Week three of the 2011 Gridiron Victoria season began Saturday morning in Corio with the top two teams in division one facing off. The Bay City Buccaneers, fresh from a bye hosted the Western Crusaders and were never troubled, powering to a big win  55-14 and top spot in the standings.

In the afternoon game, the top two teams in the second division went to battle with the Northern Raiders playing the Croydon Rangers 2.  The Raiders go on the scoreboard early with a couple of touchdowns, only for the Rangers to respond early in the second half. The Raiders proved too strong and won 20-8.

On Sunday, the Monash Barbarians defeated the Ballarat Pioneers in a close game in great conditions 18-6, giving the Barbarians their first win of the year.

Following in the afternoon, the Berwick Miners faced the Croydon Rangers with the Rangers getting up 49-0 in a game that was closer than the scoreline suggests.

Also on Sunday, the Gippsland Gladiators hosted the Melbourne Uni Royals at their home ground in Morewell. The Gladiators were great in front of their home crowd, winning 17-0 although the Royals certainly had every chance to get in the scoreboard.

© Kelly Rose Photography

Week two of Gridiron Victoria began on Saturday at Ranger Field with the division one showdown between arch nemesis Monash Warriors and the Croydon Rangers. In difficult conditions the Rangers scored early on a deep pass then stuck to the running game to register a 28-0 victory.

Following on in the afternoon saw the inaugural game for one of our newest clubs, the Gippsland Gladiators up against the Croydon Ranger 2’s, also in their first game for 2011 in a division two matchup. The Rangers scored on the first play from scrimmage and held a strong lead at half time. The Gladiators, to their credit bounced back hard in the second half with two touchdowns to add some respectability to the scoreline of 28-12.

On Sunday the attention turned to Berwick and in the morning another division two game between the Northern Raiders and the Melbourne Uni Royals. The match was an arm wrestle all day until the Raiders edged out the Royals with some big plays down the stretch, finally securing the win 16-0.

Finally, the Berwick Miners hit the park for the first time in 2011, hosting the Western Crusaders. In another tough, tight struggle, the Crusaders were able to edge out the Miners and power ahead, eventually winning 34-7 and taking top spot in the standings.

Fantastic opening weekend for Gridiron Victoria.

Kicking things off Saturday morning saw the Vic Bowl rematch between the reigning champion Monash Warriors, and the Bay City Buccaneers in Geelong. Ben Graham of NFL team Arizona Cardinals and former Geelong Cats Captain was the Buccaneers’ guest and tossed the  coin pre-game.

(Ben is shown right with GV president Dan Levin – click the picture for a larger view)

The Buccaneers overcame a 6-6 half time stalemate to run away with the win 41-6. In the later game, the Melbourne Royals defeated the Ballarat Pioneers 38-0.

The other two games were at Ranger Field in Croydon with the Northern Raiders defeating a stoic Monash Barbarians 24-8, followed by a thriller with the host Croydon Rangers being defeated by the Western Crusaders 22-20.

Congratulations to all teams on a fantastic 2010 season and to the Monash Warriors, Vic Bowl champions again!

Final Senior Standings for 2010

Round 1 @ Western Crusaders – Sunday 30th May

Gridiron Victoria Junior Vic Bowl

Congratulations to the Croydon Rangers, defeating the Monash Warriors 32-14
Sunday December 1st Ranger Field, Springfield Avenue Croydon

2010 Junior Season Results