Round 11 - Saturday 4 July 2009 at the Junction Oval.
OLD MELBURNIANS v ORMOND
SENIORS, by Lurch.
1ST Quarter: OMs 5.2.32 ORM 2.2.14
2nd Quarter: OMs 9.3.57 ORM 3.4.22
3rd Quarter: OMs 15.6.96 ORM 7.4.46
Full time: OMs 17.13.115 ORM 9.4.58
Goals: Simon Beaumont (4), Michael Davis (4), Marty Kennon (2), Tom Seccull (2), James Beaumont (1), Jono Miller (1), Ned Morrison (1), Lewis Haralambous (1), Tom Paule (1).
Best: Steven Greene, Michael Davis, James Beaumont, Jono Miller, Adam Marangon, Marty Kennon.
With Lurch going away to the High Country this week to shoot anything that moves (and if it does not move, it soon will), his report comes earlier than usual. The Old Melburnians returned to the Junction Oval to take on Ormond, which, on its home ground, was the first team this year to beat the OMs. That was a game in which the OMs were inexplicably flat, and which they should have won. This game was an opportunity to prove the OMs are a better team, and the objective was achieved, albeit with two irreplaceable losses.
Light rain fell shortly before the start of the game, but the damp surface did not stop Paule from scoring the first goal of the game, followed by Kennon within two minutes, after he dropped back to take a nice mark. Ormond went on the attack, but failed to score anything, and Michael Davis responded with a goal. Ormond scored its first goal, and increased its pressure, resulting in a long and intense passage of play in which the ball went backwards and forwards without doing any scoreboard damage at either end. During this period reliable defender Sam Playfair suffered an ankle injury and took no further part in the game. Great work by Lapin, Michael Davis and Paule gave Simon Beaumont a set-shot on a tough angle. His point was the OMs’ first. Michael Davis took a towering mark in the middle of the ground which belied his height but showed his talent. Morrison soon thereafter kicked to Davis, who scored truly. The score was 25-8. Marangon had a fantastic run down the pavilion wing, evading several would-be tacklers, and showing off his great ability. This passage of play got the footy to Paule, who, in heavy traffic, scored a point. A strong mark was taken by Seccull, who, despite a knock to the head, kicked to Simon Beaumont in the goal square, and he goaled. It was a challenging first quarter which was successfully navigated.
Both sides attacked hard at the start of the second quarter without any goals being scored. Further disaster struck early in the quarter when Captain Hamish Turner was taken from the ground on a stretcher with a fractured knee cap. Few play as hard or with as much determination for the Dark Blue as does “H”, who deserved the rewards the OMs seem capable of winning this year. All OMs’ supporters wish him and Playfair well in their recoveries.
A few opportunities were missed, and Ormond was given a charity free kick which hit the post. Michael Davis then scored the first goal of the quarter with a set-shot taken on a tight angle. Haralambous copped a blow to the face in what was a typical and unwelcome feature of the game against this opponent, but he played a part in getting the footy to Kennon, who goaled. After Ormond dribbled through a goal, “Hara” had his revenge by getting a free kick despite his opponent’s Oscar™-winning fall. When the Ormond player expressed his displeasure, the umpire expressed his own displeasure, bringing Haralambous within range of goal. He did not disappoint the Dark Blues’ supporters, and increased the margin to 51-22. Classy side-stepping work by James Beaumont was the prelude to kicking to Michael Davis, who crossed to Kennon. Kennon’s shot on goal was offline, but beautifully marked by Seccull on the goal-line. He screwed the footy around for a goal as Captain Turner was taken to hospital. It began to rain, and the siren sounded minutes later with the margin decidedly more comfortable, and Ormond’s vociferous supporters satisfyingly silenced.
The OMs started the quarter with only two on the bench. They went into attack, scoring only two points before Ormond goaled. Michael Davis, who was having a great game, took a fantastic falling mark in the centre of the ground. Morrison goaled minutes later. Lapin, who had been doing his usual great work, left the ground with a corkie. James Beaumont ran classily off half-back, and helped get the footy down to the goal square, where, after a tussle, his brother Simon goaled. Minutes later Simon scored again after good work by Horne. The score was 78-28 before Ormond scored two quick goals. A number of players were involved in running the footy out of defence, through Morrison, to James Beaumont, and he set up his brother Simon for his third goal of the quarter. The footy came out of the centre bounce to James Beaumont, and he snapped a stylish goal. Minutes later the footy went into the congested forward 50m, and was sensibly handballed back several times to find a player in the clear. Who better to get it and snap for goal than Miller? Millsy’s kick bounced past Simon Beaumont and his opponent in the goal square, and racked up another six points in the OMs’ devastating rapid-fire scoring spree. By the last change the 50 point margin had been restored.
The final quarter was a bit lacklustre, as only two goals were scored by each side. It was a while until any goals were scored, with a number of points being scored instead. Freezer kicked a magnificent 50m pass out of defence and hit Seccull on the chest. Seccull rewarded him with a goal. Michael Davis snapped his fourth goal for the game. The rain started back up, and the game concluded with a strong win, but a disappointing 2.7 final term which could have been significantly more devastating, as many of the shots were quite gettable.
With injuries to two key defenders during the game, and with memories of Ormond’s potent forward line in the loss earlier this season, there was significant pressure on the coaches to reshuffle the defence, and for those chosen to rise to the occasion. James Beaumont did an excellent job between half and full back and reminded us why we needed one of him at each end of the ground in 2006. Miller’s aerial skills found an unaccustomed but very useful home in defence, and he helped cut off many attacks. Michael Davis covered a lot of ground, and had one of his best games in a while, putting his skills to good use in helping the OMs go into attack, and scoring accurately. Simon Beaumont again gave the Dark Blues a contribution equal to his previous best this season, and his good form is very timely. Kennon’s recent return to the Seniors has reintroduced a player who showed several times his ability to create space in the midst of heavy traffic. His marking ability and presentation of a useful target significantly enhances the OMs’ forward line. In the midst of the potential chaos caused by the loss of Playfair and Turner, the coolness under pressure, skill and experience of Greene were crucial in the middle. At the other end of the spectrum, Marangon, an Under-19 player in his second Senior game, showed an uncanny ability to thread evasively and strongly through heavy traffic, with his run down the wing later followed up by one through the middle. He is yet another exciting discovery from the Dark Blue football nursery that is Melbourne Grammar School.
This week the OMs return to the Junction Oval to meet St. Kevin’s. When they last met they were first and second on the ladder, and, with the OMs being lulled to sleep in the second and third quarters, St. Kevin’s prevailed by 20 points despite a rampaging OM final quarter comeback, and took top position. While that game showed that a four or even three quarter effort should have won the game, St. Kevin’s last week blew away Uni Blacks with an eight goal final quarter to win by seven goals – the same Uni Blacks team which recently gave the OMs their biggest loss. The OMs sit second on the ladder, and St. Kevin’s third, with this game set to show which side is really the better of the two. There have been some titanic battles between these two sides in recent years. Get down to the Junction to cheer on the Dark Blues in a game which should not fail to satisfy.
