In wickedly windy conditions at Gillon Oval on Saturday, Brunswick bounced back from their narrow loss in the previous round to play some of their best football of the year on the way to recording their first victory over Whitefriars since 2017.

Kicking to the Sydney Road end in the first quarter, Jonny Haddad opened the scoring once again, before the NOBs struggled to get their hands on the ball and the Friars showed it was possible to score into the breeze. Mid-way through the term Hayden Parker and Gus Coverdale hit the scoreboard and the game then became a shoot-out, with a total of 10 goals for the quarter, with a late banana to Parker the best of the lot, but it was difficult to tell if 14 points was a good lead given the strength of the wind.

Brunswick quickly put paid to any such doubts in the early stages of the second term, as they went on a scoring spree. Back-to-back goals to Parker meant he had four in a quarter-and-a-bit, while Tom Wilson was lively and kicked his second, then Jasper Paevere provided the highlight with a brilliant blind turn and snap. Nick Burgin drifted forward to slot a classy major and Haddad’s second took the NOBs to a 50-point lead in the blink-of-an-eye.

The Friars managed to respond with two majors very late on to remind everyone they wouldn’t go quietly, but the home supporters were very pleased with what they had witnessed at half-time with 12 goals on-the-board.

The third term belonged to the away side as the wind became a true northerly blowing directly across the ground. Three early goals to the Friars meant they had kicked the last five of the game and the gap narrowed to 20 points. A snag to Josh Hedley was important to stem the flow, but at the final change it was back to a 19-point game.

At three-quarter time, coach Hunter put the acid on the players to finish off what they had started and Brunswick responded to the call, with goals to Burgin and Coverdale inside five minutes enough to snuff out the challenge. It was fitting that Haddad kicked his third in the dying minutes to ensure a final margin of six goals which better reflected the NOBs’ dominance on the day.

Gus Coverdale was best-on-ground with a dynamic performance topped off by three excellent goals. Jasper Paevere relished the extra responsibility of playing ruck and key forward with a fine four-quarter effort. Jake Ralston continues to impress in defence, while Josh Hedley and Ben Wilson led the midfield engine room. The forward-line, led by Haddad, Parker and Tom Wilson, was impressive in tough conditions.

Brunswick is now back in outright second on the ladder and face the top side, Parkside, this Saturday in huge away clash. Bring it on!