SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

[Demonland 70,166]

by Whispering Jack

Once upon a time it was known as the VFA but now it's the VFL. The history goes back one hundred and thirty years and one of its great features is that its traditional rivalries continue today on old-time football fields in a way that they no longer do with its elite AFL counterpart.

You can go down to a local ground and see personalities mingling with the crowds before the game as I did on Saturday. There was Ernie Dingo having a kick on the ground with a young kid before the game, Brownlow Medallist Barry Round was watching near the social club while Mick Malthouse walked past me in the first quarter trying to look anonymous. Magpie cheer squad megastar Joffa looked resplendent with his straggly blond locks blowing in the wind and no gold jacket in sight. Former Saints and Hawk star Russell Greene was there and so apparently was Stinga! There were Melbourne stars and Collingwood stars and personalities from the old VFA and it was all part of a relaxing afternoon that included an interesting and absorbing spectacle that provided a smorgasbord of veteran footballers, up and comers, current VFL stars and together they produced some good old fashioned football.

This week's participants at the Trevor Barker Beach Road Oval, Sandringham and Williamstown are old rivals whose past clashes rank among the competition's most memorable and the fact that they are aligned with two old league rivals in Melbourne and Collingwood makes their meeting even more attractive to football's diehards; they provide a setting and an atmosphere that’s compelling in these days of commercialism and sanitised stadiums with roofs that keep out the elements, the birds and the joys of suburban football.

Something for everyone.

The undefeated Zebras led all day and reclaimed top position on the ladder (lost to Geelong only because Sandringham had the bye last week) by accounting for their rivals who were also undefeated (Williamstown have drawn two of their first five games) by 22 points, 16.16.112 to 13.12.90.

The game was given a boost with the inclusion of Melbourne stars Russell Robertson (returning from a knee injury) and Byron Pickett (after a week of high drama over his absence a week ago when an emergency for the Demons’ game against the Bulldogs). Neither of them disappointed the fans and the joined with Clint Bizzell, Paul Wheatley, youngsters Chris Johnston and Michael Newton and Zebra luminaries in Peter Summers and skipper Chad Liddell to keep a willing Seagull combination at bay.

From the very opening bounce of the game, this was never going to be easy for Sandy which had the advantage of a blustery breeze aiding the southern end of the ground. Robbo was in the thick of things early taking a strong mark and missing from straight in front but he soon made amends and had a couple of goals on the board by quarter time. There was already no doubt that he was back in town and headed for an assignation in the AFL in a week’s time. He finished with eight marks and booted 4.3 and showed no ill effects from his knee injury suffered in round 2 against Hawthorn.

The Zebras lost centre half forward Rod Crowe to concussion early in the game and this provided the improving Michael Newton with an opportunity to make that key position his own. He handled the task well finishing with a wayward 2.5 for the game plus a number of assists in an excellent display of forward work that suggests it won’t be too long before he joins Robertson at Melbourne. The other standout player early in the game was David Gallagher who had the ball on a string and he was instrumental in setting up the 26-point quarter time lead.

Sandringham appeared to be cruising early in the second quarter and built its lead to in excess of five goals before Williamstown moved into another gear and began to play a far more attacking brand of football. The catalyst might well have been the report of full back Chris Lamb for allegedly striking Williamstown's Dean Limbach. Lamb was off injured not long after and again this brought another Demon youngster, James Frawley, under the spot light at full back. Frawley acquitted himself well there and appears to have a future in the game. It was not his fault that a few late goals to the Seagulls allowed the Zebras’ lead to dwindle down to 9 points at the main break.

Sandy continued to find the going tough in the third quarter but with Bizzell and Chris Johnson solid in defence and Wheatley providing plenty of spark across midfield, it gradually added to its lead with skipper Liddell chiming in with a long, long goal. Neaves was having the better of the ruck duels with experienced Guy Richards while Gallagher, Summers and Shane Valenti were all busy picking up kicks and backing up their teammates.

Byron Pickett stood out with his head bandaged (the legacy of that incident against Port Adelaide a fortnight ago). He floated across half-forward, occasionally stung like a bee and snagged a couple of goals playing with more purpose than we’ve seen from him all year.

The question at three quarter time was whether Sandringham could hold on to its 17-point lead in the face of the strong wind advantage seemingly held in the final term by the visitors. Mark Williams did his level best to convince his players that the wind would not be the factor that won or lost the game and it was just a matter of level heads and kicking well into the forward line where there were plenty of men capable of kicking goals. It worked but for the fact that those forwards struggled to stay on target but with Pickett and Hughes both goaling there was never going to be an upset on this day although Willi fought it out admirably.

Next week sees another break for Sandy with the interstate game against the WAFL, a game in which the Zebras are likely to be represented by up to six players with Andrew Biddlecombe, Rod Crowe, Ezra Poyas, Nick Sautner, Peter Summers and Shane Valenti all named this week in the VFL squad. Rennie Gilchrist, Stefan Martin and Tomi Johnston will represent VFL South against VFL North in an Under 23 game.

HOW THE DEMONS FARED

Clint Bizzell – at times was reminiscent of the player we got to know as the general of Melbourne’s backline. He was calm and cool in defence for much of the day although a few mistakes crept in to his play late in the day.

Simon Buckley – started off on the bench and we didn’t see much of him until the third quarter, nor did he have much of an impact whilst on the ground.

James Frawley – the first time I’ve seen him play live at this level and, on what I saw, he’s an excellent first round draft pick. He’s a natural and, while he didn’t star, showed enough football nous, speed and ability to suggest that he might be able to grab a tall defender’s position with the Demons before the halfway mark of the season.

Colin Garland – in and out of the game but when he was “in” he showed enough in attack and in defence to suggest that he could become a very handy player at AFL level in the future.

Ben Holland – at teams was as solid as a rock in defence but he seemed to go missing in stages and gave his opponent too much latitude.

Daniel Hughes ® - another player who didn’t see much action early but he came into it in the second half and impressed with some strong marks.

Chris Johnson – generally very good but with a few poor disposals which might be forgiven in view of the trying conditions.

Shane Neaves ® - had a good game in the ruck and overshadowed Guy Richards. I can’t be 100% sure of this but he appears to have grown a few centimeters since first recruited and he’s now a very big unit. If he can pick up a yard or a metre in pace over the summer he could be a handy player in the red and blue in 2008.

Michael Newton – an interesting game. He tried to perform some of the freakish tricks he has in his footballing wardrobe - a couple of speccies, the odd kick around the corner etc. None of them really came off but they will happen regularly as he gathers experience. What did impress me was the fact that he was doing all of the other things that have sometimes been absent from his game – the second efforts, strong tackles, backing up and the like. His tackle of Chris Egan dispossessed the young Magpie but the umpire was blindsided so he let it go. Egan got the ball again and Juice repeated the dose. This time the free was paid and the Zebras goaled as a result while Egan left the ground with a knee injury. You can’t blame Newton for that but it showed that he’s on a fast learning curve.

Byron Pickett – must be kicking himself for his lapses in judgment last weekend. His absence from the Melbourne side over the next month could hurt both him and the club. Too good a player to be stuck at this level for that period of time and it’s a trifle late in his career to start learning the value of discipline.

Russell Robertson – the Robbo of old. A real jumping jack and there were no signs of the hyper-extended knee injury.

Paul Wheatley – appeared to be favouring his shoulder a bit early but he got better as his confidence grew. Took on the Williamstown forwards and was a great contributor.

Seniors

Sandringham 5.3.35 9.5.59 13.9.87 16.16.112

Williamstown 1.1.7 7.8.50 10.10.70 13.12.90

Goals

Sandringham Robertson 4 Sautner 3 Hughes Newton Pickett 2 Gallagher Garland Liddell

Williamstown Johnson 4 Clarke Greene Iles Limbach Medhurst Meyer Proctor Rose Williams

Best

Sandringham C Johnson Wheatley Holland Bizzell Summers Neaves

Williamstown Johnson Stanley McKenzie Proctor Nicholls Clarke

ZEBRA RESERVES UPSET SEAGULLS

Despite almost kicking the game away in the first quarter, the young Zebra reserves side managed to hold off a persistent Williamstown to run out winners by five points to record their third win of the season and to remain in touch with the top five of the VFL reserves competition.

Melbourne youngster Heath Neville played his best game so far for the club while Tom Paterakis continued to produce the excellent form that has been a feature of his game so far this season. Both are in line for senior selection if an opening can be found. Daniel Gribbin and Peter McGettigan were also solid in a tough tight struggle for the Zebras.

Reserves

Sandringham 2.13.25 4.15.39 8.19.67 11.20.86

Williamstown 3.3.21 5.9.39 7.11.53 11.15.81

Goals

Sandringham Gileno 3 Zarra 2 Curcio T. Johnston Martin Martyn McKenzie Turcarelli

Williamstown Beaumont Stretton 2 Chiu Cook Darvell 2 Keddell Kennedy MacAffer Miller

Best

Sandringham Neville Paterakis Dean Turcarelli McGettigan Gribbin

Williamstown Cravino Boyd Foley Crawford Stretton Miller