SYDNEY AFL ROUND 6 2013
Article and Photos by Michael Shillito
We’ve now finished round 6, already a third of the way through the home & away season. In an unexpected development, the competition newcomers, Manly, find themselves outright top of the ladder; the only undefeated team.
The only other team that had been unbeaten, North Shore, tasted defeat for the first time on Saturday evening; going down to UTS in a thrilling game of switching momentum at Gore Hill Oval in a game that would show the value of accurate kicking for goal.
2013 hadn’t gone to plan for the Bats. In their third season in Premier Division, and fancying their chances of making the finals for the first time, they’d had a nightmare draw at the start of the season and found themselves with just one win for their first five games.
The first quarter was a shootout, goal for goal. Four goals apiece, and with the Bats scoring two goals to one to start the second term; the game had eleven scoring shots with no behinds for either team.
In the lead-up to half time, the Bats managed another two goals. But the Bombers’ goal-kicking radar would let them down in the latter stages of the second term, as they would score five behinds before the siren sounded for half time with the Bats 13 points ahead.
By the second half, day had turned into night; and to the relief of everyone, there were no problems with the lights this time. And there were no problems either with the Bats’ goalkicking in the first minute of the third term, as Tom Steinfort went long from the 50 metre line and slammed the ball through for the Bats’ ninth goal.
Nineteen points ahead, the Bats tightened the game up; and for the next 20 minutes the ball barely entered either team’s 50 metre lines. There was a lot of chipping the ball around, plenty of tackling, and the ball being thrown in by the boundary umpires numerous times. A contrast to the free-flowing first quarter, it was now accountable football.
As the clock ticked into time-on, a free kick to Jack Davis broke the deadlock. And then Dale Fitzgerald, gathering the ball on the run on centre wing, powered forward and threw the ball onto his boot, driving it long through the big sticks to cut the margin to six points at the last change. And in the opening minute of the final quarter, a mark and goal by Danny Roberts leveled the scores.
Jason Harry gave the Bombers the lead, but the Bats quickly hit back. Sam Chadwick and a double by Scott Tregoning, bringing his tally to four for the day, put the Bats two goals ahead.
A behind for the Bombers put the margin back to eleven points. And then captain Ron Wason stood up, eluding his opponent as he ran forward to be the only player within 20 metres, taking the ball unopposed and slamming it through to get the margin within a kick as the clock ticked past the 20 minute mark.
The Bats were visibly tiring, but hanging on for dear life as the Bombers threw everything at them in the final minutes. And scooping up the ball from a boundary throw-in, a shot at goal that would have given the Bombers the lead sailed agonisingly wide. Then some ball-ups, some tackles and the final siren sounded. The Bats had hung on.
It was a case of history repeating. Last year, the Bats knocked off the Bombers by a point at Gore Hill. And again this time, they’d held the Bombers out to get up in a thriller. Despite the Bombers having had more scoring shots, and probably more of the ball around the ground, the Bats had made better use of the opportunities they were able to get to finish with an amazing scoreline of 12.1; which was just good enough to get over the line.
Scott Tregoning finished with four goals for the Bats; while Justin Kenna, David Lavender and Andrew Morley were among their best. For the Bombers, Danny Roberts finished with four goals and along with Tom McMahon and Daniel Schacher were key contributors.
Manly maintained their unbeaten status in 2013 at Monarch Oval, but the Wolves were made to fight all the way by a persistent Campbelltown side before taking the game by 26 points in a low-scoring encounter.
The game started as a tight and evenly-contested clash, as the Blues kept themselves in the hunt and found the answering goals to be within six points of the Wolves at the first change. The Wolves got two goals to one in the second term, as the Blues struggled to find scoring chances but worked hard to deny the Wolves any opportunity of kicking away.
The margin was 11 points at half time, and the third quarter was similar to the second. Although the Wolves scored two goals to one, putting the margin out to 19 points; for much of the quarter the Wolves found themselves frustrated by the persistent dogged defence of the Campbelltown side that refused to allow them to kick away.
From there the result of the game was never in doubt. The Blues struggled to create scoring chances, and were never a chance to snatch the game. The Wolves had done enough to take the points, and added three goals to two in the final term. And with the win, combined with the result at Gore Hill, the Wolves are now outright top of the ladder; their debut season in Premier Division going far better than even the staunchest Manly optimist could ever have imagined.
Calum Johnston, Harrison Koch and Angus Buncle were among Manly’s best; while for the Blues, Matt Edwins, Kyle Sommerville and Bryce Joynson continued to work hard all day.
Illawarra have never beaten Pennant Hills; and when the two sides faced off at Mike Kenny Oval on Saturday afternoon, it didn’t take long for it to be clear that there would be no change in that record.
From the start, the Demons burst out of the blocks. Clearing the ball from the centre breaks with regularity and finding plenty of options on the forward line, the red-hot Demons left the Lions behind from the start. The first quarter, a marathon shootout, saw the Demons face minimal opposition as they scored a whopping 13 goals to three; already 66 points ahead at quarter time.
Statisticians were reaching for their record books, looking to find examples of such complete dominance. And the second term followed a similar theme, with the Demons scoring nine goals to one for the quarter. With a score of 142 on the board at half time, and a lead of 117 points, the Demons would have had every right to sing the song in the rooms during the break.
With the game well and truly won, the scoring slowed down in the third quarter as the Lion defenders at least put up some resistance. But the Demons were still able to score another six unanswered goals. Early in the last quarter, the Demons brought up the double-century; and with eight goals to two for the quarter, a day of dominance was complete.
The final margin was 197 points, a massive result that will give the Demons the edge in the search for ladder positions later in the season as they now have an imposing percentage. Luke Bilbe finished with nine goals; Ranga Ediriwickrama, Nick Campbell and Damian Dell’Aquila four apiece, and a total of 14 Demon players getting on the goal-scoring list.
Bilbe, Alex Goodall and Dell’Aquila were the Demons’ best; but there were few Demons who weren’t in complete control of their game throughout the day. On a dirty day for the Lions, Ken Ewen-Chappell, Nathan Wright and Thomas Green kept trying hard all day.
A twilight game at Bruce Purser saw UNSW-ES turn on their best form to defeat Sydney Hills Eagles by 97 points, leaving the Eagles still yet to win a game in 2013.
A run of four goals to one in the opening term saw the Bulldogs open up a 22-point lead. But they hit their straps in the second term, leaving the Eagles chasing them down as they ran through a five-goal quarter to lead by 49 points at the long break.
The Eagles, only able to score one goal per quarter, never looked a chance to work their way back into the contest; and the Bulldogs were never placed under any form of sustained pressure. Four goals in the third term and five in the last saw the margin double in the second half; only just short of the three-figure margin.
The Bulldogs had put in a solid four-quarter effort, and their defence was sensational as they denied the Eagle forwards from inflicting any scoreboard pressure at all. The Eagles, well short of full strength, found the evening a struggle; and their search for their first win of 2013 will have to wait another week.
Tom Williamson kicked four goals for the Bulldogs; while Josh Parmenter, Tom Heath and Peter Kefalas picked up plenty of the ball. For the Eagles, the experienced trio of Gus Seebeck, Trent Baker and Ryan Fitton continued to work hard.
Another twilight game was played at Sydney Uni No 1, and it was the Students who would prevail against Western Suburbs with a 33-point victory.
The first quarter was evenly contested around the ground, with both sides making six scoring shots; but the Students made better use of theirs to lead by 10 points at the first change. It was a battle between two sides looking for a win to stay in the top five, and the arm wrestle continued in the second term. The quarter saw three goals apiece, with the Students eight points to the good at half time.
The Students took the upper hand in the third term, as they threatened to get out to a match-winning lead; but the Magpies were a tough opponent and weren’t going to give up easily. The Students managed three goals to two for the quarter, leading by 18 points at the last change. And although the Magpies continued to persevere though the last quarter, and managed three goals; the strains of playing catch-up football took its toll as the Students kicked away late to record six for the quarter.
Dominic Vincent, Callum Kennedy and Jethro Braico were best for the Students, who retain their position in the top five. For the Magpies, Matt Eurell scored four goals, while Marcus Linsen, Kyall Walford and Brenton Mumme were key contributors. But the loss was the Magpies’ third on the trot, seeing them fall out of the top five.
St George, on the back of a four-game winning streak, entered the top five for the first time in 2013 when they were 61 points too good for Balmain at Henson Park on Sunday afternoon.
The foundations for the win were laid in the first quarter, as the Dragons raced out of the blocks with a six goals to one opening term to lead by 32 points at quarter time. And they would maintain that solid form in the second quarter, five goals to one extending the margin to 57 points at half time.
With the game safely won, the second half was a more even contest; and had it not been for some wasteful finishing in front of goal, the Dockers could have reduced their losing margin. But instead the Dockers kicked 12 behinds in the final term, and although they won the last quarter, they still finished up with another heavy defeat.
David Lycakis and Nick Ryan scored four goals apiece for the Dragons; while Blake Guthrie, Ben Hodgson and Paul Sain were prominent around the ground. For the Dockers, Kristian Ericson, Jerome Farrell and Harry Jenkins were among their best.
So at the conclusion of the round, Manly find themselves in outright top of the table. North Shore and UNSW-ES are a game behind the Wolves; while Sydney Uni and St George round out the top five.
