were fantastic contributors all day for Coach Greeny's team.

Young Twos shine in the Twilight Zone

A much later start for our Under 19 2's who showed no mercy early in the Twilight at Hampton, peeling off 8 straight to hit the first huddle with a commanding lead at Boss James. The locals evened things up after then, but the damage was done, and the 19 2's always had plenty of answers as the evening light dimmed by the bay. Great performances were put in across the board, but especially by Luke Arthur, Hugh Williams, Matthew Curtain, Samuel Bearder, Lachie Teal and Tom McCarthy