Article and North Shore v Pennant Hills Photos by Michael Shillito
While the attention of the footy world goes to the teams that appear on the competition ladder, there’s another team in the league who make an enormous contribution. The umpires.
But one member of that team was recognised for a remarkable achievement at Weldon Oval on Saturday, when Frank Kalayzich umpired his 500th Premier Division game. A run of games that began in 1986, long before the majority of players in Premier Division today were born.
Such as the respect that he has within the broader umpiring fraternity that AFL legends Hayden Kennedy and “Razor” Ray Chamberlain came up to Weldon Oval to umpire alongside him in his milestone game. And a guard of honour stretching from the boundary line to the centre square greeted Kalayzich as he walked on the ground and held the ball up.
The milestone game was a clash where top spot on the ladder was on the line. Manly Giants playing host to East Coast Eagles; each having only been beaten once so far in the season. When the two sides met at Kanebridge in the opening round, the Eagles got out to a big lead before Manly came from nowhere to take the game at the death.
It was a low-scoring opening term. With the stakes so high, nerves kicked in and the pressure both sides placed on each other was intense. Two determined sides competing for supremacy, but neither able to achieve it during a tight and tough first quarter. With two goals to one for the quarter, the Eagles held a five-point lead at the first change.
Little separated the teams in the first quarter, but the Eagles took the upper hand around the ground in the second term. Especially in the midfield, players who had been well held in the first quarter began to break free and create options during the second term, and it wasn’t long before the scoreboard was reflecting the Eagles’ run and flair. At the other end the Giants created some chances, but their accuracy would let them down. Five goals to one for the quarter saw the Eagles return to the rooms at half time with a 27-point lead. 
The Giants were well behind on the scoreboard, but they weren’t out of the contest. One only had to think back to round one, where the Giants were even further behind and managed to come back. And during the third quarter, the home side lifted and worked hard to quell the Eagles’ momentum. It had become an arm-wrestle, where every attempt by the Eagles to set up a match-winning break was answered by the determined Giants. And Manly had made progress in the quest to come back when they won the third quarter by three goals to two; but still trailed by 21 points at three quarter time.
But the break gave the Eagles a chance to regroup, and there would be no miracle comeback this time. Instead it was a display of the Eagles putting on the type of football that has launched them to the top of the table. The Eagles had absorbed plenty of pressure from Manly during the first three quarters, but finally had broken the shackles and were able to play some more free-flowing football. Six goals to two in the last quarter stretched the final winning margin to 45 points and sees the Eagles sitting outright top of the competition ladder.
Blake Anderson, Jack Dimery and Jon Vlatko were the Eagles’ best on a day when the team propelled themselves into premiership favouritism. For the Giants, despite the significant efforts of Harrison Koch, Gareth Benbow and James Brain, this was the biggest loss in their still relatively short Premier Division history.
Manly’s loss sees them drop to third on the ladder, with the Giants being leap-frogged by Pennant Hills. The Demons got the job done by 16 points against North Shore at Gore Hill Oval, but had to overcome some stiff opposition by the Bombers before they could take the points.
It hadn’t been particularly wet during the week, but Gore Hill Oval was in poor condition, particularly inside the 50m arc at the hospital end; where the bounce of the ball was virtually non-existent. Perhaps because of the conditions, the first half was some very scrappy football; although the conditions weren’t the only factor. There was also relentless pressure from both sides and plenty of turnovers and high-pressure football. The Demons made the early front-running, three goals to one in the opening term seeing them leading by 11 points at quarter time. 
Little separated the two sides around the ground in the second term, as the Bombers were matching it with their highly-fancied opponents and weren’t letting the Demons settle into their normally so effective game plan. The teams managed two goals apiece in the second term, with the Demons leading by 13 points at the long break. And with the first two goals of the third quarter, it was a 25-point lead to Pennant Hills; and although they hadn’t been particularly convincing, it looked like they were cruising to a comfortable enough win.
But suddenly, out of nowhere, the Bombers lifted and brought the game back to life. And pivotal to the North Shore revival was Selby Lee-Steere. After missing the first half of the season, Lee-Steere announced his return in emphatic style with four third quarter goals. The Bombers, bogged in the mud for so long, suddenly found their run and drive, and within just a few minutes the Pennant Hills lead evaporated. It was a stunning reversal of fortune as the Bombers kicked five goals to three for the quarter; Lee-Steere’s fourth goal on the three quarter time siren gave North Shore the lead, a one point margin at the last change.
Suddenly the Bombers had the lead, and there were hopes of an upset. But the three-quarter time break saw the Demons regroup and the North Shore challenge was over within minutes of the restart; with Matt Carey scoring three times in a four-goal burst by the Demons that ensured they would take the points. The Bombers got a goal back in the final moments of the game, but Pennant Hills had done enough to take the points. They may have won ugly, but at this stage of the season, getting the wins can be more valuable than the aesthetics.
Theo Moraitis spearheaded the Demons up forward to finish with four goals; while Tom Angel, Michael Talbot and Damian Dell’Aquila picked up plenty of possessions around the ground. Selby Lee-Steere’s four goals saw him be North Shore’s best, while Ted Strudwick and Dale Fitzgerald also made prominent contributions.
St George remain in fourth place on the ladder, moving to one game plus a lot of percentage behind Manly on Saturday afternoon at Picken Oval. But for much of the afternoon, the potential for a massive boilover was very real as the Dragons were pushed all the way by a determined Wests side. 
From the start, it was clear that Wests had come to play and this game wouldn’t be easy pickings for the Dragons. The Magpies tackled relentlessly, pressured the Dragons at every opportunity, and easy touches were hard to find. But the forward line wasn’t quite firing with the accuracy needed at the top level, and despite having seven scoring shots to three, the Magpies could only convert two of their shots into goals while the Dragons landed all three of theirs; and St George led by a point at quarter time.
Football can lead to many “if only” moments, where had one thing happened differently, the whole outcome of the game could have changed. And the Magpies will be left wondering what might have been after an inaccurate second term in which some kickable shots missed their mark and they were unable to score a goal for the quarter. The Dragons weren’t entirely on the mark with their kicking either, but they did manage two goals, to lead by 14 points.
Had the Magpies been more accurate in the second quarter, they could have started the second half closer and built up a bigger lead during the third. The premiership quarter saw the Magpies finally pull out some of the quality football that the presence of some big name players suggested is possible. It was a quarter of exciting footy by the team in the monogrammed jumpers; attacking, free-flowing and the Magpie diehards watching on were in voice. As the quarter drew on, the Magpies reigned in the deficit and took the lead; and after posting seven goals to four for the quarter, it was the home side with an eight point lead at three quarter time.
The game was in the balance, and it was there to be won. A tense last quarter would be played out, the players and supporters embracing the situation of the thriller they found themselves a part of. Every kick, every mark, every possession was important. Three times during the last quarter, the Magpies found the big sticks; hoping that would be enough to take out the win. But the Dragons were able to draw twin flags from the goal umpires five times in the final term, breaking Magpie hearts as they took the lead during the dying minutes. And when the final siren sounded, it was St George who had taken the game by just two points.
Declan Donohue was given a game up forward, and made the most of his attacking opportunity to finish with six goals to get the Dragons over the line. Around the ground, Bryce Addison, Shannon Randell and Nathan Kenny were ball magnets. Paul Bevan kicked five for the Magpies, putting in a best-on-ground performance in a losing side; while Taran Etto and Josh Robinson also made prominent contributions to the Magpie cause.
The Dragons remain comfortably in fourth place, just a game behind Manly. But the Magpies, despite very credible performances in the last two weeks against Pennant Hills and St George in the last fortnight, remain on the bottom of the ladder and will need to get a winning streak going very soon if they want to make it through to the finals. 
University pride was on the line at the Village Green on Saturday afternoon, as UNSW-ES took on Sydney Uni. But it would be the most one-sided game of the round, as Sydney Uni dominated proceedings throughout to take out an 84-point win.
Keen to establish their credentials early, the Students were soon on the positive side of the possession stats; and with greater use of the ball had little difficulty in creating opportunities on the forward line. Four goals to two would be the result, and a 13-point lead at quarter time.
The second quarter would prove even stronger for the Students. It was a more open quarter than the first, not quite as physical but allowing more chances for the skills side of the game to come into play; and the Students clearly looked to have the edge over the Bulldogs. With a run of six goals to three, and a 31-point lead at the long break, only the most optimistic Bulldog diehard would have seen any chance of a second half comeback.
And it wasn’t to be. Instead, the premiership quarter saw the Students further extend the margin. It had been several weeks since the Sydney Uni side had tasted victory, and their hold on a spot in the top five had weakened considerably; but the third term saw the grip tighten. Confidence and form was returning to Sydney Uni, and with the sniff of victory in their nostrils they weren’t letting go. The floodgates opened as the quarter progressed; eight goals to three. And by the time the three quarter time siren sounded, the Students held a 62-point lead.
The sting had gone out of the game by the last quarter, the result of the game well and truly beyond doubt. But there was percentage on the line, and the Students weren’t going to let an opportunity to boost it go by. With five goals to two in the final term, the final margin was extended to an emphatic 84 points. The repercussions of the size of the loss for the Bulldogs, combined with the thriller at Picken Oval, sees the Bulldogs’ percentage slip below that of Wests and UNSW-ES now sit bottom of the ladder. 
The Students had plenty of prolific goal-scorers for the afternoon, with Matthew Powys finishing with five goals, and Ben Hawtin and Zac Fyffe contributing four each. Around the ground, Danny Frawley, Aron Everett and Monty Krochmal were picking up possessions at will. On a day the Bulldogs would rather forget, Tim Widmer, Ed Kiel and Harry Annear kept working hard for four quarters.
As the action heats up, there’s another big round of action to come next week. Top spot will be on the line in a Hills derby at Kanebridge as East Coast host Pennant Hills. North Shore host Manly at Gore Hill in a twilight Battle of the Spit Bridge. It’s a clash of Eastern Suburbs universities as UNSW-ES are at home to UTS; while Wests take on Sydney Uni at Picken Oval. St George have the bye.
Last Modified on 29/06/2015 09:07
