Brunswick NOBs vs South Melbourne Districts

Division 2
Score: 69 - 57
Brunswick Brunswick NOBs
3.4-22 4.5-29 7.7-49 10.9-69
0.5-5 6.7-43 7.8-50 8.9-57
South Melbourne Districts South Melbourne Districts
89 - 27
PEGS PEGS
80 - 33
Richmond Central Richmond Central
9 - 52
Richmond Central Richmond Central
11 - 38

Match Report

On a hard and fast track, Brunswick eventually prevailed over fourth-placed South Melbourne Districts in a close, entertaining contest at Gillon Oval on Saturday.

The last time these two teams met the margin was only two points and, once again, they were evenly matched in a game that had several momentum swings and went down to the wire, with valuable four points keeping the NOBs in second.

With no real wind to speak of, goals seemed to be easier to come by at the Pearson Street end in the first quarter. The Swans pressed hard but were inaccurate, while the NOBs defended well and were better in front of the sticks, starting with a bomb from 50 to young tall forward Alex Avraam, followed up by a crumbing goal in the square to Paul Scamporlino and then an easy one for Anth Alexandris, courtesy of a lovely pass from Gus Coverdale.

The second term began with a goal to the Swans inside the first minute to reduce the margin to 11 points, before a real arm wrestle ensued until midway through, when the visitors got on top in the midfield and slotted five more majors to take a 20-point lead, at about which time promising key defender Ewan Baulch went down with knee injury. Undeterred, the NOBs fought back to kick the last goal after the halftime siren through the returning Gabe Banova.

As has been the case many times this season, the third quarter was crucial and a goal from the opening bounce to Coverdale provided the perfect start and reduced the margin to eight points, before Alexandris snagged his second on the back of some excellent team play. The Swans got one back, but the NOBs were beginning to look the better team and a classy snap gave Alexandris his third, which was followed by a couple of misses to make it a one-point game at three-quarter time.

The last quarter again saw a goal kicked in the first minute, this time to Alexandris – who was having a great day up forward – to give Brunswick the lead for the first time since the second term, but it was cancelled out courtesy of a dubious 50m penalty to the Swans. The game then became a nail-biter as both sides struggled to score for the next 15 minutes, exemplified by two snaps from directly in front of the NOBs’ goals that floated out-on-the-full with the deficit sitting at one-point. In the end, though, Brunswick’s pressure was superior to that of the visitors, resulting in a captain’s goal to Ben Wilson to re-take the lead, followed by what proved to be the sealer to the busy Coverdale at the 24-minute mark.

Lewis White was the standout performer on the ground at centre half-back, marking everything in sight. Archie Fulton-Grigg continued his excellent form in the ruck, giving great service to the midfield, where Harris Mittar and Angus Ross were very good. Liam Whelan was again Mr Consistent down back, while Alex Avraam took a number of telling grabs late in the game. Other good contributors included Will McKenzie, Gus Coverdale and Anth Alexandris.

The big games keep on coming as the NOBs face old rivals Parade at Gillon this Saturday, this time in a triple-header starting with the U19s at 9.00am, and with the Coterie Lunch in the middle of it all. See you there!

Lineup
Goals
Best
21. Anthony Alexandris 4
1. Angus Coverdale 2
29. Alexander Avraam 1 6
8. Benjamin Wilson 1
25. Paul Scamporlino 1
34. Gabriel Banova 1
23. Lewis White 1
56. Archie Fulton-Grigg 2
32. Harris Mitter 3
5. Angus Ross 4
28. Liam Whelan 5
3. Will McKenzie
6. Lewis Bonney McKenzie
10. Aidan Pollock
11. Jonathon Haddad
14. Thomas Wilson
16. Joshua Hedley
17. Thomas Hedley
26. Matthew Horan
43. Ewan Baulch
45. Zephyr Hooke
Tahj Haddock

Venue location

Gillon Oval

Pearson St, north of Victoria St, Brunswick VIC