By Matt Fotia
Ringwood have won back the Parker Cup defeating local rivals Heathmont by 20 points, thanks to a complete second half performance, celebrating club champion Tim Burmeister’s 200th game in style.
Burmeister became just the third player in the club’s history to reach the 200 game milestone, and has been with the club for two decades if you include his time as a junior.
Tim Burmeister enters the field of battle for the 200th time as a @RwdFootballclub redback! pic.twitter.com/lpYWmwxBXy
— Eastern FNL (@Eastern_FNL) June 19, 2021
Hard running wingman Jack Blyth won the medal for Ringwood’s best afield, awarded by opposition coach Nick Rutley, with the ranging left footers performance one of the key drivers behind the Redbacks seventh win of the season. Young defender Harry Isaacs was named Heathmont’s best by Brett Rowe.
The win will see the Redbacks join The Basin on seven wins, two clear of both South Belgrave and Heathmont and a further game ahead of 2018 conquerors Boronia. Heathmont will fall into fourth spot on the ladder, with South Belgrave adding to their already impressive percentage and leapfrogging the young Jets.
Heathmont showed signs of a comeback during the final term, after goals from Ryan Young and Jed Hansen, the latter a silky long bomb from outside 50, bought the margin back to two goals. But the experience of the Redbacks shone through, finding a settling goal through Charlie George, before James Parker – who worked hard all day without reward on the opposite wing to Blyth – kicked the sealer, following a strong tackle on Matt Langdon.
Both sides bought immense pressure in the early stages, with Tom Merlino’s forward pressure the source of the opening two majors, kicked by Ahyan Bajramov and Jed Hansen, and in both of the opening quarters the Jets controlled the opening 15 minutes, with Ryan Burleigh prominent around the ball and Robert Savory steadfast as the spare down back.
Ryan Burleigh has been able to combine his natural athleticism and dash with a harder edge in 2021 and is becoming the complete footballer, the centre of a number of Jets forays forward. At times in the first half he got off the chain, finding acres of space and kicking a classy set shot goal.
Ahyan Bajramov proved a handful for the Ringwood defenders all day and took a number of impressive marks. In the second quarter he took three marks inside forward 50, but will rue missed chances – including one shot straight into the man on the mark – but along with Hansen and Fin Brown he provides a promising attacking future for the Jets.
In both of the opening quarters Ringwood worked themselves into the contest and levelled the scores through consistent possession and territorial domination and also through the class of Declan Hill. Whilst he wasn’t prolific, he was clever when he had the ball.
A well weighted kick, which found Patrick Burmeister between two ‘zoned off’ Heathmont defenders, allowed the midfielder to kick a goal after the siren and give Ringwood the lead, before Hill’s own goal in the second quarter kickstarted a mini wave of Ringwood momentum, with a Daniel Jordanov goal soon after bringing the scores to basic parity on the eve of halftime.
Heathmont’s incisive ball movement disappeared in the second half, with the Jets attempts to switch and spread the Ringwood defence brought apart by their own lack of intensity, with the Redbacks parked in their forward half, as their zone moved as one with the rigid Jets transitions.
Mitch Jackson kicked the opening goal of the third, making the most of a Heathmont turnover, skidding one home off the outside of the boot, before Ashley Stagg entered the contest, kicking a crafty crumbing goal and winning a free kick for a chase down tackle, which almost resulted in a goal after a clever handball to star Trent Farmer, who hooked the ball through for a behind – which was briefly called a goal by the goal umpire.
Farmer’s kicking was the only thing holding him back from yet another standout performance.
The League medal winner started finding the ball during the second quarter and was proving a handful for the Jets, providing Ringwood an option on both wings. If he’d had his kicking boots on, the Redbacks might’ve been more comfortable at the half time interval.
The Jets tried to inject some pace into their game after the final change, with Joel Burleigh the most important player on the ground for a ten minute period, with his booming left foot the best route to goal for the Jets.Hansen’s late goal came from a kick out, with Burleigh hitting a torpedo to the centre circles, which was forced forward and ended up in the arms of the young Hansen, who worked his way through the tackle, swung into the right boot and split the middle.
With the margin back to two goals a comeback seemed feasible, before the experience of Ringwood shone through. A well worked stoppage ended with a high ball to the top of the square, before Charlie George put his head over the Sherrin and was duly awarded a high free kick – despite arguments from Savory – and converted.
If there was debate around George’s free kick, there could be none about Parker’s, who wrapped Langdon in a bear hug after the defender had to backtrack to collect a poor Caleb Quirk pass. Langdon broke two tackles before being met by the wiry Parker.
Parker sealed the game, with a 40 metre floater, which failed to rotate at all on its path to goal, and completed a vintage Ringwood performance, outlasting their more inexperienced opponents from up the road.
