Saturday 19 September 2009.

2009 B Grade Grand Final at Elsternwick Park.  

OLD MELBURNIANS v OLD TRINITY.

SENIORS.

1^ST Quarter:             OMs                4.9.33.          OT                   3.0.18

2^nd Quarter:             OMs                5.11.41         OT                   8.5.53

3^rd Quarter:             OMs                12.19.91       OT                   10.6.66

Full time:                  OMs                18.21.129     OT                   12.11.83

Goals:  Tom Paule (4), Simon Beaumont (2), Tom Seccull (2), Michael Davis (2), Marty Kennon (1), James Beaumont (1), Jeremy Beaumont (1), Will Harvey (1), Mark Hawkins (1), Steven Greene (1), Tim Davis (1), Adam Marangon (1).

Best:   Charlie Wilmoth, Steven Greene, Will Harvey, Barclay Dixon, Marty Kennon, Simon Beaumont.

Report by Lurch.

When the announcement was made late last year that the Rev. Lovejoy’s appointment as senior coach would continue on in season 2009, there were some who immediately stated that the premiership was in the bag. The man himself, however, reminded all that there was a lot of hard work to be done to make that happen, and that it was by no means guaranteed. Last Saturday, with the support of OM premiership coaches Mick Carty and Erwin Leyden, the Rev. Lovejoy took the OMs to the Promised Land.

Saturday saw the Battle of the Golden Mitres to see which Mitre was the mightiest of the Mitres. It has been years since the OMs have played at Elsternwick Park, but it was anticipated they would revel in the wide-open spaces. Trinity, meanwhile, had beaten St. Kevin’s in hot and tiring conditions the previous week, and it was expected this might eventually tell against it. Captain Hamish Turner, tragically missing the last part of the season due to a serious knee injury, was present in the coaches’ box as James Beaumont led the team on as acting captain. He won the toss, and elected to kick with a strong wind blowing to the southern end.

The opening minutes gave little indication it was a grand final, as the intensity was unlike like that seen in the final against St. Kevin’s. Seccull, who had broken Trinity hearts in the teams’ first meeting this year, was the first to take a shot on goal. Attempting to kick from a little way past the centre, he kicked into the man on the mark, who was then curiously given a free kick. It was later revealed an infringement downfield had given him the free. It was nearly six minutes in before the first goal was scored, with Simon Beaumont taking a strong mark and converting. Trinity responded with a goal into the wind from the centre bounce. There followed a long battle between the two sides, with Paule ending the deadlock with a snap from the 45m arc which gave the OMs a second goal. Soon afterwards, Paule fought hard, as is expected of him, to keep the ball in the forward 45, helping Jeremy Beaumont to take it, crash through heavy traffic, and pot a goal. Trinity then valiantly responded with two goals into the gale before Greene pounced on the contested ball, and snapped a beauty from about 45m.

Although the OMs led at quarter time, it was a disappointing quarter. The OMs had controlled most of the quarter, and had had 13 shots to 3 at goal, yet only led by 15 points. Remembering it was in identical circumstances the last game was lost to Trinity, this was of considerable concern. Full use had not been made of the wind, and the second quarter would be one of limiting Trinity’s damage with the wind, and endeavouring to equal their effort against the wind. The wind, however, did not guarantee easy goals, as it was blowing strongly from the west, making a kick at goal move several metres east. The game was notable for being quite free-flowing, with both sides moving it quickly around the ground. This was again in contrast to the final against St. Kevin’s, which at times was like rugby, both in tackling and the slowness of gaining ground.

The second quarter opened with a goal to Trinity, which then, like the OMs in the first quarter, struggled to kick straight. Marty Kennon had one of the few OMs’ shots on goals, taking a set-shot from close range, but he stabbed at it and hit the post. Trinity kicked more goals, and it was not until Simon Beaumont was given a free for almost being decapitated that the OMs scored a goal. Beaumont kicked to Kennon, who goaled after 24 minutes had gone. Trinity responded with a goal from the centre, followed by another, taking their lead to 53-40. Michael Davis had a shot on goal just before the siren, but was off-target. Trinity’s 5.5 with the wind was a better return than the OMs had managed with the wind, and the OMs had failed to replicate Trinity’s effort against the wind. It was a depressing quarter, in which a large contingent of Trinity supporters was loud and vociferous behind their goals, whereas the large contingent of OMs supporters was morose behind theirs. It was under this dark cloud that Lurch, who is easily led, was led by Bones, who is a bad influence, to the pub at halftime.

After a long wait and then two very quick pints, Lurch lurched back to the ground with trepidation. The scoreboard told a cheerier tale, with the OMs now leading 63-60, having kicked three goals through Harvey, Tim Davis and James Beaumont after starting the third quarter dismally, scoring only points. At one stage the OMs had 8.16 on the board. Trinity goaled soon after Lurch’s return, to record what would be its second and last goal for the quarter. About this time, a Trinity player was sent from the field. It marked the beginning of the end for Trinity.

The footy spent a long time in the OMs’ forward line, with a number of attacks on goal agonisingly only producing points. Paule, thoroughly sick of the impasse, snapped and goaled. Seccull, remembering how good it felt to devastate Trinity, marked strongly and goaled, and followed this effort with an even better mark, and another goal. Hawkins then marked. The siren sounded. Hawkins goaled. The OMs were up by 25, but against a team like Trinity it was not enough to feel safe.

Fortunately for the OMs, and for all who love the Dark Blue, the OMs’ party was only just getting started. Although Trinity was first into attack, it only scored a point. The OMs, running in numbers, took the ball up the ground, where Paule got it, was chased hard, but kicked at goal for what seemed a certain point until it swung around beautifully. It was 97-67, but Trinity had what was left of the wind, which had lessened considerably since the second quarter. Harvey worked hard to keep the footy in the forward line, giving Simon Beaumont the opportunity to snap truly. 103-67. His brother Jeremy now kept the footy forward, Kennon tapped cleverly to Paule, and he ran into goal. Simon shanked a shot at goal, followed by Paule. However, at 111-69, even the most pessimistic of OMs supporters began to feel safe. Trinity scored a goal, but it did nothing to spoil the party, as an infringement against Harvey downfield gave the ball to Michael Davis, who took the scores to 117-75. His kick was marked behind the goals in one of the highlights of the day. Fevola may be the master of the one-handed mark, but try doing it while holding a baby Fev! Marangon, already a premiership winner from the under-19s Battle of Sandringham, broke loose and goaled. Trinity scored its second and last goal of the game, but its supporters, so noisy in the second quarter, barely made a sound in acknowledging it. It was too little too late. Michael Davis brought proceedings to an end with a goal, followed soon afterwards by the siren sounding to mark the end of the 2009 season, and the winning by the Old Melburnians’ Football Club of the 2009 VAFA B Grade premiership. It completed an extraordinary season, with the OMFC’s Seniors, Reserves, 3^rd XVIII and Under 19s all winning premierships.

A look through past reports shows why the OMs won the premiership. The OMs have a number of strengths, but the greatest single strength is the lack of reliance on only one or a few players. A player might kick 7 goals one week, and none the next, but different players will then step up and kick the goals. The players named amongst the best players each week changed regularly, and the 12 different goal kickers in the grand final proved the lack of reliance on a few key players. Trinity had 5 goal kickers, with their main two players scoring 8 of Trinity’s 12 goals. Barclay Dixon was recalled to the Seniors for the grand final, and, along with Charles Ray, worked well to quell Trinity’s dangerous forward line duo. Marty Kennon presented well up forward, along with Simon Beaumont, who assisted many goals, and was adjudged best on ground. His medal was presented by Ian Cordner (OM 1970), who won the award as captain in the OMs’ 1978 premiership win. Harvey loves running hard in straight lines through the middle, caring not if anyone is in the way. He did it well against St. Kevin’s, and did so again in the grand final. Previous OMFC best-and-fairest winner Charlie Wilmoth played one of his best games for the year, and Steven Greene’s poise and experience was crucial when the OMs were under serious threat. Although not every player played their best game, the beauty of the OMs was that enough players stepped up at the right time to do the job. The premiership team was:

Tom Paule (Jumper No. 3), Ned Morrison (4), Josh Freezer (5), Andrew Prowse (10), Charlie Wilmoth (12), Charlie Gardiner (13), Ed Wilson (14), Steven Greene (15), James Beaumont (16), Tom Seccull (17), Simon Beaumont (21), James Ray (22), Michael Davis (24), Jeremy Beaumont (28), Jono Miller (30), Will Harvey (34), Adam Marangon (38), Barclay Dixon (41), Angus Lapin (42), Mark Hawkins (43), Marty Kennon (51), Tim Davis (73).

A review of the 2009 season will appear later, as will video footage of the end of the grand final once technical difficulties are overcome.