Old Xaverians Too Good for St Bernard’s

St Bernard’s faced another tough challenge in Round 6, taking on one of the front runners of the competition, a strong Old Xaverians outfit away from home. The game began with plenty of intensity from St Bernard’s who matched Old Xaverians around the contest early and moved the ball with purpose. Their pressure and effort around stoppages allowed them to stay within striking distance, trailing by just eight points at quarter time in what was an encouraging start. 

However the second and third quarters proved costly as Old Xaverians capitalised on turnovers, controlled territory for long periods, with St Bernard’s inefficiency to execute by both foot and hand meant they were unable to generate momentum and build sustained attacking attempts. Old Xaverians were able to make every missed target costly, taking control of the contest and opening up a significant lead heading into the final term.

The last quarter was more of a fresh start and reflected more of the resilience that has continued to develop throughout the season. St Bernard’s finished the game strongly, continuing to compete hard until the final siren and showing signs of the football they are capable of producing when their pressure and ball movement come together. Some strong positives were the speed that Angus Ryan, Harry Schumann and Lachie Papley were able to generate, Ben Overman and his ability to make opportunities and read the ball and Sauro’s dominating ruck work.

Although again it was Luke Said who was deemed best on, his ability to gain contested possession, pick up ground balls and get the hard touches proving he is a force to be reckoned with throughout the middle. He stood tall even in the second and third quarter when most of the team dropped

While the result did not fall St Bernard’s way, the strong opening and finish provide positives to build on as the group looks to put together a more consistent four-quarter performance in the coming rounds. 

In Round 7, St Bernard’s come back home to the Snakepit where they are playing in a must win clash against Old Haileybury in what will be an important game for the 2026 season, before it is too late for St Bernard’s to keep their A Grade hopes alive as the season quickly approaches the halfway mark. The group has shown patches of strong football throughout the opening rounds, but consistency and execution will be key if they are to challenge the competition’s best sides and build momentum heading into the second half of the year. 

SCORES

OLD XAVS 4.4 28 9.9 63 16.13 109 22.15 147

ST BERNARDS 3.2 20 5.4 34 6.8 44 10.13 73

BEST 

Old Xavs Will Goss, Charlie MacIsaac, Nick Guiney, Campbell Lane, Connor Dunne, Thomas Hart

St Bernards Luke Said, Ben Overman, Matthew Sauro, Nicholas Conlan, Ethan Schumann, Harrison Schumann

GOALS

Old Xavs C. Maclsaac 8, W.Brusnaham 4, S. Fisher 2, O. Sestan 2, E. Delany, O. Duncan, J.Gangi, C.Knott, J O’Sullivan, H.Woodhouse

St Bernards M.Watson 2, M.Holland 2, L. Di Lizio, D. Gilham, J.Guarnaccia, B.Huggard, B.Overman, L.Papley, L.Said

 

Written by Hannah Juricskay