OLD MELBURNIANS 4.0 9.3 10.3 12.7-79
OLD CAREY 3.2 5.4 8.6 8.7-55
Goal Kickers: R. Matthews 3, B. Dixon 3, E. Mitchell 2, A. Gregory, N. Peters, J. Ray, R. Cumbrae-Stewart
Best Players: N. Peters, B. Dixon, J. Ray, C. Righetti, J. Mitchell, C. Jenkins

Winter is now upon us but the OMs Magoos are out of the cold and back in the hunt. After a run of three losses, the OMs returned to the winner’s list at the expense of Old Carey.

A week after almost drowning at the Snake Pit, a perfect autumn’s day greeted both sides at the true home of Amateur football - the Junction Oval.

Inspired by the prospect of a hearty sausage sizzle and hungry after a winless month, the Magoos turned in one of their best performances of the season.

After a less than convincing first quarter the OMs decided enough was enough. Our midfield exploded into life. As Bruce Springsteen once sang ‘you can’t start a fire without a spark’ and on this occasion it came in the form of James Ray’s sublime tap work in the ruck.

Razor, whose influence spreads as far as Flemington where he has the Quiet Man pub named after him, let his palms do the talking.

And it made for beautiful viewing, especially if you were Nick Peters or Chris Righetti. The pair showed it was possible to be an art dealer and James Blunt’s No.1 fan while also being a good footballer. Along with Ranga Ray and Konrad von Spiecz, they cleared the centre with such ease Old Carey were for a few minutes made to look like the Washington Generals.

Targets were being hit, forwards weren’t having the ball kicked on their heads and goals, not behinds, were being scored.

"It was a great recovery," Ed Mitchell muttered after the game as he was studying the form for the fifth at Moonee Valley. "But not as good as the one I made to receive the hamper two weeks ago. Now that was real spirit."

Barclay Dixon, still recovering from the psychological scars of being barricaded in his apartment as Hamish Turner demanded the captaincy, was also menacing in attack.

"I can still hear the alarms, the gun shots, the screams," Dicko wrote in an email leaked to the Red Leg. "The best therapy is getting a kick and having the ball in my hands."

Old Carey fought back in the third quarter, clawing within nine points by three-quarter time. It seemed another loss was on the cards.

But some calm words from Coach Carty and a few minutes to reassess were enough to stop Carey’s charge.

An emphatic smash forward at the very first centre bounce from Dicko set the tone for the quarter.

While Carey had its share of the ball, they could not breach our half-back line. Attack after attack was thwarted, generally by the sure hands of Marcos Baghdatis’ long lost cousin Louis Haralambos.

"I can’t wait till I tell all the boys at Stalactites about I how good I was," Hara said. "I think Lonsdale Street will be pumping tonight mate."

Thanks to Jozza for goal umpiring, Matty Lovejoy and his mate Matty for running water and Jenks’ little brother for fleecing him a lobster to run the boundary.

Tags: Carty, Dixon, Haralambos, Lovejoy, Mitchell, Ray, Spies