Youth-1 Boys Division 1 2025

Round 7 - Beverley Hills, Victoria Park, Sunday 1 June

Fitzroy: 19.14-128
Beverley Hills: 2.5-17

Weather: Sunny-cloudy and cool-ish

Snacks: Fifty-cent Ikea hotdogs

Quote of the day: ‘What do you mean they eat the oranges at half time not 3/4 time?’

OVER most of the seasons our young Roy Boys have played junior footy there was always trepidation when coming up against the ever-uncompromising Beverley Hills. And not just because they stole our guernsey design!

But last Sunday, on the occasion of Zac’s 100^th, the denouement of this cohort’s junior careers saw a somewhat surprising result with the hitherto less physical Roys showing more muscle and little mercy in an eventual 111-point mauling.

It was all set up by a dominant first quarter aided by a 3-goal breeze to the Trenerry Crescent end.

It wasn’t long before Freddy took a strong intercept mark and put one through the big sticks to get the ball rolling. The ever-mobile Finbar (where does he actually play?) doubled the quota not long after and when Leo found Jericho for our third things were looking ominous for the visitors. Toby stretched the lead again before one of the great goal heists of all time. It came when an on-the-run Jericho handballed 5 metres to Jericho (Yep you read that right), picked it up beautifully and went BANG from outside 50. It was damn high and curling, curling, curling, coming back with the breeze before it dropped like a rock and was just 3cm from the line when, out of nowhere, Samuel’s foot arrived to steal Jericho’s thunder. When Fred took a great intercept mark and immediately passed to the shameless Samuel for our sixth of the quarter, things were starting to look very Swans V Adelaide. Though it must be said, Beverley Hills fought harder than the Swans. At quarter time it was 6.4-40 to no score and the visitors had only been inside 50 twice.

It was down to a dominant on-ball division of Fred, Josef and Jules who were given first use by a dominant Evan who would go on to rule the ruck all match, and a scary forward line with Jericho, Toby and Samuel all looking primed. And I’m pretty sure if you look up ‘bullocking’ in your Encyclopedia Britan-nica a picture of Leo Daffy crashing through a pack of Beverley Hillbillies will be present.

But Beverley Hills isn’t the type of club to give it away this early. The second quarter became a pressure-filled affair with the now wind-assisted visitors breaching their 50 arc time and again, only to be thwarted by either one of the 3 Wills (Cashen, McManus or Hindson) or an increasingly confident-looking Jono, Lachlan, Declan or Noah A. Joseph was another to stand out wherever he was and Max just loves getting involved. Their 2 goals for the quarter were split by Freddy’s second snag after some Will Cashen heavy work forced the ball to the ever-calm left-footer.

You had to doff your cap to them after the first-quarter mauling, outscoring us by 5 points to trail 7.7-49 to 2.2-14 at the long break.

The third opened with a brace to a now rampaging Jericho. A classic old-fashioned bone-jarring shirtfront from Will M added to his highlight reel for the day. The milestone man got into the act for our 10^th (much to the delight of his own little cheer squad in the Sherrin stand) and then the lowlight of the day saw Jono subbed out with cramp after up till then showing what the old timers were describing as back to his best form.

Will C cheered us up with a rare snag and Jericho got his third for the quarter to re-establish normal order with a 68-point lead 12.11-83 2.3-15. You may note, dear reader, that apart from the damaging footy perpetrated by the forwards and mids, the backs had managed to hold the visitors to just one point for the entirety of the first and third quarters combined. Yes there was a bit of a breeze but it wasn’t that strong. In other words, all systems in all parts of the ground were just humming.

The last became a bit of a celebration for 2 players especially with Noah B scoring his first (and second) goals of the season. His second was handed to him by the other player of the quarter in Zac who gallantly handballed over the top to him despite being in a position to kick it himself. In the interim, Jericho helped himself to his fifth in a spectacular match performance, the ever-improving Dylan slotted one effortlessly from 30, Will C got his second with some deft body work and mark in the goal square and Toby got his second after a strong (what else would it be) one-on-one mark. The footy gods placed the cherry on top with a great tap down by Toby to that man Zac who put through our 19^th for the match!

My notes are littered with glorious one percenters. Tackles by Hamish, smothers by Daniel, chases by ‘Tony’ Joe White. Everybody made a contribution. That’s how you get percentage boosters like this. A shout-out to Jules once again for consecutive great matches, one in victory and one in defeat. He wasn’t in my notes but boy he was in my sights.

Like plenty of his mates, he’s getting better as the season goes on.

Round 6 - Macleod Eagles at Greensborough College, Sunday 25 May 3pm

Macleod: 10.9-69
Fitzroy: 8.6-54

Weather: Sunny again with a breezy north-northwester, 18.5 degrees at 3.

Canteen: Homemade soup, scones, hot chips!

Quote of the day: ‘I told you it was a 4-goal wind.’

WHEN Macleod kicked their second goal of the second quarter within 30 seconds of their first, the previously undefeated Mighty Fitzroy Colts looked like they were headed for an old-fashioned mighty ole towelling.

At that point we trailed 5.4 to zip and Macleod looked like another species. They were bigger, faster, more skilful and had an air of confidence the Hawthorn small forwards would envy. Not to mention the number of head-high free kicks they received.

But then … something changed.

From this point the lads would win each of the remaining 3 quarters and solidify their position as flag contenders in season 2025. And maybe that was the catalyst? The form and manner in which they’ve played so far would have made the boys think they weren’t out of it just yet. And that’s just what the parents watching on the western hill were thinking too. And one is pretty sure the coaches had that reservoir of trust and confidence garnered by the previous weeks to think they were still a show. And boy were they still a show.

After all, the confident statement that it was at least a 4-goal breeze had come to pass at quarter time. Yes the first 2 to them weren’t really part of the plan, but hey, plenty of footy left in this.

And despite the score, Fitzroy could point to some great defensive efforts in the first stanza. ‘Tony’ Joe White, Will McManus, Finbar and Daniel H (with his impressive old-fashioned coathanger) had all come to play.

So it came to pass that the ever-industrious Will Cashen got on the end of one from Freddy M and got us on the board at the 9-minute mark. Then a lad who would go on to epitomise the fightback in Jules almost killed their number 21 who took approximately 7 minutes to walk from the park with coach Darren pleading to the ump for some time on with said 4-goal wind. Jules subsequently kicked to a pack of one – Toby – who gathered his own crumbs and duly brought up our second.

We were right back in it when Will McManus took a ripper in an unfamiliar position on the half forward line (‘What’s he doing there?’) and got it to Daniel who was in a familiar position at the bottom of a pack and screwed around the corner for our third. The best transition of the match began with a strong mark from a buzzing Jono Watt at half back and ended with a Jericho snap and we had pegged the gap back to just 9 points at the long break 5.4-34 to 4.1-25.

The premiership quarter got under way with Macleod again threatening to blow it open. They again looked quicker, they held their positions beautifully and kicked the first 2 goals from downtown in quick time. It was suddenly 7.7 to 4.1, or in other words 14 shots to 5, and things looked grim. The quarter’s highlight was the leg-break bounce in the square from Dylan C who had got on the end of an Ollie intercept in the guts. And although we only got one for the quarter, the boys had staunched the Eagles’ momentum (a real good sign of a real good outfit) and we went to the break just under the magic 4-goal margin 8.7-55 to 5.2-32.

The physical attack from many Gorillas stood out in the third. Jules literally carried the oppos’ midfield on his back, bursting forward countless times in a manner befitting the sport played by those with lesser IQs and wider necks. He was just a brute! He was aided in the physicality stakes by Toby, the pair of them in the middle putting a halt to the previous silken running of the Eagles’ centre-square denizens. Other manic Lions included Declan, Jono, Max, Will H and a pair of Noahs.

To the last!

The bloody wind dies down!

First goal to them.

A ripper tackle from Noah A. A desperate spoil from Josef. More ridiculousness from Jules. A great intercept from Fred who chipped to Finbar who with the aid of our third 25m penalty in 15 minutes put the margin back under 4 goals. A minute later It was under 3 goals when Finbar again bobbed up receiving from Jericho and dribbled though another. Will H brought the house down when his snag brought us back to within 2 straight kicks. Will deserved a goal to underline a terrific match by the head-down-bum-up number 29!

But Macleod answered with the next and the flame was snuffed out. 15 points was the final margin. But we had outscored them since the fifth minute of the second when we finally had the chance to settle after literally being blown away by both the conditions and a home team at the top of its game. Heads held high and all that you know!

On arrival, the intel was that if there was a current ladder for this season these Eagles would be well on top of it. It was said this team had emerged fully formed from the nest of a certain premiership-breeding high school. The trophy hunt was on.

But will a proudly organically developed desperate footy team from Ole Fitzroy stand in their way?

Stay tuned.

Round 5 - St Marys at Victoria Park, Sunday 18 May, 3pm

Fitzroy: 13.8-86
St Marys: 4.8-32

Weather: Sunny with a brisk cold breeze – (13.9 degrees/felt like 8.3)

Canteen: Another cheese kransky

Quote of the day: ‘As if Finbar hasn’t got enough kicks, now he’s kicking to himself.’

ROUND 5, and a third consecutive home battle at the once-feared home of the Pies. This time against St Marys, a club the lads have played many times over their junior years, and a footy club that always brings the principles and attributes the Joe Johnson Indigenous Round celebrates.

At the end of the match Zac Henderson will have the Joe Johnson Medal dangling from his neck since he was judged to have displayed those qualities of endurance, tenacity, courage, loyalty and pride. Not to mention what could go down in the annals as ‘Hendo’s Run’ after a dashing 2-bounce goal in the third.

But it was Will Hinson’s turn to lead the Roys out and through the banner celebrating his 100^th match in a Lion’s guernsey. Will WILL enjoy his milestone match!

Like any match against St Marys it was a tough, rugged no-holds-barred start. The visitors were hampered by numbers and having no bench, but they weren’t about to ease themselves into the match. And the attitude and physicality our boys would show throughout the afternoon was soon on display in the hard-edged efforts of ‘Tony’ Joe White, Dylan Colyer, and a welcomed-back Jono Watt.

So it took about 8 minutes before we were on the board when a rundown tackle by Aless caused a turnover to Finbar who finished beautifully on his left from 40 yards. Then Daniel Hodgson took a blinder about 45 out and kicked truly to forge a hard-fought 2-goal gap. Then some some fancy footwork and a deft pass from Freddy saw the ball back in Aless’ hands after he had charged from the centre bounce and followed it up with our third. Dylan, who had just returned to the fray after earlier being crudely slung to the ground, made sure of a snap by Jericho and poked it over the line and we suddenly led 4.1-25 to 1.3-9 at the first break.

The second quarter start was highlighted by a crunching tackle from Will McManus and some other top-drawer defensive efforts from Max Sekhon and the milestone man in Will. Noah A began to get his aerial game going, Josef Hicks threw his weight around and Will Cashen and Declan Hudson did what they do every week – make it damn hard for the opposition forwards to do … well … anything!

We got our fifth after Jericho ended up on the end of a mad forward scramble, and when a lightning transition started by Noah saw Finbar run on to the loose ball and dribble through his second the Roys had asserted their dominance all over the park. Another great Jono mark began another fantastic transition which saw Zac welcomed to the party when he marked Oscar’s snap on the line and put through our seventh. It was Harlem Globetrotters time when Aless got another one, and though St Marys had improved and had little periods of momentum, we had had another 4-goal quarter and led comfortably 8.2-50 to 3.4-22 at the main break.

It was hardly surprising that Max got the first snag in the third. He had been both aggressive and skilful all over the place and St Marys didn’t have an answer to him. It was getting Harlem Globetrotter-like when Zac lit up the joint when he bolted onto a loose ball about 60 out, accelerated, took 2 bounces and went bang!

But to their credit St Marys then put on the clamps and goals were suddenly hard to come by. One was suddenly transported to Swans v Saints and Roos v Lyon matches in the dark mists of time. It wasn’t just the lack of numbers, but indeed the lack of size that made things hard for the visitors, but boy they battled hard! And they even brought the niggle despite the size and age difference. One must dip one’s lid to them.

Your correspondent noted the efforts of the Js (alphabetically) Jack, Josef and Julian, along with Evan, Max, Daniel and Declan through this period. One for the purists!

But St Marys’ hearts were crushed when the stalemate was broken after Jericho got on the end of a booming kick from defence, waited around until the forward line finally arrived and handballed to a running Freddy who bombed a classic left-footer’s goal from 40 right on the siren. Their eventual Joe Johnson medallist No. 32 wasn’t overly impressed though and decided to let Fred know how unimpressed he was. But Marmo’s mates arrived en masse to fly the flag and they all smilingly went off to eat oranges leading 11.3-69 to 4.6-30.

A glorious handball from Julian to Jericho who found a gut-running Finbar who sent a Hail Mary to the pocket where Dylan ran onto it and snapped precociously before being accosted again by No. 32 got things going in the last. Somebody else got our 13^th, but it was waaaay too far away for your correspondent’s aged eyes to discern, even after asking both spectators and even players! (Let’s know who it was and we’ll update the record!) The sting went out of the game in the last, but despite the eventual percentage booster, it must be said St Marys fought their guts out despite the disadvantages they endured.

As the medals were bestowed, it was the St Marys coach who commented on the Roys’ ability to transition the pill that really separated the teams. Matt and Darren have moulded a team that appears at this stage to not have a weakness in any part of the ground. They have some class, and they have some grunt. And most importantly, they appear to play for each other. And they are great to watch.

But still plenty of work to do!

Round 4 - Parkside at Victoria Park, Sunday 11 May 3pm

Fitzroy: 14.12-96
Parkside: 3.10-28

Weather: A balmy 23 degrees at first bounce with north-easterly breeze.

Canteen: Cheese kransky with appreciably imperceptible cheese.

Quotes of the day: Parent 1: Mushrooms for Mother’s Day brekky? Not sure I want someone to cook me mushrooms any more. Parent 2: Yeh, apparently Erin Patterson’s the new Lindy Chamberlain.

FAR BE it from me to eulogise about any victory by Richmond, but on Mother’s Day 1991 the Tiggas, then 13^th of 15 AFL teams, took on the reigning premiers Collingwood at The G and in what became known as the Mother’s Day Massacre, put the Pies to the sword by a whopping 67 points!

Fast-forward 34 years and the Fitzroy Youth Boys 1 managed an eerily similar winning margin by fixing up Parkside, this time by 58 points at the Pies’ old home ground at Vic Park. And although not matching then Tiger full forward Jeff Hogg’s bag of 10, Alessio Colosimo’s return of 6 majors may well be talked about for the next 34 years. Well, at least by the Colosimo brood anyway!

Under gloriously blue autumnal Abbotsford skies, Aless got going early in the first after marking the ball after some good combinations from the mid-field mates Fred and Samuel and his first snag went up as your scribe’s first kransky went down!

Aless had a brace after 2 Parkside lads spoiled each other and the resultant crumbs were distributed by Fred to Daniel H whose quick kick forward was marked by our number 11 two metres out. Two goals to zip!

To the naked eyes of the gaggle of dads in our vicinity, Parkside’s team comprised more than a few handy footballers. They appeared both tough and skilful and had an air of quiet confidence. But as the quarter went on things like the continued great defensive form of Noah, the insistence of Evan C’s tackling, and the spectacular spoiling efforts of Zac H were coalescing into a whole that made the visitors look as ordinary as those of another red-and-white team I can think of!

By the time Aless had kicked his third out of a pack and Dylan C snapped a left-foot blinder from the boundary, our quarter-time score of 4.2- 26 would end up only being bettered by a couple of points by Parkside’s final score of 28 when the final siren went. Did someone mention the Mother’s Day Massacre?

No they didn’t.

Things looked even better for the Gorillas in the second after an ever-industrious Finbar got the pill to Oscar who squared it to a most welcome back Jericho who put through our fifth. A ripper tackle by Olly made everyone recognise it wasn’t just the forwards having a say in proceedings. But a pack-mark screamer by (guess who) Alessio who got it to Jericho and on to Finbar in the goal square reminded us of the truly dominant performance of the forwards.

Towards the end of the quarter, one could sense the frustration of the Parkside lads, but their increased, and sometimes misplaced, physicality was met with glee by the Roy Boys who took on this facet of the game as they had the rest. And when the curtain had come down on the first half, the Roys led 7.5-47 to 1.3-9.

Parkside would lift appreciably in the third, but with red-hot goers Max Sekhon, Dylan, Will Cashen and more adding the tough stuff to the by-now purring midfielders in Zac, Finbar, Samuel, Fred and Noah they could only manage 3 behinds while Alessio added another 2 majors to bring his total to 6 in 3 quarters! A terrific consolidating quarter that saw the boys extend the lead despite the obvious improvement from Parkside. But it was the defence who stole the show and led us into the last leading 10.11-71 to 1.6-12.

But to their credit, and remember they had no bench for the second half, the visitors came out all guns blazing to dominate the early stages of the last. But they just couldn’t get the ball between the big sticks. And when one of footy’s great truisms saw us get the ball up our end just once for a goal to Oscar after Parkside had dominated the play without scoring and then Oscar quickly got his second, you could forgive Parkside throwing in the towel. But they’re better than that. They snagged a couple back before Samuel grabbed a throw-in no one else seemed to want and cruised past beautifully onto his right for his well-deserved first. But then one of the year’s highlights happened when crowd favourite and perennial rugged niggling defender Olly took a ripper mark at half forward, played on and kicked it straight over his goal-umpiring Dad’s hat who duly brought up the twin calicos!

So while a truly gutsy Parkside played some of their best footy in the last, Fitzroy extended its lead to run out 68-point winners 14.12-96 to 3.10-28.

So the lads are undefeated after 3 matches this season and are looking like the proverbial well-oiled machine. Coaches would be rapt?! All areas of the ground appear to be in good working order and lots of lads in good nick. But as I keep saying to my Collingwood-supporting mates, it’s very, very early in a long, long season. It’s still 4 long cold months till September, finals and Father’s Day!

Round 3 - Kew Rovers at Victoria Park, Sunday 4 May 3pm

Fitzroy: 10.5-65
Kew: 7.10-52

Weather: Sunny and warm with a swirling northerly

Canteen: Kransky in a roll and sausage in bread with slurpy-soft onion

Quote of the day: Can you believe the democracy sausages were $5 in Kew yesterday? Five dollars!!

SOMETIMES A late 3pm bounce is a welcome thing. Like when a collective election-party hangover afflicts two-thirds of the parents hazily present at this game. Our boys at least were bright-eyed and bristling for action after an Anzac weekend bye that stretched the school-holiday break to a seemingly endless 3 weeks.

And much like in round 1, a 100-game milestone lad played a match-winning role in an evenly matched, pressure-filled game that was a pleasure to watch.

So after Declan burst through his 100-game banner it was down to plenty of early work with terrific tackling and tons of pressure. It paid off for the lads with a goal at the railway end from William H to get us on the board. Two minutes later Alessio took a fine juggling mark 30 out and kicked truly. After a 5-minute arm wrestle Kew finally got on the board, then were quickly matched by Josef marking at centre half forward and kicking our third. The first quarter was marked by terrific pressure from both teams, but Fitzroy’s contested-possession game gave us a well-earned 2-goal lead.

The Roys were out of the blocks quickly after Declan spoiled a pack at half forward, followed up and kicked towards goal with the ball taking a right-angle bounce through the big sticks. Kew was building some momentum now, racking up their second goal, until 2 great tackles by Max and Freddy dampened their drive. Kew was just unable to capitalise on their ascendancy, peppering the goals but not putting the ball through the middle. Then a beautiful Roys pass was dished off to Finbar who evaded 2 and snapped truly on his left to halt what had been a fairly dominant quarter by Kew.

Our boys reclaimed the upper hand 30 seconds into the third quarter when the ever-industrious  Samuel got ball to Toby who shot a pass to Oscar who duly brought up the twin calicos. The highlight of the match came 5 minutes later when the boys using a glorious chain of handpasses took the Sherrin from one end of the ground to the other, culminating in Samuel passing to Noah B who kicked truly from 40. Kew then finally found their range, kicking 4 unanswered goals in a 10-minute spree to bring them back into the game. Losing the ball in a tree at the Trenerry Crescent end bought us a much-needed breather with the Rovers on our tails at quarter’s end – just 3 points the difference.

Quarter 4 found spectators chasing a waning sun to the eastern end of the ground. A carbon copy of the opening to the second quarter ensued when Samuel (again) got the ball out of the guts, passing to Alessio in the pocket who kicked truly to carve out a more comfortable gap on the scoreboard. Toby then drove the ball to Thomas who marked 30 metres out, snagged it, and we had 2 in a row. Then Kew broke through to bring the difference back to just one straight kick. Cue the goal of the day from Max who snapped on a tough angle to get us out of trouble. Our boys really lifted in the last – the Rovers just couldn’t get the ball past Jack A and Freddy joined in with 3 lads who had been outstanding all day in Declan himself, James E and Darcy D in a barnstorming quarter of defensive effort to cement a hard-fought 13-point win in our second victory in a so-far undefeated season.

Round 1 - Balwyn Tigers at Gordon Barnard Reserve, Sunday 6 April 3pm

Balwyn: 4.4-28
Fitzroy: 5.5-35

Weather: Sunny warm-up, 22 degrees half-time, last-quarter sun shower to make things slippery

Canteen: Slim pickin’s this late in the day but the canteen blokes rustled up 2 warm snags in fluffy white

Quote of the day: ‘We don’t want to play too well in these grading games – do we?’

IT WAS in 1996 that one bore witness to one of the great milestone matches when the then 32-year-old Paul Roos, in his 300^th match, put in a rampaging performance for the Swans against the eventual premiers North Melbourne at Princes Park.

The former Fitzroy legend had 30 touches and pulled down 11 marks in the 79-point thrashing. But before the tears well up, and I start to remember that year’s grand final result, I need to get to a modern Roy Boys’ milestone match in the first round of this year’s Colts.

Noah Atkinson ran with his comrades through the impressive homemade banner marking his 100^th game in a Lions guernsey and the influence he had in the victory was Roos-like in a tough, defensive away game against Balwyn.

In a match ultimately decided by a couple of pieces of random brilliance, the Roy Boys put the clamps on a Balwyn midfield which at first glimpse appeared to be populated by a mob of fleet-footed classy lads with Hawthorn-style hubris.

Our lads hit the lead deep into the first when Finbar gathered the footy in the centre square, took a few strides and booted truly from about 50 out. The boys had a bit of momentum and took a two-goal lead into quarter time after Lachie similarly dobbed one from 50 in a second scintillating game breaker. A two-goal lead at quarter time reflected a high-pressure hit-out with just the couple of pieces of brilliance separating the teams.

The lead got out to three goals in the second when the hard-working midfielders Samuel and Fred combined with Toby and Alessio to get an adventurous ball forward to where Finbar was once again in the right place at the right time, marking right on the goal line and kicking his second. All was rosy when Toby channelled Tom Hawkins and wrestled the ball from a boundary throw-in and kicked an underground sausage for our fourth. It was just reward for Toby who had been working his butt off all around the ground.

So the first half of the year couldn’t have really gone any better with Balwyn failing to bring up the twin calicos score in a half of footy while the mighty Gorillas had four on the board. A major reason for this was the defensive marking of our milestone man Noah. Not just his marking, but his ability to be where the ball was (in a mangled tribute to Jack Dyer) and the resultant pressure he applied to his opponents was just inspiring to his mates.

But at half time when the hunt for a decent feed from the most disappointing kiosk of the season so far yielded modest reward, the skies darkened and an ominous atmosphere hung over the ground.  And as we all know, four goals in modern footy ain’t what it used to be and just a few minutes into the third Balwyn had put two through the big sticks and the game was on. The rest of the quarter was just rough and tough footy and a winner hard to pick.

So into the last and just two straight kicks was the difference. Balwyn capitalised on an errant kick in from the first behind of the quarter to make it a five-point game. We breathed a sigh of relief when an always threatening Alessio finally got on the board with a great snap from the pocket but when Balwyn answered almost immediately our hearts were back on our mouths.

The quarter was highlighted again by the pressure of both teams and a mid-quarter sun shower beckoned as a good luck omen. A bit of individual defensive hard brilliance and run from James Edgar personified the effort required. Noah went to town again in the last and his untiring work across half back was ultimately the difference when the siren mercifully went with us seven points in front 5.5-35 to 4.4-28.

Watching the match, one was reminded of just how much faster and more physical our little ones had become since the days of the under-12s or under-16s or whatever. Our lads have arrived as young men in 2025 and they looked well and truly at home. They revelled in their first game of what for many will be their last year of junior footy.

A great season beckons! And congratulations to you Noah!

– Steve Marmo