VAFA report: Brothers keep Beders in the hunt

By Paul Daffey

The St Bede’s Mentone juggernaut rolls on, with the Beders defeating Collegians by 53 points at the Harry Trott Oval in a rematch of the 2008 A-section grand final. As with most St Bede’s wins, a couple of families played key roles as their team kicked eight goals in the last quarter to sweeten last year’s premiership success.

The pre-eminent mob is the Wintle family, consisting of Luke (ruck), Paul (centre half-back) and Michael (midfield). Luke was captain of the club from 2000 to 2008. Michael last year returned from working as a surfing instructor in Morocco late in the footy season to play his part in the premiership team.

The boys’ father, Peter Wintle, is a legendary bayside sporting figure and, at 67, he still teaches at St Bede’s College. On Saturday, Luke and Paul were named among the Beders’ best.

The family coming through are the Tyquins, with the older boys James and Patrick playing key roles at young ages. James, a midfielder with a reputation for thriving in big matches, has taken took over the captaincy at 21 while Patrick is holding down a spot at half-forward at 18.

The boys’ father, Mark “Nails” Tyquin, is the games record-holder at fellow A-section club University Blues, with about 250 games. Nails was a regular member of state amateur teams in the 1980s as a key defender.

On Saturday, University Blues lost to Old Xavs by seven points in a low-scoring struggle at Toorak Park. Nick Dimittina, a member of another famous local sporting family, was named among the Xavs’ best.

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