THE STORY SO FAR
It’s been a tale of two halves for the Northern Blues in the opening stages of the 2016 VFL season.
Northern sits in 10th position on the VFL ladder after Round 10, heading into its second of three byes in the 2016 season. The Blues have overcome a slow start to have a 4-5 record, after winning just one of their opening six games under senior coach Josh Fraser.
Narrow losses, big defeats and spirited wins have all been on the agenda in a fluctuating campaign in which the Blues might consider themselves unlucky to not have taken some big scalps early in the season.
Injuries and retirements have seen some exciting development from both AFL and VFL-listed youth, while three wins on the trot heading into the bye sees Preston City Oval full of hope heading into the second half of the year.
HOW DID WE GET HERE?
Round 1 vs. Footscray - LOSS (49 points)
The scoreboard read a 49-point loss but the Blues were in the game until the final change, despite a slow start. The Dogs kicked away in the final term, in Josh Fraser and Tom Wilson’s first match as coach and captain respectively. Lachie Plowman’s promising debut earned him an instant Carlton debut.
Best performers: Lachie Plowman, Liam Jones, Dillon Viojo-Rainbow
Round 2 vs. Geelong - WIN (14 points)
The Blues got their first win under Josh Fraser with a gutsy performance down the highway under lights, spearheaded by Liam Jones and Kristian Jaksch up forward (eight goals between them). Dennis Armfield made a successful return from a long injury layoff.
Best performers: Liam Jones, Simon White, Tom Wilson
Round 3 vs. Port Melbourne - LOSS (19 points)
Northern nearly got out of jail but a poor first half came back to haunt them, despite drawing within a goal on two occasions in the last quarter. Tom Wilson put in a vintage captain’s performance, while Tim Jones and Jack Silvagni showed positive signs on debut.
Best performers: Tom Wilson, Kieran McGuinness, Dennis Armfield
Round 4 vs. Collingwood - LOSS (nine points)
For the second straight week, the Blues looked to defy a hefty half-time deficit, but were beaten by the final siren. Tom Wilson again nearly willed his sign over the line, while a Jayden Foster snap - which would’ve got the Blues within three points - hit the post with minutes remaining.
Best performers: Tom Wilson, Matthew Dick, Hisham Kerbatieh
Round 5 vs. Casey Scorpions - LOSS (107 points)
The first game in a dirty fortnight for the Blues: Kieran McGuinness was involved in a collision that left him with three fractured vertebrae, Tom Wilson was stretchered off with concussion and the Blues fell by over 100 points.
Best performers: Nick Graham, Matthew Dick, Hisham Kerbatieh
Round 6 vs. Williamstown - LOSS (143 points)
After a difficult week, the Blues had a dirty, dark day at Burbank Oval, managing only three goals for the game as the reigning premiers trounced the Blues by 143 points.
Best performers: Jason Tutt, Dylan Buckley, Tim Jones
Round 7 vs. Coburg - WIN (nine points)
An emotional day for the club saw Brent Bransgrove’s 100th and final game end in a victory, despite the outgoing champ managing only five minutes on the ground. Jason Tutt and Nick Graham were superb, as they collected over 30 disposals and kicked three goals each.
Best performers: Jason Tutt, Nick Graham, Kristian Jaksch
Round 9 vs. Frankston - WIN (40 points)
Northern capped off the perfect weekend for Carlton-affiliated teams with an ultimately comfortable 40-point win, although the game was a scrap for three quarters. In long sleeves at Ikon Park, Jack Silvagni kicked four goals up forward, while Mark Whiley and Tim Jones did the grunt work in the middle.
Best performers: Jack Silvagni, Mark Whiley, Hisham Kerbatieh
Round 10 vs. Box Hill Hawks - WIN (36 points)
One of the club’s best wins in a number of years, the Blues went to Box Hill City Oval and blew the Hawks out of the water in the second half. Kristian Jaksch, Liam Jones and Jack Silvagni combined for 10 goals, while Andrew Phillips was an enormous presence in the ruck.
Best performers: Andrew Phillips, Bill Gowers, Tim Jones
INDIVIDUAL OUTLOOK: FAST FIVE
Star performer
Jason Tutt: The 25-year-old will figure in Laurie Hill calculations come the end of the season should he keep up the form displayed in a consistent opening half of the year. Alongside the likes of Matthew Dick and Northern captain Tom Wilson prior to an injury layoff, Tutt has been a dependable performer for the Blues, with a 37-disposal, three-goal game against Coburg the pick of the bunch. Tutt is No.1 at Northern for disposals, is top two for tackles and inside 50s and has featured in his coach’s best players in each of the last six games.
Jason Tutt has been a star performer for the Northern Blues this season. (Photo: AFL Media)
Mid-season surprise
Tim Jones: As well as fellow recruit Hisham Kerbatieh, Jones has been the surprise packet for the Blues, as a latecomer to the club’s program after spending his 2015 with Southport in the NEAFL. Jones made his debut against Port Melbourne and his filled in the void of the now-retired Brent Bransgrove in midfield, averaging 22 disposals (12 contested) and five clearances in his opening seven games of senior VFL football.
Setting a platform
Bill Gowers: Following a slow start to the season, the second-year Carlton rookie has benefited from a move to the half-back line to be one of the Blues’ best performers in their last three wins. Gowers has averaged over 22 disposals since the positional change and put in arguably his best performance of the last two seasons against Box Hill. He will be hopeful of maintaining his positive form in the second half of the season as the Blues look to build on their positive momentum.
On the comeback trail
Ciaran Sheehan: An 18-month layoff from football came to an end a month ago as the injury-plagued Irishman made his long-awaited return via the Northern Blues Development side. Sheehan has featured in the Blues’ last three games and has steadily progressed by the week. He achieved his highest disposal tally of the season against the Hawks (16) and showed some customary dash off half-back: he’ll look to continuously improve as he gets more games under his belt.
Standout performance
Liam Jones vs. Geelong (Round 2): It was a dominant display up forward in tandem from Liam Jones which spearheaded the Blues to their breakthrough win of 2016. Jones had 14 disposals, took nine marks (five contested) and kicked five goals, three of them coming in the second term as the Blues turned a 20-point quarter time deficit into a half-time lead. The Blues would hold on in the second half for a spirited 14-point win, with Jones’ superior performance seeing him earn a recall to the AFL side.
THE STORY TO COME
Prior to last weekend, Northern’s wins had come against Geelong, Coburg and Frankston - all sides below them on the ladder. However, the win against the Hawks will give the side an elevated sense of confidence heading into the business end of the season.
The run of games doesn’t get any easier for the Blues, playing top-four hopefuls Collingwood, Essendon, Footscray, Sandringham, Werribee and Williamstown at some stage in their final nine rounds. The Blues’ next test comes against the Zebras when they host them at Ikon Park on Saturday week: a win would see the Blues even the ledger at 5-5 after 10 games.
The Blues will be hoping the strong forward line of recent weeks which has yielded three consecutive 100+ scores continues its good form as the competition heats up. In a VFL season which has thrown up constant surprise results and radical shifts in the ladder by the week, Northern will have to be on their toes and continue with the form shown against Box Hill to be a player come the pointy end of the season.
