Article and Photos by Michael Shillito
Time moves relentlessly forward, the seasons ever changing. And as April turned into May, the mercury dropped and the cold winds blew around Sydney footy venues. Winter is coming, and it felt like it was here already. But after some morning rain, thankfully the sun came out by the time the Premier Division matches got under way on Saturday afternoon.
At Gore Hill Oval, North Shore played host to Wests. The winner would find themselves in the top five. The Bombers went into the game with two wins, on the back of an impressive performance in their last season. The Magpies were a draw ahead of the Bombers on the ladder, but had tasted defeat for the first time last week. It was a game that promised plenty, and didn’t disappoint. It was a game that had everything – some great goals, strong marking, plenty of physical stuff and several lead changes in a game that would be in the balance until the end.
The Magpies made the early front-running, with three goals already on the scoreboard when the game was just a few minutes old. It set up a handy buffer for the Magpies, as the Bombers began to lift around the ground as the quarter progressed. But with five goals to two in the opening term and a 20-point lead, it was looking good for Wests. But the Bombers fought back in the second quarter, tightening up the defence and scoring three unanswered goals, hitting the front late in the quarter and taking a two-point lead into the rooms at the long break.
With the Bombers having reeled in Wests’ early lead, it set the stage for an absorbing second half. It would be one where fortunes would wax and wane, momentum swinging back and forth like a pendulum as two evenly-matched sides battled it out. When Wests would get a goal to regain the lead in the third quarter, the Bombers would find an answer. There wasn’t much in it after a quarter of four goals to three for the Bombers; and the home side would lead by four points at three quarter time. 
Kyall Walford and Daniel Schacher traded goals in the opening minutes of the final term, the lead changing twice more and the Bombers were still slightly in front. But from the centre break, Tom Williamson led out to mark and goal, restoring the lead for the Magpies. And when Clinton McGrath was taken high and a free kick was awarded, the Magpies were seven points clear.
The Bombers weren’t finished yet, and when Will Taylor converted a set shot at the 18 minute mark, there was only two points in it. But three minutes later, the Magpies looked to have it under control. Brenton Mumme marked 50 metres out, probably too far out; but played on and wrong-footed his opponent to run around him and shoot truly.
The Bombers needed two quick goals, and would have one more roll of the dice, as Jake Monk ran inside 50 and side-stepped around two opponent to have an open goal in front of him. But having done all the hard work, Monk’s snap sailed wide; and the chance was gone. The Magpies would run down the clock in the final minutes for a hard-earned eight point win.
It had been an even contest, both sides creating plenty of chances in a game that was always up for grabs and which had gone down to the wire. But it was the Magpies who would hang on the better in the final stages, and they would be holding the parcel when the final layer of time was unwrapped.
Tom Williamson had been sensational all day for the Magpies, kicking five goals in a best-on-ground performance. Brenton Mumme and James Newbury had also made prominent contributions for the Magpies. For the Bombers; Matt Adamson, Selby Lee-Steere and Matt Varjavandi had picked up plenty of the ball all afternoon.
UTS’s Ladies Day is one of the biggest days in the Sydney footy social calendar, and the Bats again pulled out all the stops to put on a big day of entertainment at Waverley Oval. But the biggest entertainment event was the game of footy as the Bats hosted Sydney Uni, and it would be a cliff-hanger. 
The Bats, going into this match looking for their first win in 2014 and on the back of a humiliating defeat last week, gave every indication early that there would be no repeat this time round. Contesting every possession against the Students, the Bats refused to concede easy goals this time. Two goals apiece in the first quarter, with the Students leading by a point at quarter time.
But when the Students attempted to kick away in the second term, they would frustrate themselves. Missing some shots at goal that should have been kicked, the Students found themselves overtaken by the more accurate home side; and although the Students had the better of play around the ground, the Bats kicked two goal to one to lead by two points at half time. There were two goals apiece in the third term, with the Students again having many more chances but getting behinds from most of them; and it was Sydney Uni by a point at the last change.
There’d been plenty of social events happening around the ground, but with such a thrilling contest, all attention was on the action on the oval as the last quarter got under way. And it was a quarter that would entertain and captivate the audience through numerous momentum swings and lead changes. The Bats got to a seven-point lead in time-on, but a point, an intercepted goal and then another to James Howard within a minute saw the Students take the lead.
But the Bats had one more chance in the dying seconds, as Michael May led out to mark 25 metres out. The pressure was enormous, but May rose to the occasion as he calmly stepped back and slotted the goal through to level the scores. The ball went to the centre for the bounce, and immediately the siren sounded; with the scoreboard showing the teams couldn’t be separated.
The Bats remain winless, but at least the draw gives them their first premiership points for the season; while the Students remain comfortably in the top five. Damon Collina, Dean Ipaviz and Thomas Sundberg were best for the Bats; while the Students were well served by the efforts of Harry Dobson, Jacob Swarts and Peter Hughes.
The cold and windy conditions contributed to a bizarre match at Mike Kenny Oval, as Pennant Hills played host to St George.
The swirling breeze made it difficult to get a long kick going with any certainty of where it would finish, as well as making it hard for anyone to judge their position in a marking contest. And both sides were making a mess of their goal-kicking chances in the first half. Neither side could manage a goal in the first half, with the Dragons leading by a point at quarter time and scores tied up at eight behinds apiece at the long break.
But by the time the players emerged from the rooms for the second half, the wind had thankfully eased; while the Demons had steadied their goal-kicking nerves. After a first half in which neither side had drawn twin flags from the goal umpires, the Demons suddenly turned on a rush of major scores to slay the Dragons’ chances. Seven goals were scored by the Demons in the third term, while at the other end the Dragons managed to eke out their first of the afternoon.
The Demons held a 38-point lead at three quarter time. But to the Dragons’ credit, they didn’t give up in the final term; and with two goals to one, would win the quarter. But it was the Demons’ day, the explosive third term proving to be the difference between the two sides. 
On a day when goals were hard to come by, Stephen Wray stood up and was counted to bag four goals for the afternoon. Around the ground, James Dunn, Damian Dell’Aquila and Lloyd Shepherd were prominent contributors for the Demons. For the Dragons, Nick Ryan, Dominic Killworth and Harrison Green battled tirelessly all afternoon.
UNSW-ES hosted ladder leaders Manly at the Village Green on Saturday afternoon. The Giants continued their unbeaten 2014 season, getting the early jump on the Bulldogs to run out to what would be a match-winning lead; although the Bulldogs would match it with the defending champions for the final three quarters of the game.
The game was effectively over at quarter time after an explosive opening term. Bursting out of the blocks, banging the ball towards the goals with regularity and out-running and out-tackling their Bulldog opponents, the Giants soon piled on the scoreboard pressure. Six goals to two in the opening term, and the Giants were 28 points ahead at quarter time. But the Bulldogs steadied in the second term, stopping the rot and fighting back to win the quarter. With a run of four goals to two, the Bulldogs reduced the Manly lead to 16 points at half time and keep themselves in the contest.
Last week, the second half saw the Giants turn a big win into a rout. The Bulldogs showed plenty of spirit and determination to prevent that from happening again, although they never looked a chance to get back into the contest. The third quarter became a defensive scrap, the Giants unable to turn on their best play but still managing to score the only goal of the quarter to lead by 23 points at three quarter time.
The Bulldogs had shown plenty of fighting spirit, and continued to do so in the last quarter. But it wasn’t enough for them to be any chance of stealing the game, as the Giants had built up too much of a buffer during the opening term. And the Giants had the answering goal to any challenge the Bulldogs would mount; and that continued in the last quarter as the visitors scored three goals to two to run out 31-point winners.
David Stroud, Jordan Weir and Gareth Benbow had been best for the Giants; while Ryan Plant, Alex Henderson and Jeremy Daniher had been tireless workers for the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs had matched it with the Giants for three quarters, but the Manly machine continues to roll along undefeated, their hopes of going back to back getting stronger every week.
The value of a good start was also evident at Monarch Oval, where early goals from Sydney Hills Eagles was enough for them to collect their first win of the season, an 18-point result against Campbelltown.
The Eagles got off to a flyer, finding room to move on the massive Monarch ground and finding attacking options when they needed them. Six goals to two in the opening quarter opened up a 22-point quarter time lead. The Eagles found their confidence returning; although they were forced into defence a lot more in the second term, they stood firm with two goals to one and led by 29 points at the long break. 
The Blues searched for a way back into the contest during the third term, but came up blank. Although they tried hard to find avenues to goal, and were successful twice, the Eagles had the answers to any challenge the Blues would attempt. And with three goals for the quarter, the Eagles got out to a 37-point lead at the last change.
It hadn’t been Campbelltown’s day, but they salvaged some respectability in the final term. The Eagles had enough of a safety margin on the scoreboard that the result of the game was never in doubt; but the Blues played much better football in the final term. A run of four goals to one in favour of the Blues cut the margin in half, but this was the Eagles’ day and the first time they would get to sing their song this season.
Damon Steer was the driving force behind the Eagle forward line, finishing with four goals. Around the ground, Dean Costello, Aaron Drinkwater and Ken Ewen-Chappell were ball magnets all afternoon. Hamish Sherwood, Taran Etto and Nathan Lomas had been best for the Blues.
Last Modified on 05/05/2014 10:33
