Sport / Football
Brunswick krushed by relentless Oakleigh line-up
Brunswick NOBs 3.4 (22) lost to Oakleigh 29.10 (184) Kew 33.20 (218) at Scammell Reserve
Tim Purdey
The end of a season that had showed promise for Brunswick after they overran Oakleigh at Gillon Oval to record a memorable victory 10 weeks ago now can’t come soon enough for the men in purple and white as their recent form slump continued unabated with an abject 162-point loss at the hands of the same opposition at Scammell Reserve on Saturday.
Ideal conditions were on offer to start the game but only the home side enjoyed them as – looking to hold onto a spot in the final four, build on their percentage and exact some revenge – they had four goals on the board by the six-minute mark, which would prove to be more than the NOBs could manage for the whole game.
In fact, the opening term really told the tale of the match. The Krushers dominated from the centre, broke tackles at will, took one-grab marks inside the forward 50 and kicked with unerring accuracy, while Brunswick struggled to get their hands on the ball and, when they did, usually turned it over.
Even the footy gods were conspiring against the visitors, evidenced by a free kick taken from 50 metres out after the quarter-time siren which bounced in the middle of Oakleigh’s goal square and over the heads of the NOBs’ defenders, to make it 9.2 to 0.1.
The Krushers added their 10th in the opening minute of the second quarter, before Brunswick got off the mark with a major to Jackson Davis roving the pack, but that was it for the half, as the home side continued to dominate with their running game and their talls kept on plucking marks. The margin at the main break was 86 points.
Worse was to come for the NOBs as they recorded their fourth scoreless third quarter in the past five games while Oakleigh extended their lead to 144 points at the final change.
Early in the last quarter, Jasper Paevere provided Brunswick’s only real highlight of the day when he booted his first major since returning from a wretched run of injuries with a customary booming drop punt, before Tom Varley marked an Angus Ross pass and kicked truly. Oakleigh were relentless, though, closing out the match with a further four late goals.
Will McKenzie was clearly best for Brunswick, taking many saving marks at half-back, while Jackson Davis continues to impress with his clean skills and work-rate. Angus Ross worked his way into the game in the middle alongside Marcus Foti, who battled hard, while Tahj Haddock was again good in defence.
This Saturday, Prahran at Toorak Park is the final challenge for the NOBs as they look to end 2026 on a positive note.
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