Article and Photos by Michael Shillito
As the working week drew to a close, the weather around Sydney deteriorated. And with the wet weather, the ground closures began to wreak havoc across the fixtures.
Through the divisions, there were plenty of games called off. And this time round, even Premier Division wasn’t immune, as Weldon Oval was ruled out as a venue; with the Manly v UTS game postponed till the wet weather spare weekend in early August.
The remaining three Premier Division games went ahead, one on Saturday and two on Sunday. With no major upsets; the final five, and the order of teams within it, looks to be all but locked in.
The Saturday game was played at Kanebridge Oval, with top side East Coast Eagles playing host to Wests. The Magpies had won their match last week to climb off the bottom of the ladder; but it didn’t take long for it to be all too clear that there would be no repeat this time round.
Conditions were heavy, the ball was slippery. But it looked like the Magpies were playing with a wet ball and the Eagles with a dry one. The conditions didn’t worry the home side at all, and their skills and pace seemed barely affected. But the same couldn’t be said of the Magpies, who struggled to get a clean touch of the ball and turned it over all too freely. And with six unanswered goals in the first quarter and a 37-point lead at quarter time, the contest already looked done and dusted.
The Magpies staged a mini-fightback in the second term, attempting to bridge the gap and work their way back into the contest. But they didn’t have the firepower to match it with the Eagles, the pace wasn’t there and the Eagles had the answer to any challenge the Magpies would mount. And although the Magpies did manage three goals in the second quarter, the Eagles replied with four and extended the lead to 45 points at the long break.
The Magpies had shown some fighting spirit during the second term, but the third term saw the Eagles assume complete control. Making a mockery of the conditions, the Eagles had no trouble in controlling the ball, running forward and presenting attacking options. The scoreboard began to tick over with regularity, as time and again the Eagles knew the optimum route to goal and carried it through with precision. With eight unanswered goals in the third term, the margin had been stretched to 95 points at three quarter time.
It was eight goals to none again in the last. This was a well-drilled team going through their paces, the Magpies being nothing more than cannon fodder against the relentless Eagle juggernaut. The final siren delivered an emphatic 144-point win for the Eagles.
There were no shortage of players putting their hand up to get on the goal-scoring list; with Andrew McConnell’s seven goals and Trent Stubbs’ five leading the way; McConnell and Stubbs, along with Jack Dimery being among the Eagles’ best. It was a comprehensive performance by the competition leaders, who haven’t lost since the opening round; and it’s hard to see who’s going to beat them over the rest of this season.
The lights had taken over by the end of the game, and it was a dark day for the Magpies. Ryan Speed, Josh Robinson and Taran Etto tried hard all day; but it was one of those days where nothing was going right. And with the loss, it’s now mathematically locked in; the Magpies will not be playing finals in 2015.
The remaining two games were played on Sunday. The weather had cleared, the sun was shining, but conditions were still tricky.
Sydney Uni took on Pennant Hills at Blacktown No 2. The ground had held up reasonably well, no mud in the centre wicket square; although it was a dead track with plenty of surface water.
The Demons got the early jump, taking control in the first quarter. It wasn’t always pretty to watch, but efficiently they got the job done. Three goals to one was the scoreboard reward for their efforts, as they denied the Students any easy use of the footy and ground their way to a 12-point quarter time lead.
The second quarter was an arm-wrestle for much of the term. The ball travelled from end to end, slowly and uneasily. The pressure was high, the tackling was tough, and clean possessions were hard to come by. Two desperate sides refusing to give an inch, putting their opponents under pressure. But as the clock ticked into time-on, the Demons broke the shackles and broke away. After a long goal-less passage of play, the Demons scored three late goals to set up a match-winning 30-point lead at the long break. 
The Students had only scored one goal in the first half, and would only manage one more in the third. The premiership quarter was again dominated by Pennant Hills, the Demons defending resolutely to keep the Students out, while creating targets at the other end. The Demons would score four goals for the quarter, running the ball at will and sitting pretty with a 50-point advantage at the last change.
The game was safely won, and the defensive pressure that had dominated the first three quarters was relaxed in the final term. At last it was a more free-flowing game, nowhere near as physical as the early play had been. And the Students would salvage some pride from what had until then been a disappointing afternoon as they outscored the Demons by five goals to three to cut the final margin to 40 points.
James Dunn, Michael Talbot and Sam Widmer were prominent performers for the Demons on a day when they weren’t able to produce their most convincing football but still won easily. The Demons sit comfortably in second place; and being a long way behind first but even further ahead of fourth, look set to play in the double-chance Qualifying Final.
The Students found wiling workers in tough conditions in Sam Sleigh, Tom Elkington and Allister Clarke. It was a day when they were well short of the standard they set in their thrilling draw against the Demons early in the season. But with both UTS and North Shore not playing this weekend, the 14-point break in the ladder that keeps the Students comfortably in the top five remains intact.
Meanwhile at the Village Green, in considerably heavier conditions than at Blacktown, UNSW-ES took on St George. And it would be a devastating first half by the Dragons that would ensure their fifth win on the trot.
From the start, it was clear the Dragons were intent on dominating the contest. There were Dragons at the bottom of every pack, every one of them getting their jumper dirty as they determinedly contested every possession. The defence was mean, denying the Bulldogs scoring chances. And although St George didn’t always get the ball forward, when they did there were opportunities to put on scoreboard pressure. Five unanswered goals to St George set up a 29-point quarter time advantage. 
It was more of the same in the second. The Bulldogs never really looked like scoring a goal, going into the sheds at half time without a major score on the board. The Dragons were made to work hard, but got the job done when they needed to; and with another three goals without reply in the second term, held a 47-point advantage at the long break.
Although conditions weren’t to the Dragons’ liking, the Dragons were more than adequate in adapting to the conditions; and were a gulf in class ahead of the struggling Bulldogs. The third quarter would be more of the same as the Dragons ground out another three goals. The Bulldogs would finally break their goal drought during the third term, but their solitary goal wasn’t enough to stop them trailing by 58 points at three quarter time.
The pressure valve of the first three quarters had been largely released in the final quarter, a term of footy that never reached any great heights. But the Bulldogs did manage to salvage something from the game by winning the last quarter, three goals to two; but the Dragons wouldn’t be too concerned at releasing the pressure as they had done enough to wrap up a 54-point victory.
Jake Brown, Daniel Rixon and Blake Guthrie made stand-out contributions for the Dragons; and with the win they remain comfortably in fourth spot. And with four games separating them from UTS and North Shore, their place in the finals is all but assured.
Jeremy Daniher, Alex Foote and Matt Round worked hard all day for the Bulldogs. But it was just another day in a forgettable season for the Bulldogs, who have won just once so far this season and remain stuck on the bottom of the ladder.
Next week sees Sydney Uni having the bye, and it’s the last chance for UTS and North Shore to make a move and keep themselves in finals contention. UTS have a tough clash against East Coast at Trumper Park, while North Shore travel to Picken Oval on Sunday for a winnable clash against Wests.
Pennant Hills will take on UNSW-ES at Mike Kenny Oval; while there’s an enticing clash at Weldon Oval with Manly hosting St George. The Dragons were the only team to beat the Giants last year; and if they can do it again on Sunday the double-chance in the finals will be within reach.
Last Modified on 20/07/2015 16:35
