Article by Michael Shillito, Photo by Leigh Gazzard
Round 9 marks the half-way point of the home and away season. It’s a season where so far we’ve seen a substantial gap between the top three and the rest. But this half-way round saw St George establish themselves as a comfortable fourth-placed team; while Sydney Uni remain fifth but a new challenger in North Shore have entered the finals race.
With Manly having the bye; East Coast Eagles, with their superior percentage, had an opportunity to move to the top of the ladder when they hosted UNSW-ES at Kanebridge Oval on Saturday afternoon. When the two sides had last met, on the last day of the home and away season last year, it was a dramatic day that saw the Eagles avoid the wooden spoon and cost the Bulldogs a place in the finals. The ladder looks very different this year; but there would be no upset this time, just another Eagles win.
It had been a wet week, with many grounds around Sydney closed and some matches through the AFL Sydney divisions called off; while the grounds that remained open were heavy tracks. But even in the slushy conditions at Kanebridge, it was a high-scoring and entertaining opening quarter. Caution was thrown to the wind and the order to attack at all costs was given. Ten goals were scored during the opening term, but it was the Eagles who had the superior firepower to score seven of them and lead by 27 points at the first change.
After such a free-flowing opening, the game had to tighten up; and it did during the second quarter. The game became more physical, the tackling tighter and loose men became harder to find. But the Eagles still had the edge when it mattered, and were able to find a way to the forward line; and with three goals to one in the second term, the margin was out to 40 points at the long break.
It’s been a tough season so far for the Bulldogs, in a rebuilding phase; and although they kept working hard, they didn’t have the firepower to match it with a well-drilled Eagles lineup who put on a stunning second half to underline their credentials as finals contenders. And so the third quarter played out in the Eagles’ favour, seven goals to one, their lead doubling to 80 points at three quarter time.
And there would be no respite for the Bulldogs in the last quarter, as the Eagles were at their ruthless best and were intent on a four-quarter effort to further increase their already-imposing percentage. And so the lopsided play was to continue in the last quarter, with the Eagles adding eight unanswered goals and blowing the final margin out to 131 points.
There were no shortage of avenues to goal for the Eagles, with 12 of their number drawing twin flags from the goal umpires during the afternoon. Andrew McConnell and Trent Stubbs were the most prolific up forward to finish with four goals apiece; and joining Jack Dimery to be the Eagles’ best among many strong contributors. Although it was far from the result the Bulldogs wanted, Harry Annear, Ned Reinhard and Jack McKinlay continued to persevere all afternoon.
St George widened the gap between fourth and fifth on the ladder to a game and a half when they were 25 points too good for Sydney Uni in a twilight clash at Henson Park on Saturday.
The Dragons hit the ground running in the first quarter, ensuring that they would be in the lead throughout the game and forcing the Students into playing catch-up footy for the entire evening. Playing their best footy for the night early on, it was an impressive quarter of footy by the Dragons as they hassled the Students out of the contest; and with four goals to one, setting up an 18-point quarter time lead that the Students would never be able to bridge.
The University side did play better in the second quarter, with players barely sighted in the first term beginning to make an impact. But whenever they looked set to challenge, the Dragons were able to come up with the answering goals to keep the contest out of the Students’ reach. The Students won the quarter by four goals to three, but the Dragons remained ten points in front as the players returned to the rooms at half time.
But the Students could get no closer, as the Dragons tightened the game up to keep them at bay throughout the premiership quarter. It wasn’t always attractive to watch, at times it became a scrap, but the Dragons had the better of proceedings during the quarter around the ground. And the scoreboard would reflect this, as the Dragons kicked three goals to two for the quarter to lead by 19 points at the last change. Not an insurmountable deficit for the Students, but it didn’t look likely.
And there would be no final quarter comeback. The Students had chances, but too many of them missed their targets for there to be any viable hopes of snatching the win. At the other end the Dragons were missing chances too, but to keep the ball on the forward line was enough to prevent a Uni resurgence. Three goals to two for the final term, a 25-point margin when the final siren sounded. It wasn’t spectacular, but it was efficient; St George getting the job done.
Blake Guthrie, Nathan Kenny and Daniel Rixon were standouts for St George, whose grip on fourth place is stronger. The double-chance is still a considerable gap ahead of them, but on form the Dragons should be part of this year’s finals action. The Students were well served by the efforts of Zac Fyffe, Jacob Swarts and Sam Sleigh. But their third loss on the trot sees their hold on fifth place looking shaky; only half a game clear of sixth.
Closing the gap on the finals and entering the finals race after a slow start to the season is North Shore. The Bombers moved up to sixth place in style by winning their second game on the trot with a 46-point win over UTS.
Wet weather saw Waverley Oval closed and the match moved to a later start at Mahoney Park. But when the match did get under way, it was one-way traffic in the first half as the Bombers were in complete control in the opening two quarters of the game.
Four unanswered goals in the first quarter opened up a 20-point lead to the Bombers. Around the ground, they looked the stronger side; on the bottom of every pack and finding loose men when they had possession while loose men were nowhere to be found when the Bats had the ball. The second quarter followed a similar theme, with the Bombers again adding four unanswered goals to stretch the lead to 44 points at half time.
Without a goal in the first half, the Bats looked stunned by the North Shore domination in that half of football. But the third quarter saw the home side regroup. Suddenly the Bombers had pressure applied which hadn’t been there in the first half. Suddenly the Bats were attacking the ball, finding targets and working their way back into the contest. And as the quarter drew on, the gap on the scoreboard closed; as the Bats kicked six goals to one for the quarter and the margin was cut to 17 points at the last change.
Momentum had swung UTS’s way in the third quarter, and they had hopes of pulling off a remarkable comeback win. But the break came at the right time for North Shore, stopping the Bats’ momentum and allowing the Bombers to steady. And when the two sides emerged from their huddles for the last quarter, it was as if the teams had switched jumpers. The run of the Bats in the third term had ground to a halt, while the Bombers were back in control around the ground. The last term was as one-sided as the third, but this time it was the black and red who were the dominant force.
Six goals to one in the final term saw the final winning margin out to 46 points. With the win, North Shore jump ahead of the Bats into sixth spot, just half a game behind Sydney Uni. For a side that had won only a single game before the wet weather and rep break, it’s been a remarkable transformation by the Bombers.
Daniel Roberts again spearheaded the Bombers’ charge up forward to finish with five goals; while around the ground Chris Murphy, Jimmy McKenzie and Charlie Parsons were ball magnets. Jason Fleming, Ben Moyle and James Howard worked tirelessly all afternoon for the Bats, particularly during their third quarter surge; but it was a disappointing result for the Bats on an afternoon when they would have expected to show so much more.
Pennant Hills hosted Wests at Mike Kenny Oval, a game that only the staunchest Magpie optimist would have given the visitors much chance of winning. And Pennant Hills would go on to take the game; but only after withstanding a far stronger than expected fighting effort by the Magpies.
The first quarter was a high-scoring shootout, where the Magpies showed their determination to match it around the ground with the Demons. It was goal for goal, with several changes of the lead, as both sides went for all-out attack in an attempt to get a winning score on the board early. Five goals apiece were on the scoreboard after a high-scoring and entertaining opening term, with the Demons two points ahead at the first change.
The second quarter was a notable contrast with the first, a much lower-scoring quarter and more tightly contested around the ground. Two goals to one to the Demons during the second term saw them lead by 11 points at the long break; but the Magpies had contested virtually every possession during the second term, and the Demons knew they had a fight on their hands.
It remained a close contest during the third term, as a fired-up Magpies side continued to put the Demons under pressure; and this was far from an easy contest. The Demons were able to come up with goals when needed, and with three goals to two during the third quarter the margin was extended to 18 points at three-quarter time. But Wests had come to play, and the Demons were being made to work hard for every possession.
But for all Wests’ work, they were still three goals down at the last change; and needed to make every post a winner in the last quarter if they were to have any hope of mounting a comeback to an unlikely win. But their goal-kicking accuracy, which had been so good for three quarters, deserted them in the final term. When they needed goals, they could manage only behinds, and an inaccurate return of 1.6 in the last quarter killed off any hopes of victory. At the other end, two last-quarter goals to the Demons was enough to wrap up a 20-point win.
Thomas Edmonds, Cameron Smith and Tom Angel made notable contributions to the Demon cause to get them over the line. With the win, the Demons remain in third place, half a game behind the top two. The Magpies were well served all afternoon by the tireless work of Marcus Linsen, Taran Etto and Ryan Speed. It had been a competitive performance by the Magpies, probably the best they’ve played all season; but sadly for them they remain on the bottom of the ladder with only one win to show for their efforts so far this year.
Next week will see top spot on the line when Manly host East Coast; while St George will take on Wests to go within a game of the loser of the Weldon Oval clash. Pennant Hills will start as favourites against North Shore at Gore Hill, and if they get up it opens up the chance for Sydney Uni to establish some breathing space in the top five when they play UNSW-ES. UTS have the bye.
Last Modified on 22/06/2015 09:35
