Sport / Football
Come from behind win stamps NOBs as finals contender
Brunswick NOBs 17.12 (114) defeated Oakleigh 15.8 (98) at Gillon Oval
Tim Purdey
With a scintillating 58-point turnaround from early in the third quarter, Brunswick recorded one their best-ever wins against a shell-shocked Oakleigh at Gillon Oval on Saturday, stamping themselves as a finals contender in the process.
In a wildly fluctuating and high-quality contest, the NOBs saw an early lead replaced by a 36-point deficit at half-time, which was extended to 42 in the opening minute of the second half as the Krushers kicked their ninth unanswered goal. Then came the comeback, as a reinvigorated Brunswick slammed home the next 10 majors to break the visitors’ spirit, eventually defeating their top-four opponent by 16 points.
Despite a heavy centre square, the game began in ideal conditions, with a slight breeze to Brunswick’s advantage at the Sydney Road end, and the home side started strongly, dominating possession and kicking the first two goals through Liam Allman and Tom Wilson.
Oakleigh then took their turn to control the game and after 22 minutes were a goal in front, before Daniel Mott’s precise set shot from the croquet club pocket regained the lead for the NOBs, then Allman slotted his second on the quarter-time siren to make it 27-20.
Captain Ben Wilson got Brunswick off to a great start in the second term as he took advantage of a 50 metre penalty to stretch the margin to 13 points, but then the wind started to pick up and so did the Krushers as they put the NOBs defence under pressure, which led to a turnover at the top of the goal square and a scrambled goal after eight minutes.
From that point, the visitors ran rampant, winning the centre clearances and moving the ball swiftly in kicking another seven majors to take charge of the match at the main break, with the NOBs defence making uncharacteristic errors and six goals to the Krushers’ dominant full forward.
That Oakleigh extended their lead to seven goals in the first minute of the third quarter seemed to inspire Brunswick to throw caution to the wind and play fast footy, which had immediate results as Darcy Heenan got on the end of a chain of handballs in the goal square to start the fightback.
Soon after, President Joe Gale marked on a good lead and kicked truly, Angus Ross goaled on the run, then Tom Wilson slotted his second from 45 metres and the momentum had well and truly swung back to the home side.
At the 11-minute mark a Jackson Davis goal reduced the margin to 11 points, then Gale kicked another two to put his team in front. Heenan’s second goal on the three-quarter time siren made it eight straight and an unlikely nine-point lead to the NOBs.
Oakleigh had the breeze in the final term, but wind had been taken out of their sails by Brunswick’s third quarter onslaught, and the home side kept things rolling with the critical first goal through Will McKenzie, who had been moved forward. When Gale snapped his fourth goal – for the NOBs’ 10th unanswered – the margin was out to 24 points after six minutes and the home crowd was in raptures.
There were more twists to come as Oakleigh soon closed the gap to three goals, then rain teemed down and the ball became a cake of soap. The Krushers kept pressing and after 18 minutes the margin was back to 10 points with plenty of time left, then Davis calmly slotted his second on the run to give the NOBs a crucial buffer at the 23-minute mark.
With less than two minutes remaining, Oakleigh’s full forward then kicked his ninth to keep them in it, but Brunswick were not be denied on this occasion and played the game out strongly and Heenan’s third in the final minute sealed a comeback victory for the ages.
On the day, apart from a blip in the second term, Brunswick’s midfield was supreme, with Gabe Banova leading the way. Daniel Mott was particularly inspirational in the final quarter, while Ben Wilson and Ben Young were also very good. Joe Gale’s four second-half goals were match-defining, while Tahj Haddock admirably led a defence that was under pressure for much of the day.
With no King’s Birthday weekend bye in Division 1 this season, Brunswick travel to Kew on Saturday in another huge game as they look to continue their winning run.
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