The curse of Harry Trott struck again for SKOB Seniors on the weekend as they succumbed to an onslaught from Collegians in the first half which basically put the game to bed by the main break. It was a happier place for our Reserves Men and Saints Gold who both registered big wins over the Lions to at least shed some light on an otherwise cloudy day at the Den. Elsewhere we saw wins for the Under 19 Premier Team and the Academy, but the 19 Divvies both went down as did the Saints Blue whilst the Green Machine split the points.
The Harry Trott Oval has been a tricky venue for SKOB over the years. Those with memories of a dark day in 2017 when SKOB were on the receiving end of a 90 point pasting might have been feeling a sense of deja vu as Collegians ran rampant on Saturday. SKOB just couldn't get their hands on the football and when they did they were immediately put under intense pressure. The first quarter saw Collegians amass 6 goals and it could have been more had they been more accurate early. Another 6 goals in the second term saw the lead blow out to 50 points when the players hit the sheds at the half and the game was done and dusted. A final margin of 65 was the result on a pretty forgetful day. SKOB were able to welcome back Mitch Wallis and he played a lone had up forward kicking 3 goals from limited opportunities. The backline was constantly under siege but Lachie Merrett and Josh Tynan held up as best they could and were solid contributors as were Jack Darmody, Harry Wardlaw and Luke Winter. Next week sees SKOB on the road again as they travel out to the University to take on the Blues who are starting to hit their straps and knocking on the door of the top 4.
In the early game, the Reserves took a torch to Collegians in a scoreline that was the flipside of that in the Senior game. The major highlight of the day was the first win for our new assistant coach Yanni Tsironis who was thrilled to be a part of the victory and the celebrations. He was able to file the following match report:
SKOBs Reserve’s Back in Business
It was a typical Saturday afternoon at the Harry Trott Oval as the SKOBs Reserve’s trinkled in and arrived in high spirits ahead of their clash with Old Collegians. It was a tight contest heading into the first quarter both teams fighting for the lead until SKOBS flexed its muscles, piling on 4 goals in the second quarter while keeping Old Collegians Scoreless and setting the stage for the second half with a 33 point lead at halftime.
From there the snags kept flowing as the SKOBs dominated the field in all the fundamentals; Nick French seemed to cover the whole ground, Ethan Bowden was causing chaos with his score involvement and Hamish Reimers ruckwork from the stoppages was a standout giving his team first use of the ball. The whole team pulled through as the game was decided early in the third quarter.
In recent weeks the final term has been the Achilles heel for the boys but on the weekend, they showed no sign of slowing down and their drive and determination held strong, Showing everyone that they’re well and truly back in business for the season.
Patrick Croagh, Zachary Ginies, Philip Edgar, Christian Woolrich, Thomas Andriske were named the best for Coach Clough
Thanks to Sarah Withers for some great snaps.
Over at Righetti, the Academy team bounced back from recent near misses to record a commanding 40 point win over Uni Blues. At a venue they were more than familiar with - and a kick off time of 2:00pm that was luxurious - Coach Ollie and Krushers men were good from the get go. Blasting out to an early lead and never being seriously challenged. SKOB had good players everywhere, but the best were Liam O'Neill, Max Uzunovski, Matt Canning, Alex Dietze, the man with the best name in footy, Jettson Brown and Hard Man Harry Mulcahy. The win keeps them in touch with the top four in a very even competition.
Saints light up the night
It was a twilight kickoff for the Saints Gold at Harry Trott and SKOB lit up the park with some scintillating play. Right from the first bounce they controlled possession and showed they meant business. The clash pitted third versus second on the ladder but the Saints had things mostly go their way all night. Keeping Collegians scoreless in the second half would have pleased Coach Purcell the most, and the Saints will be keen to keep this form going into next week's big Grand Final rematch with Kew - which is also Pride Round and a huge day on the calendar for the Saints. Best in a great team effort were Zara Guss, Emily Condon, Jess Joyce, Margaret Gleeson, Maggie McDonough and Caroline Straford. Just over the road at Ross Gregory, Blues Coach Strauss was juggling the magnets like a madman, but all to no avail. Eleven changes from last week's side wasn't making life easy, and the Collegians opponents were relentless in their attack on the ball. It might well have been one best to forget for the Blues, but they were well served by Lily Murray, Gerogie Nolan, Anna Lewis, Steph Chong, Jess Mounas and Bella Hoal. By last Friday, the Saints Green Machine were seriously light on for numbers - as were their opponents the Mugars - so in the best interests of both clubs they called off the game and split the points. When the rain poured down on Sunday morning I'm sure there was no-one too disappointed with this outcome.
Youngsters keeping up the pace
The Under 19 Premier team continue their good run of form and have claimed another scalp with victory over Old Scotch at TH.King. It was the only game of the weekend at the King, so SKOB took full advantage of the luxury digs and put in another great performance. Blasting out 5 goals in the first quarter, SKOB took control and were never headed as they kept their winning streak going and remain atop the ladder. Xavier Duke, Will Pfeiffer, Cooper Chaffey, Sam Jones, Billy Bryan and Andy Butler were all fine contributors to the win. In the Div 2's the last couple of weeks have been tough going and they again found one better on Saturday in Old Haileybury. The better players were Josh Bayley, Jack Luscombe, Connor Joyce, Angus Kerr, Jeremy Bourke and Aiden Leiner. In Div 4 SKOB had no answer for Oakleigh at Scammell Reserve although they never stopped trying all day. None more so than Nelson Conwell, Oli Garlick, Tom McLellan, Rupert Kidman, Max Timlock, Sam Mulcahy. One more big round for all the teams next week before a bye for the long weekend. Go SKOB
