Article & Photos by Michael Shillito
Although the finals are still over a month away, the first week’s matchups are already all but decided. Unless something truly remarkable happens, East Coast Eagles will take out the minor premiership, Pennant Hills and Manly will fight out the Qualifying Final and St George will play Sydney Uni in the Elimination Final. There was nothing in the Round 14 results to suggest any other likely ladder permutation.
The pivotal game in Round 14 was at Weldon Oval, where Manly were hosting St George on a glorious sunny Saturday. After the Giants’ washout last week, the Dragons had a chance to draw level on points with the Giants. In the last couple of years the Dragons have troubled the Giants, being the only team to beat them last year and fighting out a thrilling draw in Manly’s first Premier Division season.
But this time round, the Giants made the early front-running around the ground, and the ball spent much of the opening term on the Manly forward line. The goal-kicking radar wasn’t always working reliably, and an inaccurate return of 5.7 for the quarter would frustrate the Giants. St George were struggling to match it with the Giants, but the Dragons hung in there with three goals.
Manly were leading by 18 points at quarter time. But that margin would expand significantly in the second term, as the Giants kicked straighter and were achieving greater reward for effort than they managed in the first. With five goals to two, the Giants’ lead was stretched to 37 points at the long break; and it was clearly apparent to all at the ground that this was going to be a comfortable Manly win.
As strong as the Giants had looked in the first half, they were relentless in the third quarter as they pressured and tackled and forced the errors with regularity. It was Manly as we’ve known them since they came into Premier Division, refusing to allow any easy possessions and hustling their opponents into turnovers. And the results on the scoreboard were telling, five goals to one for the quarter extending the lead to 63 points at three-quarter time. 
The game was safely won, and there was little to excite about the last quarter as the sting had largely gone out of the contest; both sides going through the motions and playing out time. The Giants won the final term by two goals to one, but the work that was required to sing the song after the game had already been done and dusted before that quarter of footy.
In the end, the Giants took out the game by 73 points; a comprehensive margin that reflected their dominant performance on the day. Brayden Fowler was unstoppable on the Manly forward line to finish with seven goals; while Damien Bonney, Robert Whitton and Max Carter picked up plenty of the ball around the ground. For the Dragons, Bryce Addision, Daniel Rixon and Nathan Kenny toiled tirelessly all afternoon.
With the win, Manly move two games clear of St George, and with the size of the win, the percentage gap is further enhanced. The Giants’ finals berth this year is mathematically certain; and unless they drop three games and St George win all of theirs, they will get the double-chance as well. Despite the loss, St George should make the finals; and can only miss out if they lose all their remaining games and either UTS or North Shore win all of theirs by enough for their percentage to catch that of the Dragons.
Second-placed Pennant Hills hosted bottom side UNSW-ES at a windswept Mike Kenny Oval on Saturday afternoon. And the Demons would emerge with the points; but had to overcome both the wind and a determined Bulldogs side who took the fight up to their more highly-fancied opponents. 
During the early exchanges, the Demons could see that they had a fight on their hands. The Bulldogs, without a win since round 2, had come determined to claim a big scalp; and they were more than matching it around the ground with their star-studded opposition. It was hard-fought footy, often physical and always competitive; easy touches hard to find and the need to tackle hard and force the turnovers was strong. Rising to the occasion early, the Bulldogs scored two of the three goals that were scored in the low-scoring opening term and led by five points at quarter time.
The Demons were shocked at finding themselves behind on the scoreboard, and during the second term pressed hard to regain the advantage. But shot after shot swung away from the big sticks, pushed by an inconsistent wind and pulled by pressure from the Dogs’ defence. Rarely were the Bulldogs able to make an incursion into the Demons’ 50, and the Bulldogs would not score a goal in the second term. But at the other end, the Demons pressed time and time again, only to be frustrated by their own inaccurate finishing. A return of 1.7 was enough to take the lead and hold a six-point advantage at the long break; but it was far from an upbeat mood in the Demons’ camp as a game they would have been expecting to win easily was proving far from easy.
The wind eased during the half-time break, and the game became a more free-flowing contest in the third term. Finally the Demons were able to turn on their attacking weapons and exert some scoreboard pressure. The first half had been tight, but the third quarter saw the Demons break the shackles and kick away; five goals to two for the quarter opening up a 26-point lead.
The Bulldogs had fought gallantly, taking it up to the Demons; but in that third quarter they didn’t have the firepower to match it. The Bulldogs shut the Demons down again in the last quarter, another low-scoring affair in which the two sides only kicked one goal apiece. It was only in that one quarter where the Bulldogs were left behind; but that premiership quarter burst proved to be the difference between the two sides.
Nick Hey proved himself worthy of a shout-out, kicking four goals for the Demons in a best-on-ground performance; while Damian Dell’Aquila and Ranga Ediriwickrama were also prominent for the Demons. The Demons are comfortably in second place and finals-bound.
The Bulldogs were well served by the efforts of Joel Robbie, Jeremy Daniher and Ryan Farrelly. But it wasn’t enough to take the points for the Bulldogs; who fought bravely but still find themselves anchored to the bottom of the ladder.
Meanwhile at Trumper Park, East Coast Eagles again exhibited their credentials as premiership favourites with their 12th win on the trot, while delivering a near-fatal blow to UTS’s finals chances.
The Eagles didn’t have everything their own way in the first quarter, as a determined Bats’ side matched it with them around the ground and put the ladder leaders under plenty of physical pressure. Little separated the two sides around the ground, or on the scoreboard; with the Eagles kicking three goals to two in the first quarter and leading by eight points at quarter time. But, although narrowly in front on the scoreboard; it had been a competitive opening.
The Eagles took the upper hand in the second term, lifting their intensity around the ground and finding loose runners capable of pumping the ball into the forward line. But accuracy on the forward zone was hard to find as variable winds combined with poor finishing saw several shots which looked kickable sailing wide of the big sticks. But gradually the scoreboard was ticking over with greater regularity. With 4.8 for the quarter, while holding the Bats to one goal, the lead was out to 30 points at half time.
The Bats were never a chance to come back from such a deficit. And with the game safely won, the pressure valve was released during the half-time break; opening up the game in the second half for a more entertaining and free-flowing brand of footy. It was less physical and more kicking long to one-out marking contests; keeping the scoreboard ticking over as both sides were happy to throw caution to the wind and put on an enjoyable exhibition of enterprising footy. The star-studded Eagles had the edge, and would win the quarter by seven goals to three and leading by 56 points at three quarter time; but the Bats lost no respect through their attempts to attack their way back into the game. 
The final quarter was similar to the third, a marathon quarter of footy where the forwards were on top and the goal umpires were frequently called on to wave their flags. An entertaining quarter of footy saw the Eagles kick seven goals to five, extending the final margin to 72 points. It had been an easy win for the Eagles, as it was always going to be; but the Bats lost no respect for continuing to attack hard even when well beaten.
Jamie Vlatko and Andrew McConnell spearheaded the Eagle charge with five goals apiece; with they, along with Trent Stubbs being the Eagles’ best. Unbeaten since the opening round, the Eagles continue to propel themselves further into premiership favouritism.
In a season where goals have often been hard to come by, Daniel Breese was a breath of fresh air for the Bats as he finished with five goals to be their best; while Jack Hewitt and Jason Fleming also featured prominently. But, even with a game in hand, the Bats are still three games and a draw behind Sydney Uni; and they will need to win all their remaining games and depend on either Sydney Uni or St George to lose all of theirs to make the finals.
The round was completed on Sunday afternoon, with Wests hosting North Shore at Picken Oval, with a cross-field wind detracting from the game as a spectacle but nothing taking away with the Magpies’ endeavour.
The opening quarter was a low-scoring scrap. It was a quarter of two young sides well short of full-strength and well down on confidence feeling each other out but few players from either side prepared to back themselves in the tight contests. The Magpies kicked the only goal of the opening term to lead by six points at quarter time, but it had been far from impressive.
But as defensive as the first quarter was, both sides realised they needed to step up the attack in the second term. Far more enjoyable to watch than the first, the Bombers had their first goal on the board within seconds of the second quarter starting. That levelled the scores, but the Magpies quickly re-established the lead and would not relinquish it again for the remainder of the game. But the second term was a shootout, the Magpies having the edge by five goals to four; leading by 11 points at the long break and the game was still in the balance.
The Bombers beat the Magpies at Gore Hill in the opening round, but there would be no repeat this time. The premiership quarter was vintage Wests; as the Magpies, prevented for so long this year from putting on their best footy, finally finding a way to goal and blowing the Bombers out of the contest with a devastating burst of footy. Two goals in the first two minutes put the game seemingly out of North Shore’s reach, and so it would prove to be. Self-belief was returning to the Magpies, they had the sniff of a win, and they weren’t letting go. There were some missed shots, and skill errors from time to time; but that could be forgiven in the context of their growing confidence. With five goals to one for the quarter, the Magpie lead was stretched to 44 points at the last change.
The Magpie fans, standing on their utes at the Club End, were in full voice as a rare victory was scented. Three goals to one in the final term was the icing on the cake as they finished with a 56-point win, putting themselves two games ahead of UNSW-ES and easing fears of the Magpies finishing with the wooden spoon. 
Taran Etto, Brenton Mumme and Lindsay Scown were ball magnets all day for the Magpies, creating plenty of chances. The Magpies join UTS and North Shore with three wins for the season; but with the Magpies yet to have their second bye and only having three games to play, it’s too late for a late surge towards the finals.
Nathan Lomas, Ben Parks and Dale Fitzgerald were North Shore’s best, but it was a disappointing afternoon for the Bombers on a day when they were hoping to achieve more. The Bombers still have four games to play; and it’s mathematically still possible for them to qualify for the finals if they win all their remaining games and St George or Sydney Uni lose all theirs. But realistically, this game was their last roll of the dice, and to have barely put up a fight was deeply disappointing for North Shore.
Seven of the nine Premier Division teams will take a breather next week. Manly and UTS will play off at Weldon Oval next Saturday afternoon, a catch-up fixture after last week’s washout. There’ll be plenty of catch-up games in other divisions; and then we’ll all be crossing our fingers that the weather behaves itself over the final month of the home and away season.
Last Modified on 27/07/2015 10:04
