Article by Michael Shillito
June has turned into July, the cold winter winds are blowing; and the season moves relentlessly onwards. We’re reached the two-thirds mark of the season, preparing to run home to the finals.
Every year’s ladder throws up some interesting quirks, this year’s one especially so. If we’d had a final four this year, we could just about fast-forward to the finals now; but with a final five, there’s still plenty of interest to come.
A four-game gap had opened up between fourth and fifth, a split that looks too big to bridge with just six rounds to go. But the battle for fifth has opened up, with teams that looked out of the race just a few weeks ago now back in contention.
The race for top spot is between last year’s Grand Finalists, Manly and Pennant Hills. And the Giants struck a key blow in their quest for their second minor premiership in a row when they recorded a ten-point win over the Demons on Saturday afternoon.
Back at Pennant Hills’ old home at Ern Holmes Oval, the Demons found themselves under pressure early. After a shock loss last week, Manly were determined to bounce back hard; and wasted little time in getting the scoreboard ticking over. Five goals to one in the opening term opened up a 26-point quarter time lead. But the Demons fought back in the second term, scoring three goals while holding the Giants to just one for the quarter, reducing the margin to 14 points at the long break.
The Giants knew they had a fight on their hands, taking on a big rival in their quest for back-to-back premierships; and the pressure and tension began to build. At one point, a melee broke out as passions boiled over between two teams that had a point to prove to each other. Around the ground it was an arm wrestle, as the Demons tried to find a way to narrow the gap but the Giants were standing their ground. A physical and low-scoring quarter saw two goals apiece, with Manly holding on to a 15-point lead at the last change.
The Giants looked to have enough of a buffer to hang on for victory; but at times in the final quarter they were forced into desperate defence as the Demons kept coming. The Giants managed two goals in the last quarter, but for much of the final term the ball was in the Demons’ forward zone as time and again the Manly defence was forced to dig deep. But in the end, inaccurate finishing would prevent the Demons from stealing the game, as they kicked 2.6 for the quarter when straighter kicking may have seen them place the Giants under even greater pressure.
In the end, when the siren sounded, the Giants had a ten-point win. It wasn’t always pretty, but it got the job done; putting them one game and a lot of percentage ahead of the Demons. Ryan Wearne, Tyrone Armitage and James Brain were best for the Giants; while the Demons found willing and able workers in Lloyd Shepherd, Alex Goodall and Ted Widmer.
There is now no mathematical way for Manly to miss out on the finals, and it would take something extraordinary for the Demons not to be there. It’s likely Manly and Pennant Hills will meet again during the finals; and if it’s as tight a contest as the clash at Ern Holmes Oval was, it’ll be one not to miss.
The top three will get the double-chance in the finals, and St George are sitting comfortably in third place. In a purple patch of form, the Dragons won their seventh game on the trot at Olds Park on Saturday afternoon, 42 points too good for North Shore.
But it was a game where the final margin didn’t tell the full story of the game. For much of the afternoon, the injury-depleted Bombers took the fight up to the Dragons. The early exchanges were evenly contested, two goals apiece in the first quarter and scores level at quarter time. And a low-scoring second term saw the Dragons outscore the Bombers by two goals to one to lead by six points at half time.
It had been a determined showing by North Shore. Given little chance in this contest, they nonetheless continued to scrap and contest every possession; and the Dragons felt under plenty of pressure. And the scrappy football continued in the third term as the hits were hard, the tackles were ferocious and the scores were few. Just twice in the quarter were the goal umpires called into action, raising two flags for the Dragons and one flag for the Bombers. The wind was picking up at the last change, the Dragons leading by 11 points and the Bombers coming home with the wind. Hopes in the North Shore camp of an upset were still strong.
But it wasn’t to be, as the Bombers were unable to make anything of the wind advantage in the final quarter; and were only able to manage one goal. Instead, the Dragons finally broke free from the North Shore pressure, and routes to goal that had been closed through three tight quarters began to open up. The floodgates opened as the Dragons kicked five goals into the wind to blow the final margin out after it had been much closer for three quarters.
Of St George’s seven wins in a row, this may have been the least convincing of them; but in the end they did more than enough to get the job done, and boost their percentage. Nick Ryan was pivotal to the final quarter blowout to finish with five goals for the afternoon; while Dean Gilbert, Daniel Tomlins and Ben Jones picked up plenty of the ball around the ground. The Dragons maintain their grip on third place, and are now just half a game behind Pennant Hills.
For North Shore, Selby Lee-Steere, Ron Wason and Lachy Hayres toiled tirelessly. But the final quarter fadeout meant another disappointing loss for the Bombers. They’re only half a game out of the top five, but sit in eighth place; and even if they can string some wins together in the final rounds of the season, their lowly percentage may count against them.
Premiers just two years ago, the first half of the season had been a disaster for UNSW-ES. But the Bulldogs re-entered the race for this year’s finals when a strong start against Sydney Uni at the Village Green on Saturday afternoon was enough to record a 19-point win.
Bursting out of the blocks and hitting the ground running, the Bulldogs took control of the contest from the start; ensuring the Students would be chasing the game. Five goals to one in the opening term opened a 22-point quarter time lead. Confidence and spirit were burning brightly in the Bulldog camp, and they continued their impressive display of footy in the second term with a run of four goals to two, leading by 38 points at half time.
In the first half, the Bulldogs had exhibited their attacking flair. But the third quarter showcased their defensive abilities. Scores were hard to come by in the third quarter, and neither side was able to penetrate the big sticks. It was tough, tight, accountable football from both sides; but worked to the Bulldogs’ advantage as the Students were only able to wipe one point from the half time deficit, and time was running out for the Sydney Uni side to get back into the game.
The Students had no time to lose, and had to throw caution to the wind in the final term. And they gave it their best shot, pumping the ball into the forward line and keeping the scoreboard ticking over. Six goals in the final quarter was an impressive return for their carefree, flowing football in the last quarter; but throwing their energies into attack left their defences vulnerable. And the Bulldogs scored three goals in the final quarter, keeping the contest out of the Students’ reach.
In the end, the Bulldogs had built up enough of a lead during their first half to take the game by 19 points. Jeremy Kiel spearheaded the Bulldog forward line to finish with four goals; and along with Tom Williamson and Ed Kiel was among their best. Aron Everett, Ben Taggart and Sam Crichton were ball magnets for the Students all day.
Sydney Uni, despite winning just one of their last seven games and only four from 12 games this season, are still clinging on to a spot in the top five. But the Bulldogs, thanks to their competitive percentage, lead a pack of teams that are now just half a game behind the Students. The battle for fifth place is far from over.
Campbelltown joined the Bulldogs at half a game outside the finals, after pipping UTS at the post in a thriller at a windy Monarch Oval on Saturday afternoon.
The Bats were kicking with the wind in the first quarter, and the Blues were held score-less. But on the vast expanses of the Monarch ground, even with the wind, scores were hard to find and the Bats could manage just two goals. The margin was 14 points at quarter time, and the Bats managed a goal into the wind in the second term. But the Blues, knowing the conditions better, were able to make better use of them in the second quarter, and with four goals for the quarter, the Blues hit the front and took a seven-point lead into the rooms at half time.
It wasn’t as windy when the teams returned for the premiership quarter, but the Bats emerged full of running and quickly regained the initiative. Four goals to one in favour of UTS in the third term saw the Bats back in front, 13 points to the good at the last change. But there was another twist to come in this tale.
For all the attack that the Bats had in the third term, they were unable to manage a goal in the last quarter. At the other end, the Blues got the ball to the forward line and peppered the goals. The ball wasn’t sailing through accurately, but enough chances were created. A return of 2.7 for the quarter frustrated the Campbelltown faithful at times; but the second goal, late in the quarter, saw the Blues regain the lead. And with the siren sounding shortly afterwards, the Blues had pulled off an important win.
Paul Green, Nathan Lomas and Brenton Sommerville picked up plenty of the ball for the Blues; while the Bats were well served by the efforts of Joshua Maddox, Nicolas Kerber and Adrian Morley. The Blues move up to seventh place, half a game outside the top five; and may yet return to finals footy this season. Despite the loss, and despite having won only three games this season, the Bats are still only a game behind fifth place and they remain in the finals race.
The other team comfortably inside the finals, four games clear of Sydney Uni, is fourth-placed Wests. And the Magpies had little difficulty in overcoming Sydney Hills Eagles at Picken Oval on Saturday afternoon.
The Eagles had come to play in the early stages of the game, and thanks to some straight kicking and putting some pressure on early, scored four goals to three to hold an unlikely two-point lead at quarter time. But the Magpies had steadied after their indifferent start by the time the second quarter came around, and the scoreboard was quickly ticking over with six goals to two in the second quarter to turn the deficit into a 21-point half time lead.
Wests were looking in control, and there was little to trouble them in the third quarter. Five goals to two was a reflection of their dominance around the ground, the lead out to 37 point margin at the last change. And the flood gates opened even further in the final quarter; seven goals to one. In the end, the winning margin had blown out to an imposing 76 points.
Brenton Mumme’s the word at Picken Oval, the man in the number 2 jumper picking up five goals in a best-on-ground performance, and Hugh McLean contributed four goals; while Lindsay Scown and Clinton McGrath were also in impressive form. The Magpies are a game behind the double-chance, but remain in contention with a percentage not far behind St George. And they play the Dragons next week, having fought out a draw in their previous meeting.
William Bradley, Cameron Arndt and Josh Cass were the Eagles’ best. The Eagles are on the bottom of the ladder, two games behind ninth-placed UTS; but thanks to the low threshold for fifth place, are still a mathematical finals chance.
Last Modified on 07/07/2014 10:00
