Article and Photos by Michael Shillito
After Campbelltown pulled out of Premier Division, thit left four games to be played in the opening round. The first of them was a rare Friday night game at Henson Park; an Eastern Suburbs University derby as UTS played host to UNSW-ES.
As the game started, heavy rain was falling at Henson Park. With the wet weather and the defensive prowess of both teams, a low-scoring slog was expected. But instead the game opened with far more positive football than expected; both sides attacking whenever possible in an evenly-contested first term in which there were several changes of lead. Four goals apiece for the quarter saw the Bats two points ahead at the first change. 
But after an evenly-contested first quarter, UTS stepped up another gear in the second, and the Bulldogs were unable to match it. More options began to present themselves up forward, while in defence they shut down any attempted forward pushes by the Bulldogs. Five unanswered goals in the second term stretched the lead to 32 points. And with the rain getting heavier in the third term, making ball handling even harder, it wasn’t looking likely that the Bulldogs would get back into the game.
And that’s how it unfolded. The third quarter never reached any great heights, the tricky conditions wouldn’t allow it. And with three goals to one, the lead extended to 48 points at the last change, it was clear that this was the Bats’ night.
This is UTS’s fifth season in Premier Division. Every year, they have played UNSW-ES in the opening round, but this year is the first time the Bats have won an opening round clash. Going on with the job in the last quarter with a run of four goals to one, the final margin blew out to 68 points. A handy start, and a handy percentage for the Bats to launch their season and begin the quest for the elusive finals berth.
Ben Moyle, Brendan Browne and Jordan Law were standouts for the Bats; a team that boasted many new faces and a new sense of excitement about the possibilities for the season ahead. For the Bulldogs, Ryan Farrelly, Kane Latham and Adam McIntyre toiled hard in challenging weather conditions on a night when the run of play wasn’t running their way.
The remaining matches were played on Saturday, with Mike Kenny Oval hosting a night game for the first time; a 6:30 start for a replay of last year’s Prelim Final between Pennant Hills and St George.
In the last two seasons, the Demons dashed the Dragons’ Grand Final hopes. But both sides, keeping the same coaches as last year and with team line-ups far more settled than many others in Premier Division, have positive expectations for this year and again anticipate being there at the business end of the season.
In the early exchanges, it was St George who looked the stronger team as they burst out of the blocks with a display of attacking, positive football that left the Demons to do the chasing. And it wasn’t long before the scoreboard was ticking over in the visitors’ favour. Six goals to one, and a 30-point quarter time lead, was a fair reflection of the Dragon dominance throughout the opening term.
For the Demons, the first quarter hadn’t been up to their lofty standards. But whatever Chris Yard said to his charges at the first break had the desired effect, as the Demons tightened up their defence, worked harder around the ground and slowly but surely worked their way back into the game. The second quarter saw the Demons recover much of the ground that was lost during their sloppy first term, a run of five goals to one reducing the margin to just five points at half time. 
Two determined sides were in contention in an exciting third quarter, an arm-wrestle in which neither was prepared to concede an advantage to the other. Both sides created plenty of scoring chances, but some inaccurate finishing would cost the Dragons dearly. Little separated the two sides around the ground; but with five goals to three for the term, the Demons took the lead in the premiership quarter and held a narrow four-point advantage at the last change.
The advantage the Dragons had built for themselves during the first quarter was gone. The tide had turned, and in the last quarter they found themselves unable to keep up with the fresh legs of the Demons. Five goals to one saw Pennant Hills run out 29-point winners; a result that had looked unlikely at quarter time, but a result that shows that again the Demons will be hard to beat in 2015.
Tom Angel, Theo Moraitis and Michael Talbot featured prominently around the ground, picking up plenty of the ball during the Demon revival. St George were well served by the efforts of Alex Wynn, Travis Martin and Declan Donohue. It’s been well over a decade since Pennant Hills have missed the Premier Division finals, and it would be a brave pundit to predict they would miss out this year.
There was many changes for the Eagles over the off-season. The Sydney Hills name was gone, and the East Coast name is back. A sponsorship deal saw Bruce Purser renamed Kanebridge Oval. And with the club no longer fielding a NEAFL team, their strongest players returned to Premier Division. Although the Eagles have had an ongoing presence in Premier Division during their NEAFL existence, there were many big names returning to Premier Division for the first time since completing their premiership three-peat in 2011.
While they’d been away, Manly had entered Premier Division and taken premierships in their first two seasons. So when the Eagles and Giants were drawn to meet each other at Kanebridge Oval in the first round, it was a match that promised much. And it certainly delivered. 
The first quarter was goal for goal, a shootout where both sides threw their forward lines open and looked to blast the other out of the contest. It was four goals apiece in an entertaining quarter of football, with Manly two points ahead at quarter time.
The Eagles have never beaten the Giants in Premier Division, but this was a very different East Coast side compared to the two meetings last year. And around the ground, the NEAFL players of the last three years began to shine. It was looking like the dominant Eagles of three years ago were back, as names not seen in Premier Division in that time asserted themselves around the ground. With a run of seven goals to two for the quarter, the Eagles led by 27 points at half time and looked in control.
Manly attempted to get back into the contest in the third quarter, but could only manage behinds. Six of them in the third quarter, but they were unable to draw twin flags from the goal umpires. The Eagles were forced to contend with more pressure around the ground than they had experienced during their dominant second term; but they would kick the only two goals for the quarter to lead by 34 points at the last change.
There had been some high-standard footy on display, but with such a lead it was looking like the Eagles were comfortably headed for victory. But the last quarter was truly remarkable, one of the most amazing comebacks in the history of Premier Division.
Even in the early stages of the last quarter, there were few signs of Manly reducing the gap, as the Eagles found themselves 40 points ahead. But as the quarter unfolded, and fatigue began to set in, the Eagles noticably ran out of puff; while Manly kept coming. By the time the clock ticked into time-on, the home side had slowed to a walk. But the Giants began to pump the ball forward with more regularity, and the scoreboard was ticking over more often with the margin shrinking.
The Eagles had scored two goals in the last quarter, but weren’t able to conjure up another. And the Giants were finding the big sticks more frequently. Their sixth came with less than two minutes to go on the clock, cutting the margin to nine points. The seventh came a minute later and suddenly there was only a kick in it, but only a few seconds to go.
The Giants got the centre break, and the ball found itself in the possession of Tom McCaffery; and as he was lining up a shot at goal, the siren sounded. The pressure was enormous, but McCaffery made no mistake; prompting amazing scenes as the Giants had pulled off the most unlikely of wins. 
Wills Brassil, James Brain and Tom McCaffery were best for Manly on what was a day to remember for the defending champions. Trent Stubbs kicked five goals to be the Eagles’ best, while Damian Charleston and Andrew McConnell also gave good service all day for the Eagles. But this was Manly’s day; a day when they somehow managed to snatch a game that had never looked possible.
Last year saw Western Suburbs return to the finals for the first time in several years, while North Shore missed out on playoff action. But with both sides boasting several new players, both were somewhat of an unknown quantity when they matched each other at Gore Hill Oval on Saturday afternoon.
Little separated the sides in the first quarter, both taking their time to hit their straps in a goal-for-goal opening term. Three goals apiece for the quarter saw the Magpies leading by a point at quarter time. But the Magpie defence tightened up in the second quarter, preventing North Shore from getting their game going. But, although looking good around the ground, the Magpies weren’t able to apply a lot of scoreboard pressure. Three goals to one was enough for a ten-point lead at half time; but it could have been more.
When the teams returned for the second half, it was North Shore that took the upper hand. Bomber players who had little influence during the first half began to pick up touches of the ball, and attacking options began to present themselves. It wasn’t long before the Bombers took the lead, the first two of four unanswered goals for the quarter. Squandered chances in front of goal would cost the Bombers a bigger lead, but a 20-point margin at the last change seemed comfortable enough.
But within five minutes of the last quarter starting, three Wests goals in quick succession had seen the North Shore lead cut to within a kick. The Bomber defence was under pressure, but held firm as the Magpies continued to attack. The Magpies were never able to take the lead, but did level the scores as the clock ticked into time-on before a late goal on the run from Matt Buskariol re-established the lead for North Shore, enabling them to hang on for a thrilling, morale-boosting, six-point win.
Ryan Hezlett, Tom Harvey and Liam McColl were North Shore’s best. Jake Ross was a star up forward for the Magpies, kicking six goals; and along with Yannick Milligan-Saville and Pat Wilmot was among their best. Four very valuable competition points for North Shore; and in what promises to be a tight race for positions in the finals, a key psychological boost and confirmation that the Bombers are headed in the right direction.
Last Modified on 12/04/2015 19:19
