While a 23-point defeat by Collegians was not ideal, the loss did come with some positives, with the result determined to some extent by the Tigers’ own hand.
Collegians played precise, crisp football, executed their plan well and deserved to win, while North Beach paid dearly for skill errors in the quest to play their style of football which saw them hurt on the scoreboard by opposition counter attacks.
The endeavour and attitude of the Beach was hard to fault and there is no doubt the p;layers will benefit from the experience.
After an enterprising start, when the Beach kicked the first two goals, too often promising forward thrusts were ruined by poor skill execution. Collegians took advantage of those opportunities and worked their way to a 23-point victory – 14.12 (96) to 11.7 (73).
The Beach created a national amateur record of seven successive premierships before finishing third in 2011 and there is no doubt the bar has been raised by those clubs that now are the yardstick of the competition.
After a tight first half, Collegians took control and led by 38 points at the last change – an advantage that was built on slick ball use, hard run through the midfield and some clever finishing in attack.
To the credit of the North Beach players they mustered a challenge which gave them the scent of victory in the final term before Collegians engineered the last two goals to snuff out the challenge and remain undefeated at the completion of four rounds.
The Beach had a number of outstanding players who tried valiantly to lift them to victory, but unfortunately just as momentum was starting to shift and pressure was starting to mount, targets were missed and Collegians were effective on the counter attack.
For North Beach Andrew Nunan did so much of the bullocking work through the midfield, Jamie Sajich was efficient in defence along with the well-balanced Adrian Clark while Kyle Holden was a constant threat in attack.
The A-Reserves were clinical in their display against Collegians, who were also undefeated until the Beach dished out a comprehensive 47-point lesson.
From the outset the Tigers were in control, with a mix of experienced A-Grade players and rising young stars combining to carry their team to victory.
Tom Hazell and Jackson Harwood were the experienced heads who led the charge while ruckman Liam Vardy, playing his first game at the level, did a terrific job along with Jason Hall and Chris Mead.
The win was set up in the first half through a disciplined team effort, not allowing Collegians, at any point, to get their outside running game together with the Beach pushing hard, having numbers around the contest and ensuring maximum pressure at all times.
The Phil Scott Colts lost a tight contest by four points, but showed the capacity to match it with the best.
The win column did not receive a tick, but in so many other areas the team took a quantum leap forward. A break or two at crucial moments would surely have seen a better result, with Collegians eventually winning 5.8 (38) to 4.10 (34).
The Beach put severe tackling pressure on their opponents and with Josh Houghton-French, Simon Moore and Michael Hutchings setting the standard through the middle, the Beach, after a slow start, threatened to win.
The back six were outstanding, with Riley Carter slotting in to a role across half-back and combining with Sam Callow and Jordan Veitch to produce a terrific rebounding platform out of the back half.
Mat Barker and Tom Begley are working on developing some chemistry in attack and if the team can consistently produce the quality of football it did in this match, it will make many opponents nervous.
The D1-Grade scored a rare victory against University, surging to a 46-point victory on the back of an outstanding second half.
Reece Burns and Mark Foreman each bagged four goals while Adam Miotti chimed in with three to capitalise on the work a dominant midfield which included Jarrad Venus and Daniel Wheeler while defenders Michael Collins and Mitch Rakin were superb.
Unfortunately, the D1 Reserves paid the price for crucial skill errors and were beaten by 38 points, despite the impressive performances of Dave Hocking, Jordan Kickett, who kicked four of his team’s six goals, and Jake Collins.
After an even first half, the Brett Jones Colts fell away after the main break and slipped to a disappointing defeat.
Ryan Clapham was exceptional in the ruck, Tim Grapiglia led from the front and Joel Gray was typically tenacious, but too many players fell out of the game after half-time.
The E2 grade emerged victorious against High Wycombe by four points, but coach Peter Panagopolous is looking for greater consistency across the board, particularly from some players who have player in higher grades in previous seasons.
A-Grade
Collegians 2.6 7.9 12.12 14.12 96
North Beach 3.1 5.3 7.4 11.7 73
Goals – North Beach: Holden 3; Potts, Chamberlain 2; Bollen, Hann, Sajich, Dwyer 1.
Best – North Beach: Nunan, Sajich, Holden, Clark.
A-Reserves
North Beach 4.3 7.3 10.6 11.7 73
Collegians 0.1 1.2 1.5 3.8 26
Goals – North Beach: Harwood, Mead 3; Hazell 2; Griffiths, Hall, McComiskie 1.
Best – North Beach: Hazell, Hall, Vardy, T Langsford, Faithfull, Harwood.
Phil Scott Colts
Collegians 3.3 4.5 5.6 5.8 38
North Beach 1.0 3.1 4.6 4.10 34
Goals – North Beach: Begley 2; Hutchings, Waymouth 1.
Best – North Beach: Houghton-French, Moore, Hutchings, Callow, Carter, Zampogna, Baker.
D1-Grade
North Beach 3.1 5.2 9.3 15.4 94
University 2.1 3.2 6.5 7.6 48
Goals – North Beach: Burns, Foreman 4; Miotti 3; Piggott, Wheeler 2.
Best – North Beach: Venus, Foreman, Wheeler, M Collins, Takin.
D1-Reserves
University 11.13 (79) def North Beach 6.5 (41)
Goals – North Beach: Kickett 4; French 1.
Best – North Beach: Hocking, Kickett, J Collins.
Brett Jones Colts
University 2.2 3.5 7.5 9.10 64
North Beach 2.3 3.4 3.4 3.5 23
Goals – North Beach: Gray, Winterton, Grapiglia 1.
Best – North Beach: Clapham, Grapiglia, Gray.
