2016 VAFA Premier B Preliminary Final: Beaumaris 16.13.109 defeated Old Scotch 12.3.75

Beaumaris has outlasted Old Scotch in the Premier B preliminary final to progress to the ultimate showdown against St Bede’s/Mentone. Led by four goals from big man Daniel Gribbin and three from Stephen Milne, the Sharks overcame a slow start to gradually take control of the game and ran out with a 34-point win on the back of a dominant but inaccurate final term. 

First Quarter: Old Scotch 5.1.31, Beaumaris 4.2.26
Beaumaris forced the ball forward and Matthew Petering roved a stoppage, got the handball to Milne who snapped but missed for the opening behind of the game. The Cardinals started with a rush, getting three goals on the board in the opening five minutes. Ashley Lim had a free kick, then a 25m penalty put him within scoring distance and he converted the set shot. Back in the middle, Hugo Perry roved his own tap and kicked long inside 50 where he found Max Van den Broek who kicked truly. Not long after, Aidan Franetic kicked long and found Jono Daggian inside 50; he handballed to Matthew Seed who finished off the Cardinals third goal in quick time. Josh Ward intercepted a Scotch defensive clearance but could only manage a point from his set shot. From the kick out, Scotch went coast-to-coast with one of the plays of the day. Callum McDonough kicked out to Scott Sherwen, who got it to Seed and sent it on to Perry. Perry missed Jack Bull inside 50, but Daggian managed a clever tap and Angus Harlock found himself with the ball and finished off from the goalsquare. Adding to the Sharks pain, Robert Cathcart was worse-for-wear after a heavy collision and Steven Scott wasn’t looking good after being tackled heavily over the boundary line. Milne slotted the Sharks first halfway through the quarter with a great smother and snap on the run after the Cardinals went across goal in the backline. Jack Furey received a pass from James Bowden who showed some fancy footwork with a nice sidestep. From this point, Beaumaris switched on and added three goals in six minutes late in the quarter. Ward stood up strong on the half forward line, beating two defenders and delivering inside 50 to Petering who kicked truly. Milne added another one with a clever snap after receiving a long pass from Lachlan Boyd. Soon after, Boyd did well at a throw-in, getting it straight to Gribbin who followed up with a handball to Adam Schneider, who kicked the final goal of the term. Both teams went scoreless for the last five minutes of the quarter, making it a five point game at the first break.

Second Quarter: Beaumaris 9.5.59, Old Scotch 6.2.38
The second term was a low scoring affair early on. Beaumaris had the first score three minutes in, when Boyd had a kick but it was punched through by the Cardinals defence. Lachlan Byrne-Jones turned the ball over going out of half back and things weren’t looking good when the Sharks got the ball to Milne close to goal, but he made up for it with a good chase and Milne was pinged for holding the ball on the goal line. The first ten minutes produced only one goal, with Seed kicking truly for Old Scotch after Van den Broek intercepted a Sharks clearance and sent it straight back inside 50. He added a behind soon after and the rest of the term was a sea of Sharks. Beaumaris added five goals in 12 minutes and it was a good sign for them that they had a variety of goalkickers. Gribbin started the run, taking a mark and goaling after Kelly took advantage of a reversed free kick and got the ball to the big man. Di Natale missed a set shot, then Scotch fluffed the kick in and it went straight to Will Edmonds, who kicked a goal on the run. A few minutes later, Van den Broek was penalised at a ball-up in the middle of the ground, Tim Cumming took the free and got it to Petering, who played on and nailed the goal. Soon after, Robert Cathcart roved a ball up in the forward and snapped a nice goal, and finally Ward finished off a nice play involving Cathcart and Kelly. His kick for goal went over the heads of Milne and Gene Van den Broek who were jostling in the goalsquare, just landing over the goal line before bouncing back into play. Similarly to the first term, neither team scored in the last seven minutes leaving the Sharks with a 21-point lead at half time.

Third Quarter: Beaumaris 12.7.79, Old Scotch 9.2.56
Beaumaris made the first forward thrust of the third quarter but it was punched through after a long Gribbin kick. Old Scotch weren’t going down without a fight and they got back in the contest in the first half of the quarter thanks to two goals to Van den Broek and one to Lim. Van den Broek’s first goal came nine minutes into the quarter after receiving a free for chopping the arms in a contest, then a 25m penalty was awarded, putting him within scoring distance. He added another one soon after then, in his 150^th game, Lim was on the end of another impressive passage of play. Franetic got the ball to Bowden who went for a run through the middle and passed to Seed, who kicked the ball inside 50 and found Lim. All of a sudden the Cardinals were back within four points. Five minutes later Di Natale intercepted for the Sharks in the midfield and Cathcart got the ball to Milne, but his set shot hit the post. Soon after, Liam Hiscock took a mark and converted a set shot. At the next centre bounce Beaumaris got the clearance, Milne got the ball in his hand, ducked and weaved and split the big sticks. Four minutes later a defensive clearance by McDonough was intercepted, Petering, Dean and Milne all got their hands on it and Edmonds finished off for the Sharks. When the three-quarter time siren sounded, all Old Scotch’s hard work had been undone in the space of four minutes and Beaumaris’s lead had actually increased.

Fourth Quarter: Beaumaris 16.13.109, Old Scotch 12.3.75
Sharks big man Gribbin kicked the first two goals of the final term. With the first one, he stood tall while two Scotch defenders got stuck in the mud of the practise wicket, making it virtually an uncontested mark. Then he was the target of a Schneider short pass which didn’t quite hit the target but Gribbin dived, took the mark and kicked the goal. Furey got the Cardinals on the board with a minor score after receiving a short pass from Van den Broek, who then kicked a goal himself after some more fancy footwork and a nice pass from Bowden. The Sharks next goal was set up by a smother from Petering at half back. Gribbin got the ball to Will Murton who kicked inside 50 to Schneider, who kicked a goal. Seed kicked two in two minutes for Old Scotch, who got back within 22 points halfway through the quarter. That turned out to be the last score for Old Scotch, as Beaumaris ran over the top. Thankfully for the Cardinals the Sharks struggled with their accuracy, kicking five straight behinds in the space of eight minutes. Boyd, Murton, Hiscock, Gribbin and Milne all had opportunities but were unable to find the big sticks. Quote of the day goes to an irate fan caught on VAFA TV. Franetic was about to handball but was caught in a huge tackle and driven into the ground by Gribbin and didn’t dispose of the ball correctly. Beaumaris screamed “baaaaall!”, Old Scotch wanted “In the back!” and the umpire called for a ball-up. One wag called out “These umpires aren’t getting paid today are they?” much to the amusement of the Inner FM commentary team. Gribbin kicked his third for the term after marking an Old Scotch kick-in and the final margin ended up 34 points in favour of Beaumaris.