It was a successful weekend for Fitzroy with strong wins by the senior mens and womens teams.

Taking on the more favoured Old Brighton Grammarians at Brunswick Street Oval, the Fitzroy Premier B team started slowly but built to some fast-flowing footy in the second half, during their convincing win, 15.12.102 to 7.12.54.

The team weathered the storm in the first quarter, with the backline of Al Green, Ross Borland and Tim Biscaro doing a power of work to keep OBG at bay. Their own kicking didnt help the visitors, as they looked to be playing all over the top of Fitzroy but couldnt capitalise given their inaccuracy in front of goal.

In the second quarter Fitzroy got back on level pegging in general play and then in the second half really showed some significantly improved flow and team footy.

The continued improvement of ruckman Matthew Gaite was remarked upon all over the ground, as our very tall number 120 clunked some great marks and scored a couple of crucial goals. In the absence of Corbin Stevic, it has been of great benefit to the team to have Gaiter step up during his forays into the forward line.

Young Aiden Lambert continues to impress, with some outstanding passages of play, particularly under pressure.

The combination of Rory Angiolellas hard nut style and Matty Kyroussis really hitting some form with his outside run and delivery into the forwards, helped make the difference.

A strong home crowd enjoyed the win and helped deliver yet another great day at Brunswick Street Oval.

This week the challenge gets a bit harder as we travel to take on the undefeated Beaumaris.

There was some outstanding coverage of the days activities at BSO by several Footy Almanac authors.Grab a cup of tea and sit down for a read of all things Fitzroy from several different perspectives:

• David Wilson, who gives a nod to the volunteers who help ensure the team gets on the ground every week, while capturing the essence of the day at BSO,
• King George III looked at a mixture of history, politics and the play, with some thoughts on Will Pickering,
• Phil Hill, whose dental skills came in handy for the second weekend in a row (make sure you keep your mouthguard in!), and
• Rod Oaten, who marvels over our tall ruckman with a very large number.

Not to be outdone, the Fitzroy-ACU Womens team scored a big win over University of Melbourne (The Mugars) on Sunday and have moved to second place on the ladder behind the all-conquering Gippsland.

At Princes Park the final score was 17.9.111 to 0.7.7.

Coach John Marshall said it was a pretty even team performance with Liz Olney (4 goals), Ash Riddell (6 goals), Alice Batterton, Luci Murphy, Gabby Livy, Matilda Arthur and Leashi Harris named best players.

With the longest road trip and only 15 fit players by the end of the game, the Fitzroy-ACU Womens 2 team were overrun by Shepparton FNC 14.13.97 to 0.0.2. Coach Jo Hogan said the team had given their all, even after a bad injury further depleted their numbers. The team is determined to come out stronger after the bye.

At BSO the Fitzroy Premier B Reserves werent quite as impressive this week and struggled badly in the first half against OBG. Blustery conditions didnt help but the one goal first half wasnt reflective of how the team has been preforming in recent weeks. In the second half there was a significant lift, scoring four goals to one, but the gap was too far and they went down 5.13.43 to 10.8.68.

The Thirds defeated Beaumaris 6.12.48 to 5.4.34 at Ramsden Street Oval with Jamie Mackay again performing strongly. And the Under 19s had a very big win over Whitefriars, also at Ramsden Street, 17.6.108 to 9.4.58. Max Stella lived up to his name, with a six goal, best-on-ground performance. Rory Patterson was again amongst the goals with four.