Round 3 gave the Old Melburnians their first defeat for the season, and the realisation that not every B grade team will be as easy to defeat as were the past two. The OMs came up against a very solid, capable, and relentless PEGS team, fielding a team that is still missing some valuable players, and which lost further in-form players during the course of this game.

PEGS was said by the VAFA footy record to be one of the favourites for the 2007 premiership, and it was predicted that PEGS would need to play four quarters of consistent footy to defeat the OMs. This is exactly what occurred.

From the beginning, PEGS sounded a warning, with two goals to a solitary point by the OMs. However, Theo Code was determined to put to put the first major on the board, and scored truly. Nick Peters, running across in front of a big pack, got boot to ball to score his second senior goal. Another member of the young brigade, Konrad Spies (OM 2005), is amongst the toughest of those honoured to wear the Dark Blue, and he cut a swathe through the game. In the first quarter, in his first senior game since coming up from the under-19s, he put his head down, charged through a thick pack of players on the 50m arc, swung around on his right, and kicked a magnificent goal, to make the score line quite respectable at quarter time. The first quarter saw the loss of in-form OM, Jono Miller, suffering an ACL injury to his knee. His dependable goal-scoring will be missing from the Dark Blues’ line-up for several weeks.

The second quarter failed to produce a goal by the OMs, whose desperate defence also kept PEGS scoreless for some time. However, PEGS broke the drought first. The OMs backline was being peppered by a hail of leather, with Andrew “Junior” Prowse and Ed Mitchell doing their best to hold back the flood. The drought was broken by Ed Wilson and Tom Paule in the third quarter, but it was the final quarter that saw both the strongest OM fight-back, and also an extension of PEGS’ margin. A further great loss was suffered by the Old Melburnians when in-form OM Ed “Willo” Wilson, left the field with a head injury.

The 25 point margin at three quarter time was numerically surmountable, but goals were not coming easily. The reality was that 25 points, in the context of the game, was a great challenge. Tom Paule, a 2005 classmate of Konrad Spies, and member of the MGS 1st XVIII that fell a game short of winning the 2005 premiership, nearly got the OMs back into the game with two fourth-quarter goals. However, PEGS continued to attack, and actually extended their lead. Hamish Turner contributed a beautiful running goal to add to the excitement of the final quarter. Ed Mitchell’s desperate defence saw him pushed into a fence, which fired him up, and resulted in him having to cool his heels (and fists of fury) on the sidelines for a few minutes. He later almost scored a morale-boosting goal. Sam Playfair’s work in the midfield was again very valuable. His 2004 classmate, Tom Bennison, battled back soreness, but his tough second and third efforts drew the admiring question from some OM supporters: “Who is that little bloke!?”.

PEGS prevailed by 23 points. It was a tribute to the OMs’ backline that the margin was not greater. PEGS is a very capable team. Inaccurate kicking let down the OMs, and too many PEGS players were running free, in numbers, particularly in the second half. Another unfortunate sight, reminiscent of 2006, was that of OMs handballing numerous times in the backline, instead of putting boot to ball, resulting in turnovers. On one occasion it took PEGS only three kicks to go from the OMs’ backline through the big sticks for a PEGS goal.

To the OMs’ credit, they did not lose their composure, and fought the game out with a depleted team. If the OMs return to full strength, PEGS will have significant cause for concern. The signs remain positive. The OMs have won two games, and lost one – so too has MGS. Read the report of MGS’s great victory over Haileybury in the Schools section of this website.

Goals: Tom Paule (3), Ed Wilson (2), Hamish Turner (1), Nick Peters (1), Theo Code (1), Konrad Spies (1).

Best: Sam Playfair, Tom Paule, Andrew Prowse, Hamish Turner, Pete Kennon, Konrad Spies.

Tags: Andrew Prowse, Hamish Turner, Konrad Spies, Pete Kennon, Sam Playfair, Tom Paule