On a perfect day for football Brunswick NOBs made their long-awaited return to Gillon Oval against another tough opponent in Kew, who, after a tight first half, were able to put the game away in the “premiership quarter”.

The home side started brightly kicking to the Sydney Road end, creating plenty of chances, for which 2.3 was not a just reward. Skipper Nick Burgin was lively in the middle and up forward, slotting our opening goal, while newcomer Rhyen Woods kicked his first major for the club. JP Perez was again prominent and the backline was solid, with the lookalike Wills, McKenzie and Nevill, proving hard to beat, along with Darcy Heenan and Daniel Spiers.

Our promising start extended into the second quarter as we dominated general play early, led by James Moverley in the ruck. Unfortunately, though, we were not able to capitalise on our many forward entries. Griffin Barrett was another stand-out with his physicality, which led to our only goal of the term. As halftime approached, our propensity to turn the ball over increased, particularly when exiting defence, as we insisted on kicking short when some run-and-carry may have broken the lines.

After the main break Kew got right on top and we fell away badly, with our third quarter marked by turnovers and a lack of run. To the players’ credit, the effort was much better in the final term, with three goals apiece, but the damage had been done.

Despite the disappointment of the third quarter, there was much to like about some of the individual performances. Perez and Moverley were excellent all day, while Will McKenzie grew in stature as a key defender as the game progressed. Seventeen-year-old debutant Dave Marchione showed that he is very comfortable at senior level, while Reubin Fulton-Grigg was again good, as were Woods and Nevill.

This Saturday we travel across town to Toorak Park to take on Prahran Assumption, where a four-quarter effort can see us bringing home the points.