Article and Photos by Michael Shillito
We’re three weeks away from the finals. Although it hasn’t been a particularly even home-and-away season, with the team permutations for the first week of the finals looking set in stone weeks ago; some competitive games over this weekend between teams that will be playing finals has raised hopes that this could be a competitive finals series.
All four Premier Division games were played on Saturday afternoon, grounds bathed in sunshine but after a couple of weeks without rain some venues had become dust-bowls. It was a good day to be on the road; a round in which all the away teams won.
At Olds Park, Pennant Hills made sure of the double-chance in the finals and ensured St George would be in sudden-death through this year’s playoffs. But not before the Demons were given an almighty scare by a fast-finishing Dragons team.
The damage was done in the first quarter, as the Demons burst out of the blocks and got off to a flying start. It was a quarter of Pennant Hills at their blistering best; a midfield picking up possessions at will and a forward line creating scoring opportunities in an instant. And the scoreboard was ticking over with regularity through their burst of form. A high-scoring free-flowing quarter of football saw the Demons run through seven goals to two to lead by 33 points at the first change.
The Demons continued to attack in the second quarter, but the Dragons tightened the backline in the second term. And as the quarter drew on, the Dragons found a way to propel the ball forward; and in a high-scoring contest, the scoring opportunities came. The Dragons won the quarter by five goals to three, cutting the margin to 23 points at half time; but the Demons still looked to have the game under control.
Into the premiership quarter, and the Demons remained in front but were finding themselves under increasing pressure from a St George side that weren’t giving in. Twice during the quarter the Demons kicked steadying goals. But the Dragons had lifted and were coming hard. And with four goals during the quarter they cut the margin to 14 points at three quarter time; and had a sniff of causing a sensational comeback. 
The final quarter was a thriller, with those taking in the action absorbed in the twists of fate. The Demons were hanging on for dear life, and twice during the final term kicked goals that conveyed the feeling that the game was safe. But the Dragons kept coming. They had the answering goals, and attempts to get the margin closer ended in heart-breaking near misses. But the Dragons’ third goal for the quarter came. In the dying moments of the game, the Dragons had the margin back to five points, and they searched for the winning goal. But the search was in vain as the Demons denied the dream comeback; and the final siren sounded with the Demons having hung on for a thrilling win.
Five points was the final margin. Joy for the Demons, disappointment for the Dragons. Michael Johnston, Daniel Preen and Michael Talbot were standout contributors for the Demons; particularly during their devastating opening quarter burst. The Dragons found a useful performer up forward in Dylan Sanderson, who finished with four goals; while around the ground it was youngsters Jackson Okunbor, Eli Prescott and Tim Coenen who led the way.
With the result, the bridge between third and fourth is mathematically too big for St George to cover; and the Dragons will be in sudden death during the finals.
Defending champions Manly took the trip to Sydney Uni No 1 to take on the Students. It would be a competitive match, nothing separating the teams for three quarters.
Early on, the Giants looked to have the game under control. It was a strong first quarter by the Giants, who were getting more of the ball and making more of their chances up forward. Four goals to two in the opening quarter saw the Giants leading by 12 points at the first change.
On the short Sydney Uni ground, there’s plenty of goals on offer for a team prepared to attack hard and go down the corridor. And both sides took their chances during a high-scoring second quarter, getting the ball from the centre to the forward 50 in no time at all. And around the ground, the Students lifted their intensity and matched it with the Giants; working their way back into the contest. Rewards would come on the scoreboard as the Students won the term by four goals to three, cutting the margin to eight points at half time. 
The third quarter was more physical than the first two, a high-pressure event where goals were hard to come by as both sides piled on the defensive pressure and denied their opposition easy possessions. The Students were putting the fight up to the Giants, and with two goals to one hit the front late in the quarter and carried a one-point advantage into the three quarter time huddle.
Sydney Uni had been impressive as they had overcome their early deficit to take the lead. But that was as far as their challenge would go. For three quarters they had worked hard, but in the last they had nothing more to give. At the other end, the Giants still had fresh legs coming off the bench, and plenty more in the tank. And in the final quarter they took advantage, scoring the only three goals for the term to finish the game as 19-point winners.
It may not have been the Giants’ best game for the season. But it was enough to take the valuable competition points. On a day where goals were at a premium, Brayden Fowler’s four-goal haul was worth its weight in gold. Around the ground, Anthony Robertson, Jordan Weir and Tom McCaffrey were ball magnets. The win ensures the double-chance in the finals for the Giants; and their quest for a premiership three-peat remains a strong chance.
For Sydney Uni, Jacob Swarts, Monty Krochmal and Spencer Krochmal were standout contributors. Barring an unspeakable calamity the Students will be playing in this year’s finals; and on the back of this competitive performance for three quarters, they aren’t too far away from being able to have an impact during the business end of the season.
It was Back to Bears Day at Gore Hill Oval, with many past players who took part in North Shore’s 1985 and 2005 premierships on hand to watch the current-day Bombers in action as they took on UTS. But on this day, it would be the Bats who would salute to keep their mathematical finals hopes alive.
The first quarter would be important to the final outcome. It wasn’t high-scoring, only four goals were kicked. But the Bats, scoring three of them, opened up a 12-point lead at quarter time. The Bats’ defence was magnificent, time and again denying the Bombers. And although the lead was modest, the Bombers were never able to bridge the gap and would be playing from behind for the remainder of the game.
The Bats attempted to kick away in the second term, but their kicking radar was letting them down and several kickable shots at goal sailed wide of the big sticks. A return of 1.6 for the quarter didn’t do justice to the Bats’ efforts around the ground; but instead allowed the Bombers to attempt to work their way back into the contest. To some extent the Bombers did that with two second quarter goals; and with a nine-point margin at the long break, the game was still in the balance.
But two goals to the Bats in the first few minutes of the third term set up what would be a match-winning lead. They would only score one more goal for the quarter, along with plenty of behinds; but the Bombers’ deficit would be too great to recover from there. The Bombers would goal twice during the third term, but a 17-point margin looked too far for the Bombers to attempt a comeback. 
Two Bats’ behinds opened the last term. But suddenly two goals in 30 seconds for the Bombers cut the margin to seven points and hopes of a miracle comeback were raised. But the Bats steadied with a reply goal to shut down the challenge. There was little to excite in the last 20 minutes of the game, and no further goals scored. But the 15-point win was enough for the Bats to end their three game losing streak.
Jordan Law, James Caica and Patrick Brennan were UTS’s best. The Bats can still mathematically make the finals, but the chances against it are astronomical. Having lost to St George by two points and Manly by five points; one can’t help wondering what might have been. On their day, the Bats can certainly match it with the top teams.
For North Shore, Ted Strudwick, Adrian Harry and Pat Codling toiled tirelessly all afternoon. But with the loss, it’s now mathematically guaranteed that the Bombers will not be playing finals in 2015. An exceptionally young and inexperienced team, there’s some good talent at the club and they will feature prominently in the Under 19s finals. This has been a turbulent year at North Shore; with Gareth Lawson leaving the club mid-season and Damian Whittle currently coaching in a caretaker role. But the Bombers have got on the front foot for the 2016 season, and have appointed Ryan Meldrum to take over as head coach for next season.
It was also Past Players Day for UNSW-ES, with Bulldog greats from seasons past descending on the Village Green. But there was no room for sentimentality, as a red-hot East Coast Eagles side took complete control against the current USNW-ES side to take a commanding 137-point win.
From the start, it was the Eagles who had the contest in their keeping. First to the ball every time, finding loose men everywhere, and moving the ball forward with clockwork precision; it was East Coast at their irrepressible best. Six unanswered goals in the opening quarter opened up a 40-point quarter time lead, and the game was never in doubt from there.
The Bulldogs broke their goal drought in the second term, but their one goal wasn’t enough to prevent the Eagle juggernaut from blowing the margin out further. The Eagles would score five second quarter goals, extending the margin to 65 points at the long break. 
As good as East Coast were in the first half, they were even better in the third term. This was the season’s flag favourites going through their paces, top versus bottom, and the Eagles were unstoppable. The Eagles scored seven goals for the quarter while holding the Bulldogs scoreless, the margin out to 113 points at the last change.
It had been a comprehensive performance by the Eagles, leaving the Bulldogs shell-shocked. The Bulldogs would salvage something out of the last quarter, scoring four goals after only managing one in the first three quarters of the game. But the Eagles were still the dominant force, and scored eight goals in the final term to stretch the final margin to 137 points.
The Eagles had no shortage of attacking options, with 15 of their number getting their name onto the goal-kickers list. The Vlatko brothers spearheaded the charge, with Jamie scoring five goals and Jon four. Around the ground, Trent Stubbs, Jack Dimery and Jamie Vlatko were their best; but it was hard to find an Eagle player who didn’t play their role magnificently. The Eagles remain comfortably on top of the ladder and the minor premiership looks to be comfortably theirs.
It was a difficult afternoon for the Bulldogs, who didn’t have the firepower to match it with the Eagles. Roger Jones, Jack McAnespie and Sam Lewinson tried hard all afternoon; but the Bulldogs remain stuck on the bottom of the ladder after another tough game.
Next week will also see all four Premier Division games played on Saturday afternoon. East Coast will host Sydney Uni at Kanebridge. St George take on North Shore at Olds Park, while Pennant Hills will be at home to UTS at Mike Kenny Oval. UNSW-ES will take on Wests at the Village Green; while Manly have the bye. 
And next week will be the last week of the home and away season for Division Five and Womens Division Two. We’re less than a fortnight away from AFL Sydney’s first finals games.
Last Modified on 10/08/2015 10:22
