Two triple treats on the road were the highlights for SKOB who went a perfect 6 at Fitzroy and the Cobra Pit. On the back of a thrilling draw for the Seniors last week, SKOB produced a clinical four quarter performance in the twilight game at Brunswick St. The Seniors saluting by 73 points and carrying the number 4 jumper off the field as they honoured injured teammate Michael Pisker. Earlier the Reserves shook off the Roys, as did the Stingers in the game that kicked off the triple header. Over at the Cobra Pit, the Saints Green, Gold and Blue had their own triple header with all Saints teams saluting on the day. Back at TH King we had a 19s double with the Premier team big winners over last year's Preliminary finalist Caulfield which was preceded by a terrific win for our Div 2 team over Oakleigh (who were 4 spots ahead of them on the table coming in to the clash). The Div 4 team battled really hard against Xavs but found their hosts too strong on the day. Last but certainly not least, our Academy team monstered Old Trinity in the battle for final top two spot - winning by over 100 points. A fabulous day for the club as they registered 9 wins from 10.
Seniors navigate the Twilight Zone
Tommy Jok turned back the clock and put in his best performance for SKOB this season with a best on ground effort to steer SKOB comfortably home in the twilight fixture at Brunswick St. Booting the second goal of the day after Cam Hodges got the first, Jok was proving too hard to stop. Only poor conversion in front of the sticks after posting an early 3 snags prevented SKOB from owning a bigger lead at the first change. It took a while for the radar to straighten in term two as the tricolours went 7 behinds straight before finally finding the middle, although 4 of the next put paid to the contest as SKOB hit the sheds with a five goal buffer.
The locals and the visiting fans were enjoying the contest and making the most of the late start partaking of a few sips of hot tea (or maybe something slightly stronger) from the Luke Mahoney commemorative mugs at the main break.
The lights were on full blast for the third term as darkness fully enveloped the ground, but the contest was still well and truly on. The hosts were rallying for their supporters who were there in great numbers and they were hanging on before SKOB finished strongly in the third and then took the game right away in the last. The final six goals of the game all went the way of the visitors as they put their foot down and broke clear of a now tiring Fitzroy who had given a great effort but were unable to maintain all the way to the line. SKOB were clearly playing with their thoughts on missing teammate Michael Pisker, and at the final bell they proudly carried his guernsey from the field.
Patty Kerr booted another 4 goals to extend his lead at the top of the Sharpshooters list, while Jack Darmody and Cam Hodges chipped in with 3 apiece. Tom Jok booted 2 and another five SKOBBERS managed to hit the scoreboard as goals were shared across the board. Another pleasing performance for Coach Lynch. Four rounds to go with a mini break after next week, and still plenty of football to play across the comp. Next week's match at TH King against Old Scotch (3rd) will be a ripper.
Best for SKOB were: Tom Jok, Sam Cameron, Sam Critchley, Cam Hodges, Andrew Mathieson and William Pfeiffer
Twos shake off roys with strong finish
Another short report for the Ressies this week. Bedecked in their Pride jumpers, Coach Clough's boys were always about a goal or two in front of Fitzroy who threatened throughout the day but never able to land the knockout blow. The Ressies had the answers whenever challenged and pulled away comfortably enough in the last quarter (aside for a bit of wayward kicking) to salute by a tick over 5 twins in the finish.
Best for SKOB were Hamish Reimers, William Cooper, Cooper Chaffey, Vlad Stevancevic, Hamish Serpell and Tom Sullivan
Academy send a message
Our man found his way to Bulleen on Saturday to catch the action as the Academy played Old Trinity for the double chance:
"Heading out through the Big Build roadworks in Bulleen The Academy lads rolled into their final home and away fixture with a finals mentality. Challenged after a perplexing poor showing the previous week at Camberwell, the young Skobs set to work from the opening bounce and brought the hunting mentality to the contest that has been their hallmark. With the twin talls of Romanin and Dmac in the centre the green, gold and blue (and red and purple and orange in the Pride strip) were given first service and dominated clearances. With Jet Brown, Liam Foo and Jordan Arazi bringing elite pressure to the contest the Trinity team retreated back into the hedges and Skobs took control of the game.
Skob put the game away in Q3 and leading by plenty at ¾ were challenged to send a message to the competition. With a forward line of Richie, Canning, Wilmott and Dieter all firing and combining a message was sent – bold, underlined and flashing – ‘the Skob Academy is coming!!’. 110 point demolition of another finalist
Old Xavs this week (probably at Basil Reserve, day and time TBC) for the first spot in the Premier Thirds Grand Final."
BEST: Matthew Canning, Xander Dietze, Jordan Arazi, Jack Romanin, Jettson Brown, Liam Foo
Stingers nearly stung, climb another rung
The Stingers kicked off the triple treat at Brunswick Street, and were pushed all the way by Fitzroy who were fired up for a big day for the club. The Roys had already sealed up their spot in the finals but were looking to take down a major scalp coming in to the post season. They held sway for most of the contest, turning for home with a 9 point lead over SKOB, but the Will Brothers found the secret sauce at the last change and squeezed the best out of the stingers as SKOB surged late to boot four goals to one in the last stanza and salute by 13.
A big task now awaits SKOB as they play the unbeaten Xavs in the Second Semi, but having won six on the trot, are hitting the finals in strong form.
The best of the stingers were Christian Dachs, Noah Montague, Sam Close, Harris Buultjens, Zach Close and Julian Chaffey
Cobra killers
Our other triple treat on the day was at Doncaster Reserve where the Saints Green, Gold and Blue were all fixtures to play the Old Yarra Cobras. It was the first time out to the Cobra pit for the Saints but all teams handled the conditions and opposition well with SKOB recording three wins from three - all very convincingly. The Golds were the main feature at 2pm and they jumped right into the task. Keeping their hosts scoreless for a half was a great start, and when the teams hit then sheds for the main break, SKOB had the game well in their keeping. This is a very sharp SKOB unit with talent across the board, but they know that no less than a team effort is required to get the results, and again on Saturday they demonstrated this, working cohesively across the ground and being ruthless when in attack. Hannah Smith was the main beneficiary of team mates up the field, finishing with 4 goals as SKOB put the cobras to the sword. The strong win maintained their unbeaten record, although Old Scotch are not letting the Saints get away and are only a game behind, breathing down their neck. With 4 rounds to play there’s a lot of footy left in the book.
Best for the Saints Gold were Kate Stanton, Bree Doyle, Hannah Smith, Lily Davies, Emily Condon and Tessa Boyd
Slow start - fast finish as Jess goes boom
In the game for the Blues, he who wears no shoes, was flummoxed at the first change with the board showing no score - to either side. The Cobra Pit was clearly proving a challenging place to navigate and it didn’t exactly rain goals in quarter two as the Saints went to the main break having been the only team to trouble the calico wavers - and that was only once. The second half saw the Blues start to carve a path through the Cobra wall and hit the scoreboard more frequently, and in the last term boot 3.3 to zip and run out 39 point winners at the close. Jess Mounas was the happiest up forward and booted 3 goals for the Blues. Best players were Charlotte Waller, Molly Howard, Isabella Hoal, Jess Mounas, Eliza Doble, Rachael Wilson.
The Green Machine set the tone for the day as they opened proceedings with a strong win over the Cobras. Learning from their sluggish start last weekend, they made sure they were ready from the get go and piled on 2.4 to nothing in term one to take control of the contest. It was control they never looked like losing as they managed to hold out their hosts through the third term before finishing the better in the last and getting home by 30 points. With only one round to go the Greens are now guaranteed to finish the home and away on top - a terrific effort, but plenty still to play for as the business end of the season draws near
The greenest of the Greens were Emily Wallace, Isabella Calder, Kate Shannon, Zahra Mannix, Lucy Straford and Lauren Barnes
Thanks to Sarah Withers for capturing some of the action from the Saints on Saturday.
Heritage 19's - a vintage crop
Wearing the heritage jumpers at TH King, the Under 19 Premier team were looking to make a statement of their own against last year’s preliminary finalists Caulfield Grammarians. A seven goal opening term put SKOB 31 points ahead at the first change and although things were tighter in the second term, a thirteen goal pile on after half time sealed the deal in emphatic fashion as SKOB saluted by 114 points, gathering vital percentage along the way with spots in the top four incredibly close. For Coach Harry and Greeny there were options galore up forward with 6 players registering multiple goals. The heritage jumpers copped a real pasting from the TH King mud, but word has it that by Saturday night the team manager had them cleaned and looking good as new.
Best for SKOB were Jack Luscombe (BOG - also 3 goals), Nicholas DYNAN (4 goals), Liam Edwards, Hudson Lefoe (5 goals) , Xavier Duke and Elliot Mahoney (also 2 goals)
Divvy 2's the biggest news
The result of the weekend this round was in U19 Div 2 where the mighty SKOB trimuphed over Oakleigh Krushers - who had entered the round in third spot and were looking to firm up their finals spot. But it was a Krusher of a different kind who would call the shots today as Coach Krusher and Jacko willed their lads onto a fighting victory.
Coming in to the game, the SKOB boys knew they were a strong chance as recent results have not been a fair reflection of the way they have been playing. Whilst they have not registered the wins, they have put together some strong efforts and it was only a matter of time before it would all click. Starting well, SKOB were able to match the Krushers in the first, then edged away in term 2. Another even third quarter saw them take a slender 5 point break into the last quarter and then finishing with 4 goals to 3 they extended out to a terrific and well deserved 13 point win. It won't take them into the finals race, but SKOB are looking to shape the four by finishing out the season strongly. Best for SKOB were Seb Duffy (the "Duffman" was BOG and slotted 4 goals to boot), Mark O'Mahony, Lachie Teal, Alexander Smith, Lachlan Groves, Jack Ball.
Our Div 4’s gave plenty of effort but alas were not able to match Old Xavs for four quarters at Stradbroke Park. Best for SKOB were Valentino Scopelliti, Jack Hillyer, Matisse Kerr, Edward Harmon, Josh Bayley and Jack Elsworth
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