2025 ROUND 18 SENIOR MEN’S MATCH REPORT

Round 18, Saturday 30 August 2025

Fitzroy FC vs Old Melburnians FC at W.T. Peterson Oval, North Fitzroy

1st quarter:                OMFC 0.1.1 FFC 1.2.8

2nd quarter:              OMFC 1.5.11 FFC 2.5.17

3rd quarter:               OMFC           2.5.17          FFC            8.8.56

4th quarter:               OMFC            4.9.33            FFC          11.11.77

Goals: Jackson Paine (2) and Oscar Hanisch (2).

Best players: Tom Donnelly, Lachie Templeton, Will Dethridge, Jackson Paine, Lachie Haysman, Edward Chantrell

Team: Jeremy a’Beckett (26), Ed Chantrell (40), Andrew Chirnside (49), Leo Curtis (88), George Derham (29), Will Dethridge (12), Will Dixon (66), Tom Donnelly (28), Tom Gleeson (61), Ben Haysman (10), Lachie Haysman (9), Oscar Hanisch (27), Ollie Hurley (55), Jack Kerr (78), Sam Laube (20 and 51), Chris Long (11), Jackson Paine (39), Tom Spargo (37), Lachie Templeton (44), Gus Williams (50), Mitch Williams (69) and Olly Williams (18).

Match Report

The OMs welcomed back Tom Gleeson, Ollie Hurley and Jackson Paine (in his final game for the OMs: more on him later), replacing Charlie Boston, Campbell Rose and Jack Spargo.

The game was played on a wet day following almost 11mm of rain the previous day, and it rained during the game. The temperature range of 9 to 10 degrees was said to feel like 5 to 6 degrees. Winds were southwesterlies and south-southwesterlies of 11 to 19kmh with gusts of 22 to 43kmh. In every way, it was a miserable day.

With the Reserves being unable to find the numbers to put a team on the park, their game was forfeited, and Fitzroy chose to play its Senior Men’s game in the Reserves’ timeslot. Dopey Lurch didn’t know this and saw only the last part of the last quarter. What follows is mostly a precis of the video of the game.

The patchy oval runs east-west and the OMs kicked to the east in the first quarter, getting some wind advantage. Jackson Paine kicked to Sam Laube, who missed his set shot from the northwest. There was then lots of play both ways that was free flowing with occasional strong contests. Some unpleasant scuffles saw Laube’s jumper ripped, and the quarter become one of aerial ping-pong. Tom Donnelly marked deep in defence, and the OMs rushed another attempt. It took a free kick in front of goal for Fitzroy to get what was the only goal of the quarter with the siren sounding soon after the centre bounce.

From the opening bounce of the second quarter the OMs attacked with Andrew Chirnside unleashing but missing everything. Fitzroy ran up the ground and goaled. Laube, now wearing No. 51, was shown a colourful card and left the ground for a rest. Lachie Haysman had a free kick from outside the arc but missed. It was 9-2, very windy and raining. Donnelly saved the OMs once again in defence, but in attempting to distract his Fitzroy opponent taking a set shot, George Derham accidently overstepped the mark, and Fitzroy was given a goal from a 50-metre penalty. Although Fitzroy won in the middle, the OMs rushed forward, where Lachie Templeton snapped from a stoppage in front of goal narrowly missing to the left. The OMs stayed forward, where Chris Long also snapped and missed. Paine then received a free kick and showed how it’s done, kicking on the inside of his boot from about 30 metres out to score the OMs’ only goal of the half.

Fitzroy goaled early in the third quarter before play went in both directions for some time until Fitzroy goaled again. It scored a quick goal from the middle to make it 29-11 but added another from the centre bounce despite the OMs fighting hard in defence. Halfway through the quarter it was 42-11 and it was raining. Due to a scuffle at the top of the arc, Fitzroy received a free kick and scored a goal that no-one noticed. Umpires were speaking with several players about the state of the game. Fitzroy goaled from another free kick and at 54-11 it was game over. The OMs worked hard to attack through congestion in their forward line. Olly Williams handpassed back to Chirny, who got it on the boot and towards goal, but it was Oscar Hanisch who chasing the footy, who got his boot to it just before the goal line, where a Fitzroy player lunged at it and pleaded that it was touched. After the umpires conferred, the goal that Hanisch had already celebrated was awarded.

The game was over as the final quarter of the season began. Will Dixon kicked from the midfield to Will Dethridge, who kicked as he fell, with Hanisch marking. Kicking his set shot from the southeast, he put through his second goal early in the quarter. Minutes later Paine had a set shot that missed from the northeast boundary. It was 64-24. Olly Williams had a set shot from about 35 metres out, but shanked it to the right, where it fell short. The play then became aerial ping-pong through the corridor, with the outcome of the game already decided, and ladder positions unable to change. Hanisch had a set shot from the top of the arc but just missed to the left, and eventually Fitzroy goaled. The sun was now out, but the ground was very muddy, with at least one large pool of water in front of the western goal. Late in the quarter a quick handball by Lachie Haysman found Paine in front of the goal about 20 metres out, and he quickly snapped and goaled. As the siren sounded immediately after the centre bounce it was the last score of the game, and – fittingly – the last goal by Paine for the OMs.

Tom Donnelly was the OMs’ best player. He played an ‘unreal’ game in defence and was really strong all day.

Lachie Templeton was excellent in the middle and mucked hard in all day.

Will Dethridge has been in great form and played an excellent game in difficult conditions.

Jackson Paine provided good contests and scored two goals in his farewell game.

Lachie Haysman tried hard against a quality midfield that included several VFL players. He finished off a quality year really strongly.

Edward Chantrell is a small defender and a real jack-in-the-box with clean ball use.

Jackson Paine concluded his 74-game OMFC career at this game. At MGS from 2006 to 2011, he was a member of the 2009 Athletics team, played in the 2011 1 st Volleyball team, and from 2009 to 2011 played in the 1 st XVIII, captaining it in 2011. He was 2011 Vice- Captain of Witherby. Jackson debuted for the OMs against the Old Xaverians in Round 1 on 6 April 2019, making his presence felt with two goals. He was Captain in 2023 and 2024, kicked 110 goals and was named on the best players’ list 35 times.

He came to the OMs after playing six games and kicking eight goals for Collingwood (2012-13) and 10 games with three goals for Brisbane (2014-16). As an AFL player his height was recorded as 194cm (6’4”) and his weight as 98kg. Jackson took maintaining his physical fitness very seriously while playing at the OMs.

Jackson was a true warrior for the OMs, throwing his increasingly battered body into every contest and more than a few times effectively playing on one leg. He is perhaps best remembered for his three four-goal efforts in the last four games of 2023, starting with the defeat of the Old Xaverians, to help keep the OMs in Premier A on percentage alone.

He was emotionally chaired off the ground by the Haysman brothers (full credit to them for managing that as they’re almost half his size) and his contribution to the club was lauded in the rooms, where the future could be seen: his young son in a No. 39 OMFC jumper standing on legs not long accustomed to performing such a feat.

It was a bitterly frustrating season that at times promised so much. Injuries (some long term) to most key players were an unavoidable frustration, followed by the completely avoidable frustration of the mass migration overseas – right when the OMs were fourth on the ladder in Round 11, in great form, and looking at playing in the finals. Ultimately, the OMs finished eighth, where they had spent most of the remainder of the season, three games and lots of percentage clear of Fitzroy, which goes down to Premier C along with Hampton Rovers. During the season the OMs beat Trinity (second) and Carey (fourth) with a sub-goal loss to Carey in Round 1. They had one sub-goal loss to both Ivanhoe (top of the ladder) and Caulfield (third).

At no stage did the OMs field a team that was close to its best, so the full potential was never realised. There was never a game in which the OMs gave their absolute best and yet fell short – there was always something that they had the ability to do better that could have won it. Early in the season it went ‘missing’ in every second quarter, often playing only two and a half quarters in the game, and yet still only just falling short in those losses. Apart from the first Trinity game, which was terrible (yet only a small loss) and the first Williamstown game, there was no losing game before Round 12 that the OMs could not have won had they played their best. In each of those losses, inaccuracy when kicking ‘gettable’ goals or occasionally going to sleep during a quarter was the only difference between losing and winning. By the time of the game against Old Geelong at South Yarra, some positional issues had been worked out and the team was working really well – often with some exciting young Under-19 players. With some improvement to both mindset and muscles, the OMs should be at the other end of the table this time next year.

See you then.

Lurch.