By Gary Stocks
An irresistible second half performance saw North Beach power its way to an emphatic 55-point win over Collegians at Dalkeith Oval last Saturday.
Leading by just five points at half-time, the intensity of the Beach at the contest, running capacity and several strong and reliable targets inside the attacking 50, saw the club secure its first victory of the season.
The triumph was set up by a brilliant third term, when Collegians were held goalless when kicking with the aid of a healthy breeze, as the Beach accelerated away and won 15.15 (105) to 7.8 (50) victory.
There were winners all over the ground, but the work of Mitch Dwyer, Kyle Riemann and Matt Power through the midfield ensured there were plenty of goal-scoring opportunities and players like Joe Boys, who was in control at centre half-forward, Kyle Holden and Christian Bottechia enjoyed the steady flow of football inside 50.
James Lee, Josh McGinnity and Andrew Langsford were also lively while the rebound out of the back half was led by Aaron Jarvis, Adrian Clarke and Matt Irvine.
The Beach grew in confidence as the game progressed and in the end they carried too much firepower for their opponents.
The A-Reserves continued their impressive start to the season with a solid 29-point win, albeit in a scrappy game where they never quite reached optimum performance levels.
After an even first quarter, the Beach adjusted to conditions and was never headed after establishing a three- goal lead going into the main break.
Ben Sweeney was dominant down back and was provided rebound off the half back line, combining with Michael Italiano and Dion Cownie to control the middle of the ground.
With Sam Green and Cale Potts capitalising on this down forward the boys controlled the game and took home the four points.
The D-Grade continued its exhilarating start to the season with a 96-point drubbing of Bullcreek-Leeming.
With a win of that magnitude clearly all players performed their roles, with strong run and spread and disciplined team defence all over the ground, but Tom Begley was simply outstanding at centre half-forward.
He marked everything that came his way and brought other players into the contest.
Jamie Cosgrove and Jake Carmody were also exceptional while Steve Tindale kicked five goals.
The D1-Reserves produced another outstanding team performance, scoring a comprehensive 78-point win over Bullcreek-Leeming.
The Beach was in control from the outset, with the opposition pushing inside their attacking 50 just twice for the quarter. The ability of the home team’s midfielders to bide their time and wait for Bullcreek to turn it over was a positive along with the counter running and ball skills
A disciplined effort through the midfield, ruck domination, defensive grunt and forward line cohesion saw the Beach in control in every facet of the game.
In the third term, when Ronald O’Neil moved to centre half-forward to cover for the injured Hayden French , momentum was sustained.
The determination and dare of Tim Vander Kraats and Jake Carter run off their opponents really broke Bullcreek’s forward line apart.
The E2-Grade completed an outstanding day, which saw all five senior teams claim the points, when they finished too strongly for North Fremantle.
They were at their best in the premiership quarter, setting up the victory with a terrific team effort against the breeze. Luke King, Paul Abbott and Brett Anthony were all influential as they produced an inspired eight-point win.
Most pleasing was the impact of club stalwarts Ryan Staniforth, Luke King and Scott Brown.
The Phil Scott Colts confronted one of the competition heavyweights for the second week in succession and while competitive could not match the opposition’s quality output for sustained periods.
North Beach worked hard, but allowed Collegians to too often have players sitting loose outside the contest and with superior skill the students scored a 44-point victory. The margin did not reflect the output of the Beach, but they learned a lesson in team efficiency and structure.
Typically, the Beach had to work for their goals, with Joel Gray in the midfield, Paul Clark at centre half-forward and Mitch Aarons, in defence and on a wing, showing great application but too much was left to too few.
There was, however, some encouraging signs and the first win is not far away.
The Brett Jones Colts produced a fighting performance against Collegians, a club with a strong history at colts level, before falling to a six-point defeat.
Kicking with the breeze in the opening terms, North Beach controlled play across the midfield led by Ryan Ekert in the ruck and Steve Clarke at his feet, who took the game on with his burst of pace.
Unfortunately, the Beach were unable to convert numerous inside 50 efforts into goals, managing only four majors, as the Collegians defence rebounded well.
Like North Beach in the opening term, Collegians struggled to make full use of the strong breeze in the second quarter and went into the half time break only three points ahead.
After half time the wind dropped off and so did North Beach’s work rate as forwards and midfielders looked fatigued. Collegians capitalised on North Beach’s inability to retain team structures and won the quarter by 2.4 to 0.2 points. One of the goals was awarded after Will Hooper rushed a behind, the umpire deemed him to be under no pressure and imposed a free kick in the square.
Josh Cuzens showed great character after receiving a solid shirt front in the first quarter, but returned in the third term to have immediate in and under impact at stoppages.
Details
A-Grade
North Beach 2.2 7.5 10.12 15.15 105
Collegians 4-2 6.6 6.7 7.8 50
GOALS – North Beach: Bottecchia, Boys, Harwood 3 , Lee 3; Holden, Jarvis , McGinnity 1 .
BEST – North Beach: Lee, A Langsford, Boys, Riemann, Jarvis, Holden, McGinnity, Clarke.

A-Reserves
North Beach 3.2 6.3 7.7 9.10 64
Collegians 3.2 3.2 4.2 5.5 35
GOALS – North Beach: Potts 3; Bowdell, Cownie, Green, Griffiths, Italiano, Wilson 1.
BEST – North Beach: Sweeny, Italiano, Cownie.

D1-Grade
North Beach       4.6          8.7          13.10     16.13     109
Bullcreek             0.0          2.1            2.1           2.1         13
GOALS – North Beach: Tindale 5; Foreman, Kickett 3; Campbell, Horton-French, Wilkins, S Wilson 1.
BEST – North Beach: Bedgley, Cosgrove, Carmody.

D1-Reserves
North Beach 15.15 (105) def Bullcreek-Leeming 4.3 (27)
GOALS – North Beach: Bramley 5; McEvoy , Kelly 3; O’Neil 2; Gangemi.
BEST – North Beach: J Collins, Mirabile, J Carter, Kelly , O’Neil, Lang, Mahony.

E2-Grade
North Beach       0.1          3.1          7.5          8.7          55
North Frem.       3.3          5.3          5.5          7.5           47
GOALS – North Beach: King 4; Abbott 2; Brown, Litas.
BEST – North Beach: King, Murphy, Anthony, Abbott.

Phil Scott Colts
Collegians 3.3 6.6 10.7 12.12 84
North Beach 2.0 4.0 6.2 6.4 40
GOALS – North Beach: Cameron 2; Clark, Lynch, Morgan, Reid.
BEST – North Beach: Gray, Clarke, Aarons.

Brett Jones Colts
Collegians 2.3 4.8 6.12 6.13 49
North Beach 4.3 4.5 4.7 6.7 43
GOALS – North Beach: Stacey 2; Tonus, Byrne, Ekert, J Cuzens 1.
BEST – North Beach: Ekert, Tonus, Elphick, S Clarke.