Gallery: GVL battles hard, falls to O&M in under-18 bout

With only 13 points separating the sides at half-time, O&M flexed its muscles in the second half as nine goals to two had the host run out a comfortable victor.

It was the gold and black’s second win in a row over the GV, following on from its 19-point victory in 2022.

Mansfield 16-year-old Max Mahoney was the top performer for the GV, while Ned Byrne, Zac Metcalf, Ben Woods, Lachlan Pentony and Sam Lewis were named among the best.

GVL coach Ramadan Yze said O&M was too strong on the day, but praised his side for its efforts as well.

“The game as a whole, you could see O&M were a lot cleaner with their ball use, below the knees, their skill level,” Yze said.

“They all played their roles and they worked a lot harder than our boys did.

“Give our boys credit, they had a crack right to the end and we did move the ball at times really well where O&M didn’t touch it.

“Our boys dropped away a little bit, but they fought it out right until the end, so I will give them credit for that.”

Battling it out on a pristine surface at Albury Sports Ground, O&M kicked the day’s first goal five minutes into the contest.

Nicholas Jephson answered back with the GV’s first of the afternoon, but two more goals had O&M in front by 12 points at quarter-time.

Following the break, it was the GV that had the upper hand early on in the second term.

The purple and gold was winning the ball out of the middle and upped the pressure on O&M, and it was rewarded for its efforts when Metcalf kicked its second of the game to trim the margin.

But the damage could have been greater for the GV.

The team had four shots on goal that went wide of the target – misses that proved costly when O&M kicked a goal of its own against the run of play.

Yze said if his side had been able to take its chances early on in the contest, it could have changed the game.

“Early on if we had of converted, the game could have tipped the other way,” he said.

“We missed a few, they went down and kicked a couple, got their confidence up and away they went.

“In the second quarter we controlled it, but we didn’t convert. We didn’t put scoreboard pressure on.

“And then in the third quarter, they did convert. They had control and they converted and hurt us on the scoreboard.”

The match still hung in the balance as the third quarter got under way, but O&M soon cracked the contest wide open.

Three goals in a hurry gave the host all the momentum and it went on to boot 4.5 for the term while holding the GV scoreless.

Down by 42 points at the final change, Yze urged his players to be bold and take the game on with nothing to lose – and the GV responded.

Byrne and Metcalf drilled goals early on, with the GV capitalising on some cleaner ball use going inside 50.

But O&M’s class shone through once more and it booted five unanswered goals to end the game in style.

“It was good that they showed some fight and took the game on,” Yze said.

“I would have been happier if they did that right from the start, but you could see in that last quarter when they were bold and brave and took the ball out the other side, we did kick a couple of goals. It was just too late to peg it back.”

Speaking to his side after the game, Yze said his message to the team was simple.

“Just to be proud and be confident and don’t drop your heads,” Yze said.

“Making interleague is not a small feat, so they should be proud of their efforts to get there. The interleague concept is really good for them to showcase the skills they have got.”

Yze himself was at the helm of the interleague side for the first time, an experience he said he relished.

“It is my first time and I was really happy doing it. It is an eye-opener seeing all the opposition play and the way they go about it,” he said.

“I have loved every moment of it and had good help supporting me with my assistants. It was good, I enjoyed it."

Meanwhile, Robertson was one of the standouts for a dominant O&M, leading the way with four majors on the afternoon.

Teammates Charlie Holland-Dean and Judd Schubert drilled three majors each as well, while Metcalf kicked two goals for the GV.

O&M’s James Webb was awarded the best-on-ground accolade as voted by the umpires after the game.