November 5, 2024
IN THE FAST LANE
Wingster on board.
A Century of the Red & Black
The Claret and Stout enjoyed a perfect beginning to season 2021, returning ten wins from ten starts.
Never before has a VAFA team achieved this feat.
"We are a big club and we recognised the need for fielding ten teams this year," said Matt Cosgrave, Xavs' president.
"We hoped that we would see the day when we could bag the full forty premiership points, but we perhaps didn't count on doing it on debut.
"The results underline the work done over a long period away from competitive football, and it's a blessing to see a return like that on Opening Day. Congratulations to all players and coaches for their roles in this.
"As a club, we're delighted with the start, but that's just what it is, a start. Only one week down, and plenty to come. All games start next week with the teams even-stevens.
"I know the coaches will be reviewing their teams' performances and finding improvement all over the place," Cosgrave said.
The ten wins weren't the only '10' of the afternoon. Senior forward Rohan Bewick booted ten goals at the Snakepit in a commanding display.
Nineteen years ago, Dan Richardson booted eleven goals in Round 10 at Elsternwick against the MSHOB Unicorns on a day when thick fog made it difficult for players, umpires and spectators.
And in 2007, Tim Clarke scorched the Scotchies for ten goals on the Roche.
Ten goals from Tim Clarke and a spirited revival all around the ground saw the Old Xaverians run out comfortable winners in the Old Firm clash against Old Scotch at Barkers Road today.
The Xavs started sluggishly and were immediately challenged by the Redmen's key forwards. The visitors
led at the first break, mastering the conditions early, and extended their lead to 13 points at the half.
But for the efforts of Nick Serafini and Tim Clarke, who had already banked five of the team's six goals, the margin would have been wider.
There was no mistaking the mood of Xavs' coach Barry Richardson at the half, as he demanded a better effort from his charges.
Two quick majors from Scotch to extend their lead to 27 points would not have improved his mood.
There was a buoyancy about the Cardinal outfit and among their faithful. Surely this would be the day when their recent nightmare run against the Xavs would end.
Not so. A Xaverian team at full throttle is an irresistible force and just shy of the half way point in the third stanza, they pushed the accelerator to the floor. Deficit gone: seven goals, and a lead established through some great work from Bowen, Colbert, Arnold and omnipresent Clarke.
Only a siren that blew four and a half minutes early (triggered by some remote device it seems) halted the deluge. Still, the uncanny X men were 17 points to the good at lemon-time and there was little from the Reds' demeanour to suggest that the game held another twist.
Kicking into the breeze into the final term, the Xavs recommenced their onslaught and kicked further away. Clarke kicked his ninth and much to the chagrin of the crowd, eschewed another ping in favour of a pass to a teammate.
On the bench, Mark Graham, who leads the league in scoring assists from inside the goal-square, was having none of it. He returned to the field, got on the end of a great string of possessions, ambled to the ten and punched it to a grateful Turtle, who dribbled it through to reach double digits.
The haul is the first handful for a Xavs small forward since Dan Richardson's bag against the Unicorns in the Elsternwick fog in 2002. The Xavs will return to those environs next week, their form happily rediscovered, and seeking to play four quarters at full tilt against Old Ivanhoe.
OLD XAVERIANS 3.6 6.8 13.9 20.11-131
OLD SCOTCH 4.2 9.3 11.4 13.6-84
Goals: Clarke 10, Arnold 3, Bowen 3, Colbert 2, Beardsley, Graham
Best: Clarke, Serafini, Arnold, Scanlan, Colbert, Beardsley
A year later, he put Old Brighton to the sword with another ten, but the Tonners still romped home by 55 points.
In team sports, grand individual achievements are celebrated at their value only when the collective result is a positive one. Thus, there was no hootin' and hollerin' about Tim Clarke's magnificence at Toorak Park yesterday as a weary team licked its wounds after a drubbing at the hands of Old Brighton.
But for Clarke, whose virtuoso performance was surely one of the finest displays ever turned on at the Grand Old Dame, or for that matter, on any VAFA ground, and some errant goalkicking by the visitors, the Xavs would have suffered a defeat far beyond a nine goal hiding.
The first half was an entertaining affair, and the Red 'n' Blacks might have led at the had they not suffered two costly lapses. In the opening quarter, Clarke kicked number one at the seven minute mark. Brighton then slammed on five in nine minutes before Luke Howard responded. In the second term, Clarke kicked his sixth at the twenty-minute mark, then the Tonners kicked three in a minute.
There was indeed some optimism that the half would bring a restructure to right the ship. Indeed, there were some moves, but they amounted to little as the Beach Boys added another six from thirteen shots in the premiership quarter, with Clarke's eighth as the clock wound down the only home reply.
With the sting gone from the contest, the final stanza was an opportunity for some to play their way back into some form. For the partisan crowd, the main focus was Clarke, who did not disappoint, adding his ninth and tenth before the dreadful day ended.
Dominant in the air, in the middle and at the contest, Brighton served it up to the Claret and Stout, and showed they will be a real contender again in this campaign. For the Red 'n' Blacks, there were few, if any, winners apart from Clarke, though the efforts of Howard, Darvell and Lloyd were productive.
OLD XAVERIANS 14.11-95
OLD BRIGHTON 22.18-150
Goals: T. Clarke 10, D. Lynch 2, L. Howard, D. Lloyd
Best: T. Clarke, J. Arnold, L. Howard, S. Johnston, T. Ruyg, M. Darvell
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