Article and Photos by Michael Shillito
Just when we thought the lineup for this year’s Premier Division finals series was all but decided, a round of upsets breathed new life into finals calculations.
It was one of the windiest weekends in many a long year, the blustering blowing making it a tricky weekend for the players. But it’s an ill wind that blows no-one good; and this weekend’s results have added to the interest and intrigue of the run home to the finals. The Manly winning streak is over, and the battle for fifth place is back on.
For the first half of the season, defending champions Manly had taken all before them, looking unstoppable as they demolished their opponents every week. But it’s been a long time since a team went through a whole season undefeated; and the Giants’ winning streak finally came to an end at Weldon Oval on Saturday afternoon when they went down to St George by eight points.
Many times this year the Giants had an early jump on their opponents, and the Dragons were determined to avoid that fate. And so they tackled and scrapped and made life difficult for the Giants in the first term. It wasn’t always pretty to watch, but it was effective as the Giants were forced to compete for every possession and could only manage one goal in the first term.
The Dragons were unable to manage a goal in the first quarter, trailing by four points at quarter time. But it didn’t take long for them to break the deadlock and take the lead in the second term, the first of four goals for the quarter. It was St George at their best, as for the first time this year they made the Giants look vulnerable and held them to a single goal and going to the rooms at half time with a ten point lead.
As the winds picked up in the third term, the game became more influenced by the stiff westerly. The Giants were kicking with it in the premiership quarter, and kept the scoreboard ticking over with regularity. But their goal-kicking radar, so reliable for so much of the season to date, deserted them when they needed it. They took the lead during the quarter, but an inaccurate return of 3.9 for the quarter would cost them dearly; as instead of getting out to an insurmountable lead, they held an advantage of 16 points at the last change. 
The Dragons were coming home with the wind, and by now it was blowing even harder, pumping the ball to the St George scoring end with ease. Trips to the western end were rare, with the Giants only able to manage two behinds. But the Dragons were finding the momentum was running their way, and had plenty to celebrate as four unanswered goals in the final quarter. Finally the competition had found someone to slay the Giants.
Experienced campaigner Rod Craig was in vintage form, dominating around the ground in a best-on-ground performance; while Dominic Killworth and Jordan West were also prominent around the ground as the Dragons claimed their biggest scalp for the year and moved up to third place. For the Giants, David Stroud, Ryan Wearne and Tom Pyle worked hard all afternoon. The Giants remain top of the ladder, but it’s only their impressive percentage that keeps them there. And suddenly there is hope for the rest of the league that the Giants can be beaten.
Pennant Hills join Manly on ten wins for the season, albeit with a vastly inferior percentage. The Demons pulled off a 58-point win over Wests at Mike Kenny Oval on Saturday evening to keep themselves in contention for the minor premiership; and if the Demons can beat Manly next week, they will replace the Giants on top of the ladder.
It took a little while for the Demons to get their attack firing on all cylinders, but their solid defensive work, combined with some Magpie inaccuracy, would ensure they stayed in front on the scoreboard. Three goals to one in favour of the Demons resulted in a nine point lead at quarter time. But as the second quarter progressed, the Demons were making far better use of the windy conditions, adding four goals to one in the second term to get out to a 33-point lead at the long break.
There was no way back into the contest for the Magpies, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying. Two Magpie goals in the third quarter while they were working hard to keep it tight may have given them a sniff. But the Demons had the answers, three goals was enough to win the quarter and hold a 40-point advantage at three quarter time. Sensing a percentage boosting opportunity, the Demons continued with the job in the final quarter, their return of four goals to one turning the final result into a big win. 
Stephen Wray took control on the forward line, overcoming the windy conditions to kick five goals. Damian Dell’Aquila, Alex Goodall and Lloyd Shepherd were in imposing form in general play to keep the Demons on top around the ground. Levi Sands, Matthew Lemme and Stephen Hudson battled tirelessly for the Magpies; but the loss sees them drop to fourth on the ladder, a game behind St George but still a long way ahead of fifth-placed Sydney Uni.
And the gap between fourth and fifth remains intact after Sydney Uni were jumped by Campbelltown at Monarch Oval on Saturday afternoon and fell victim to one of the biggest boilovers of the season.
The Blues, determined to make an early impression on the contest, hit the ground running and quickly asserted their presence in the early exchanges. Before too long, they were getting a steady stream of inside 50s, and converting it into scoreboard pressure. Four goals to one in the opening quarter gave the Blues a 19-point quarter time advantage. And although the Students tried to regroup after the early onslaught, the Blues had the answers during the second term. Three goals apiece were scored in the second quarter, and at half time the Blues held a 20-point advantage.
For Sydney Uni, this wasn’t the plan; and they knew they had some work to do if they were to get back into the game. While the winds were gathering outside, the Students were formulating a campaign of relentless pressure. And during the third term, they executed that plan, shutting the Campbelltown machine down and working to peg back the deficit. The cross-field winds made it difficult, but the Students were able to keep the ball camped on their forward line for much of the quarter as the kicked three unanswered goals to cut the margin back to two points at the last change.
But significantly, the Students were never able to snatch the lead from the Blues. And that would be critical to how the final quarter would unfold. The Blues put in a quarter of desperation and defensive heroics as time and again they would hold the Students out. Time was ticking down, the Students could not find a way past the Campbelltown backline. And at the other end, one Campbelltown goal sealed an important win as the Students could manage just two behinds for the quarter.
The siren sounded, and the Blues had pulled off a six-point result. It was a narrow margin, but a gutsy and meritorious result for the Campbelltown side. Nathan Lomas, Taran Etto and Paul Green had been best for the Blues; but it was a solid team effort as they worked together to pull off a well-earned win. Aron Everett, Max Wilson and Glenn Smith worked hard for the Students; but it wasn’t enough to rescue the game after a poor first quarter. It’s been a strange season for Sydney Uni, winning just one of their last six games and only four out of 11 this season, but still sitting in the top five.
But the gap the Students’ held over their challengers for the last spot in the finals has been cut to half a game, after North Shore broke a four-game losing streak to record a 30-point win over Sydney Hills Eagles at Bruce Purser Reserve on Saturday afternoon.
In the early stages of the game, it was a scrappy contest and not one that reached any great heights; but the Bombers took an early lead with the first three goals of the game, and despite the Eagles getting one back in time-on, the Bombers were 13 points to the good at quarter time. Goals were hard to come by in the second quarter, just one apiece, as the defences of both sides had the better of their forward opponents and the ball travelled from end to end while rarely going inside either 50 metre line.
The Bombers were 15 points clear at half time, and some quick goals to start the third term built up what would be a match-winning buffer. The cross-field winds had blown to gale force, and even the straightest kicks would be picked up by the breeze and blown to unintended places. North Shore had the upper hand, three goals to one for the quarter setting up a 29-point lead at three quarter time; and the game was safely won.
In the blustery conditions, the Eagles had no hope of recovering this game; and even had the winds been still, they didn’t look to have the firepower. The Bombers scored two goals to one in the last term before the siren sounded to end the Bombers’ losing run.
Danny Roberts was outstanding on the North Shore forward line to finish with an impressive return of five goals; and along with Selby Lee-Steere and Daniel Schacher was among the Bombers’ best. It’s been far from an ideal season for North Shore, decimated by injury; but somehow they’re only half a game outside the top five, and with some big names set to return in the next few weeks, they may yet sneak into the finals. Josh Cass, Jordan McPherson and Aaron Savage persevered all afternoon for the Eagles, but they remain stuck on the bottom of the ladder with just one win for the season to date.
The final game of the round was played at the Village Green on Sunday afternoon, an Eastern Suburbs university derby as UNSW-ES played host to UTS.
There wasn’t much to separate the teams during the early exchanges, and it was tightly contested through an evenly-fought first quarter; with the Bats holding a two-point advantage at quarter time. But the visitors took the ascendancy during a low-scoring, wind-swept second term in which they would kick the only two goals of the quarter to lead by 13 points at the long break. 
Inconsistent winds across the field would hamper both sides’ ball-winning and disposal ability; but the over-riding factor behind the low scores was the relentless pressure that both sides would apply to each other. And that would continue in the third quarter, as tackles were plentiful but goals hard to come by. Two goals to one in favour of the Bulldogs, with the Bats’ lead cut to six points at the last change.
The final quarter saw the game continue on a knife-edge, with the tightness and low scoring keeping the game in dispute until the final moments. The Bulldogs would kick two goals in the final term, briefly taking the lead, but the Bats had the answers with three of their own; enough to get the edge over the Bulldogs and take the points.
In the end, the winning margin for UTS was 11 points. Kaizaad Mehta, Damon Collina and Leigh Meyrick had influential impacts on the Bats’ win, and important one in the context of the season. After having won just one game in the first half of the season, the Bats are suddenly only a game outside the top five and back in finals calculations. Alex Foote, Hayden Nichols and Tom Williamson were among the Bulldogs’ best; but it was a game that got away for the Bulldogs, one that leaves them still six points behind fifth place with North Shore and UTS leap-frogging them on the ladder.
Last Modified on 30/06/2014 10:01
