In a game of two halves, St Bedes/Mentone Tigers defeated St Bernards by 41 points and moved to second place on the VAFA Premier section ladder.
On a heavy track and with a swirling breeze, the first quarter was an arm wrestle with both sides inaccurate in front of goal. Pat Tyquin and Tim Doherty were in it early and Michael Barnes was the lone goal scorer for the quarter.
The slog resumed after the first break before Luke Terrell found the goals at the 11 minute mark. But for the remainder of the quarter it was all Snowdogs who were showing us how to find space at the Snakepit. Fortunately for the Tigers, the Snowdogs were inaccurate in front of goal, while for the home side, injuries to two of their talls was going to be telling.
After strong words from coach Mick Dwyer, the Tigers took charge after the long break. Paul Wintle was commanding down back and the likes of Tom Garside, Hayden Jeans and Pat Kean were linking up well. A snap from Peter McGettian and an accurate set shot from Pat Kean quickly removed the deficit. Shaun Glennen swooped on an inaccurate switch and the Tigers had the lead. All over the ground the Tigers were starting to get on top. The Tigers’ defence found its rhythm, keeping the locals to a miserly behind for the quarter. Chris Richards and Steve Doherty were giving drive across the middle and James Murnane and Michael Barnes finished off well in front of goal to give the Tigers a 4 goal advantage at the last break.
The Tigers continued with their good form in the final quarter, scoring 5 goals to 2 to eventually run out 41 point winners, grabbing second spot from Uni Blacks who lost narrowly to Collegians.
The Reserves were beaten but competitive with Lewis Stutterd and Sammy Nicolls leading the way.
Like the Seniors, The U19 Premier boys were in a real contest until the second half where they broke away from University Blues with a seven goal third term and eventually won by 30 points to retain second spot. The U19 South team were able to keep Monash Blues scoreless in two quarters, and lead by Will Lawrence and Michael O’Connor, recorded a 38 point win to also retain second spot.