SEASON 2021 - JUNE 19 East Malvern Community Bank® Branch are proud sponsors of Amateur Football. With every product or service we offer, money goes back into the community to support local clubs, organisations and initiatives like Amateur Football. As an East Malvern Community Bank® Branch customer you benefit from competitive products and great service and get the satisfaction of knowing your banking is contributing to your club. To find out how your club can benefit for each referral made, call into East Malvern Community Bank® Branch at 300 Waverley Road, East Malvern or phone Branch Manager, 5XWK+DOO on 9563 6044. East Malvern Community Bank® Branch Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited, ABN 11 068 049 178 AFSL/Australian Credit Licence 237879. (S51971) (05/15) INJURED? EPWORTH RICHMOND EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT Open 24/7 | Ph 03 9506 3000 62 Erin Street, Richmond VIC 3121 See current wait time: epworth.org.au IN AN EMERGENCY ALWAYS CALL 000 FIRST epworth.org.au EDITORIAL Return to play imminent, Brett Connell - VAFA CEO positive updates As we go to print there is still much uncertainty related to the Round on Mother’s Day weekend. Clubs upcoming Round 10 of the 2021 VAFA Season. turned pink in an amazing show of support, The major focus will be on the 25km radius requirement, with pink socks dominating social media crowd numbers and advice related to density limits - along with match day luncheons, raffl es, and specifi cally related to changerooms and social facilities. Rest donation tins. The fi nal tally of $19,569 is the highest of assured, we are working closely with AFL Victoria in relation all participating leagues and associations and blew away to these matters and will advise all clubs as soon as this the VAFA’s initial collective fundraising target of $10,000. information comes to hand. Canterbury raised a competition high $5268, followed by Old Brighton ($2343), Hampton Rovers ($2228), Old The VAFA Board and Administration thank all clubs and Ivanhoe ($1942), Richmond Central ($1710) and Prahran umpires who completed the recent survey related to club, Assumption ($1606). The VAFA congratulates and thanks team, player, coach, umpire and volunteer availability across all participating clubs and looks forward to building on the the upcoming competition bye (July 10) and thoughts on success of PLAY4BCNA Round into the future. reducing the VAFA Finals Series to accommodate more H&A matches – as we explore all avenues available to maximise Please also note that due to the recent State Government competition across all of our grades. Circuit Breaker lockdown, VAFA partners Thick & Thin and Tackle Your The VAFA Board will consider these VAFA partners Feelings have postponed their Mental results and we will advise of the outcome(s) shortly. Thick & Thin Health Breakfast which was due to take place on Wednesday June 16. On a positive note, the VAFA would like and Tackle Your The new date for this event has been to sincerely thank all of our clubs who set for Wednesday July 28 with more made fi rst round instalments of their Feelings have information to follow. affi liation fees due on April 30, a fi rst in my time at the helm. We are reviewing postponed their By way of an update, recent staffi ng the current May 31 and June 30 second changes sees Paul Wagland and third instalment deadlines in line Mental Health (Partnerships Manager) leave us to with the related COVID policy and will further his career in another line of advise further. work. We thank Paul for his drive, Breakfast energy and focus in the sponsor and This year the VAFA has teamed with My partnerships area of the business. Paul Sport Live (MSL) to offer livestreaming opportunities to all will leave us on Friday June 25, with a replacement currently VAFA clubs. This new initiative, borne out of the desire to being sought. We wish Paul all the very best with his future showcase our whole competition to a broader audience, has endeavours. received fantastic feedback - the Emmaus St Leos Breast Cancer Awareness Match, Mazenod OC’s Founders Day, We have also recently added Susan Miller to the Melbourne University Women’s & Fitzroy-ACU’s Pride Match Administration Team as Administration Offi cer. Susan and the upcoming Hawthorn AFC Wings Luncheon and began on Tuesday June 15 and will focus on supporting match all examples of the VAFA’s reach and support of men’s Administration across the areas of General Administration, divisional and women’s football across our competition. Finance and Events. Susan replaces Bec Carter who Should your club wish to explore livestreaming upcoming has returned to Canberra to pursue her state league games please contact Nick Armistead (Head of Media). cricket commitments. Bec will continue to be part of the It is also with great pride that we advise that VAFA clubs Administration team working remotely on key projects on a raised more than $19,000 for Breast Cancer Network casual basis. Australia through their fundraising efforts over PLAY4BCNA See you at the Footy - hopefully The Amateur Footballer The Journal of the Victorian Amateur Football Association June 19, 2021 I Vol 20 No. 10 1 WILLIAM BUCK PREMIER MEN’S Nick Armistead William Buck Premier Men’s Mid-Season Review St Kevin’s OB (6-1) returns. Kieran Harper (16), Grimley (13) and Fasolo (11) all sit Speaking to senior coach, Guy Martyn, on the Saturday Warm-Up in the top 15 goal kickers, as does Dan Batarilo (12) who would ahead of SKOB’s Round 6 game against Old Melburnians, he arguably be leading their B&F alongside Cam O’Shea. admitted that – despite sitting second on the ladder – SKOB were Old Brighton (5-2) just ‘going along’. Most notably, they had kicked just 309 points in their fi rst fi ve games and ranked eighth in that category. It was Coming off a Round 7 loss to Old Xavs, the Tonners slipped from that match at EP, however, when SKOB stamped their authority second to fourth spot on the ladder but remain a game above on the competition with a commanding 74-point win over OM’s, those trying to force their way in. They’ve started the season putting to bed their goal kicking woes with a season-high 19.12 in true Brighton fashion, with a hard-hitting and hard-running (126) – their fi rst score over 100. They went on to claim a R7 style of play led by Harry Hill, Nick Pavlou, and Tom Fisher. They defeated Uni Blues in Round 1 and only just fell to SKOB by victory over St Bernard’s but most importantly, after kicking three points in Round 2, before going on a four-game winning a combined 40 goals and 69 behinds in their fi rst fi ve games, streak that included wins over Caulfi eld (52) and OMs (12). they found their range and slotted 32.20 in those two games. Despite injuring his hamstring in their last outing, Jack Watts has Defensively, they continue to dominate, ranking fi rst with 54 been one of the stories of the year after coming to the Old Boys points against with Will Coates, Sam Critchley, and Conor Ross following his AFL career (Melbourne FC and Port Adelaide) and, patrolling the back 50. Josh Wallis and Tom Jok have been as he explained on the FTLOTG VAFA Podcast, enjoying his football outstanding through the midfi eld, while Riley Bowman has starred again. as number one ruck in his fi rst year at the club. Caulfi eld Grammarians (4-3) Old Xaverians (5-2) The 2019 Premier B champions opened the season under a With James Byrne (coach) and Marcus Stavrou (captain) taking baptism of A Grade fi re and lost their fi rst three games in a row the reins at the start of the season, Old Xaverians quickly against OMs (54), Uni Blues (20) and Old Brighton (52). Round established themselves as a serious fi nals threat yet again with 4 proved the turning point for the Fields’ season with their three dominant wins. After defeating St Bernard’s (32) and Old 84-point win over Trinity followed by a thrilling six-point victory Scotch (94) in the opening two rounds, Xavs dismantled SKOB over Xavs. They’ve since defeated the Snow Dogs and Scotch, by 61 points in Round 3 – arguably the win of the season so stringing together four wins in a row. Most impressively, no team far. Despite consecutive losses to Uni Blues and Caulfi eld in has kicked more points than Caulfi eld since Round 4 with three Rounds 4 and 5, Xavs hit back and now sit in second spot on the scores 100+ at an average of 114.5ppg. Their biggest concern is ladder. After kicking 10 goals in Round 1, Rohan Bewick leads a that they currently ranked eighth for points against. Julian Dobosz star-studded forward line of Xavier Richards, Julian Soccio, Grant (16) and Brett Eddy (15) are the key cogs up forward, while Will Valles, Michael Batten and Ryan Schoenmakers (when required) Edwards and, more recently Dane Crognale, have dominated that averages a competition-high 100ppg. Stavrou and Dan through the middle. Robinson will be polling heavily through the midfi eld, while Jordan Kelly, Jack Noone, Jack Whitehead and Will Hams lead a defence Old Melburnians (4-3) that ranks second behind only SKOB. With Paul Satterley at the helm and the key additions of Sam Dunell, the Haysman and Nichols brothers, it was an explosive University Blues (5-2) start to the season for OMs.