G
SPORT
Winter Sports
Senior School Year 9A It is highly unusual in a season of junior football for a team to be able to turn its whole season around, yet that is exactly what the 9A team did in 2014. What made the change all the more impressive was that the there was no relegation to a lower grade, rather one after the other we played and beat three teams we had soundly lost to in the first half. These were some of the best teams in the competition: Melbourne Grammar, Scotch, and in a final triumph to savour, Xavier. After four rounds of football, we had no win to our name. In the first round on the wide spaces of Scotch’s Main Oval we established what was to be a pattern of slow starts and whilst we showed glimpses of great attacking football there was little in the way of defensive positioning from us and it seemed that ‘defense’ was only understood to mean the back six players! Nonetheless, William Lewis announced himself as a big target forward in this first game (he would go on to win the Most Improved Player Award) and Tom Yorgey showed he knew how to make the most of the space a kick behind play. A loss of five goals to St Kevin’s in slush and continual rain after being within a couple kicks at half time and a nine goal thrashing by Xavier in which we lost our Co-Vice Captain Liam Farrell to a broken collar bone left us longing for our first home game. When it came and we finally ran out onto the Crowther Oval, it ended in a disappointing 19 point defeat against a Melbourne Grammar team we should have beaten if we had thought more about how to play into a strong wind. Then the change came. An expected big win over Carey on a crisp Bulleen morning lifted morale before we were back on our Crowther facing the Melbourne Grammar team that only a fortnight previously had beaten us. By pumping the ball in quickly to an isolated Will Lewis, Anthony Zimmerman or Seb Williams, and two great efforts in ‘run with’ roles on their best players (Ben Durkin on their agile on-baller, Mac Gray on their strong bulky half forward) we were able to win a close match by 10 points and thus achieve a 19 point turn around. Our next rematch was 154 GRAMMARIAN 2014
a bigger challenge in Scotch, yet we were on the Crowther Oval and we were now playing a far better possession and defensive game. We were never headed throughout the match, able to achieve a wonderful nine goal turn around. The great aggressive efforts from Anthony Zimmerman and Lachie Ewers in the middle helped us gain an impressive start and lead which we were able to defend in a very tight second quarter, only to break free again in the third. We had done our homework and players performed nullifying roles on some of the speedy and talented Scotch players, namely Ben Durkin (second time in this role), Charlie Hicks, Alex Adams and Jack Mason. It was Sasha Parsons’ and Harry Hynes’ best match, both providing much needed outside run against a pacy opposition. Finally, we got the chance to play Xavier again yet this time on the Crowther. The rematch meant more for Liam Farrell who was back from the broken collar bone he suffered last time the teams met (his commitment and determination was rewarded with the Coach’s Award). In a very tight match with a handful of minutes left BGS broke the death-wrestle with a goal and Xavier’s response, when it came in the final minute was too late. It was an extraordinary win, yet (as Mr Swann who assisted that day stated in the rooms at the end) it was a fair reflection of our dominance over the course of the match. We had achieved our third comprehensive turnaround against top opposition, our second turnaround greater than nine goals and against a team whose only other loss for the season was against Caulfield. It left us with 4 wins and 4 losses, yet more importantly it left us certain that we could take on and beat any team in the competition if we brought our ‘A game’ and ruing the fact that the season concluded without allowing us to match off against the undefeated Caulfield. Mark Sainsbery
Year 9B This season was an interesting one for the side, one of incredible highs and some lows. A Round 1 thrashing of Xavier was the perfect way to start the season. However after this game, wins became as rare as a dry surface on the Crowther. With Mr. Brand coaching the team for a third consecutive season, there were expectations on each boy to improve from the last year. New recruits Tom Post and Nicholas Braddon were instant revelations with their own individual strengths but the ‘old guard’ still held strong throughout the season. Ben Cochran’s outside run, highflying marks from Jackson Collins and Ben Lawlor’s sixth sense for goal kicking were weekly match highlights. To the dismay of opponents, Charlie Kenny, arguable the smallest guy on the field, each week sold enough candy to fill the packet of snakes at three quarter time. The true highlight of the season was our one and only game on the home of footy against St Kevin’s. Last season we had some great contests against St Kevin’s, one of them on a flooded Crowther, but events this year shocked everyone. Mr. Brand described it as an, “absolute demolition of the oppostion in all areas of the ground,” thanks to the BGS lads relentless footy. We kicked 19 unanswered goals most of them coming from the boot of Ben Lawler, Charlie Kenny, Hugo Butler and Oscar Donald. James Styling on the scoreboard could hardly keep up and singing the song in the middle of the Crowther was a great feeling. However, after such emphatic win we were put up a division were things would only get harder. But game after game we never gave in, never gave up and we were always hardest at the footy no matter the score. Some other highlights of the season were the Coleman Medal race between Ben Lawlor and Oscar Donald which was eventually won by the classy forward, Ben “Be the Ball” Lawlor. Mac Parsons improved to become an influential defender and Nicholas Braddon switched from soccer to bring with him the biggest kick in the division. Even though the side lost more than they won, they always tried their best. In many of the games the scoreboard didn’t reflect the effort on the day but most importantly, the boys played every week with their mates, had some laughs and some wins. Chris Brand