Article by Michael Shillito
The coldest winter days are behind us, and Saturday saw the mercury soar into the high 20s for the penultimate home and away round of the season. It was a round where there were no upsets, one which extinguished any mathematical chances of UTS sneaking into the finals.
To have made it through, UTS would have needed to win both their remaining games and hope Sydney Uni lost both of theirs. But at Waverley Oval their hopes were crushed by St George in a sometimes spiteful clash that saw the Dragons emerge with a 43-point win.
The stakes were high for the Bats, and there were bodies put on the line in a physical opening term. But the Dragons had the answers on the scoreboard to any challenge the Bats would throw up, and with a run of four goals to one in the opening term opened up an 18-point quarter time lead.
But the Bats fought back hard in the second term. Their season was on the line, this was the time to stand and deliver. Lifting their work-rate, getting in first to the ball and throwing caution to the wind in a drive for perpetual attack. The Dragons scored three goals during the second term, but for much of the quarter the ball was on the Bats’ forward line. There were many chances created, not all of them finished accurately; but a return of 5.7 for the quarter cut the margin to four points at the long break.
The Bats were putting up a determined fight. Sometimes their determination got the better of them; and they were punished severely with two players being yellow-carded. But around the ground they were matching it with the Dragons and putting their highly-fancied rivals under plenty of pressure. A high-scoring third quarter saw the Dragons make several attempts to pull away but the Bats hung in there to keep the margin within striking distance. Five goals to four in favour of the Dragons in the third quarter saw the margin 15 points at the last change; but the game was still there to be won.
But when it came to the crunch in the last quarter, the Bats had nothing more to give. They had battled for three quarters, but were unable to go any further in the final term. Their last roll of the dice for the finals, but they were unable to score a goal during the last quarter. At the other end the Dragons peppered the goals, but although they were only able to score four goals from their numerous attempts, it was more than enough to wrap up a comfortable win.
In the end, the Dragons took the game by 43 points. Taylor Preece, Brayden Kilpatrick and Bryce Addison were standout contributors for St George. The Dragons will be in sudden death during the finals; but this hard-fought win could help build some momentum which they will need when the playoffs come around.
Josh Maddox, Ben Hoyle and Brad Harricks were UTS’s best. But this result officially sealed their fate; and their quest for their first appearance in the Premier Division finals will have to wait for another year.
As it turned out, even if the Bats had won, they’d still have been knocked out of the finals race. Sydney Uni finally mathematically booked their spot in this year’s playoffs when they snapped a three-game losing streak with a 69-point win over UNSW-ES at Sydney Uni No 1 on Saturday afternoon.
The contest was effectively decided by quarter time, as the Students got off to a flying start and ensured the Bulldogs were never in the contest. Incursions into the Bulldogs’ attacking 50 were rare in the opening term, and the visitors were unable to score a goal in the quarter. At the other end, the Students had no shortage of scoring opportunities; and with six of them being capitalised on with major scores, it was a 37-point lead to Sydney Uni at quarter time.
The Bulldogs lifted in the second term, and won the quarter. It was a high-scoring quarter of football, with both sides going direct from the centre and moving with one kick into the forward 50. The scoreboard was regularly ticking over, and the Bulldogs took reward from their increased efforts to kick five goals to four for the quarter. But the Bulldogs still had a 33-point deficit to overcome when the teams returned to the rooms at half time.
And there would be no way back into the contest for UNSW-ES during the third quarter. The Students tightened up their defence and the easy possessions of the second term were unable to be replicated in the third. But the Students had no problem creating scoring chances at the other end, and with a run of five goals to two for the quarter extended the lead to 50 points at three quarter time.
The Students had the game comfortably won, and the last quarter saw them counting down to the final siren that would guarantee their second straight finals campaign. But there was still work to do, and the Students again showed they had the edge with a run of four goals to one in the final quarter.
In the end, the Students prevailed by 69 points. Tom Elkington proved a handy target up forward to finish with five goals, while Zac Fyffe contributed four. David Johnson, Tom Elkington and Alex Hawtin made prominent contributions for the Students on a day they returned to form after some indifferent recent performances.
Joseph Byrnes, Jack McKinlay and Ned Reinhard worked hard all afternoon for the Bulldogs. But it was another disappointing week in a disappointing season for UNSW-ES; who find themselves with the unwanted wooden spoon this season.
Wests hosted Manly at Picken Oval on Saturday afternoon. In terms of the upcoming finals the game had little relevance, with the Giants’ double-chance in the finals already guaranteed while the Magpies have long been out of finals contention. And the Giants would take the points; although the Magpies would put up plenty of stiff resistance and make the visitors earn their win.
It was a high-scoring opening quarter, in which there was plenty of positive and free-flowing footy. The Magpies were taking the fight up to the Giants, and it was clear even early in the game that this would be no Manly cakewalk. But the Giants were able to come up with the answering goals when they were needed; and five goals to three in the opening term saw a 12-point Manly lead at quarter time.
That first goal would be critical for the game. It was only a relatively narrow lead compared to some of the quarter-time leads the Giants have built up this season. But it ensured that at no stage during the remainder of the game would the Magpies be able to take the lead. They came close at times, but were never able to hit the front.
But the Giants didn’t do themselves any favours with some inaccurate kicking in the second term. A return of 1.5 for the quarter, and several more plays which could have become scoring opportunities going begging. And the Magpies kept coming, not always effectively but they were able to manage two goals in the second quarter to cut the margin to eight points at the long break.
The third quarter was an arm-wrestle, both sides defending resolutely and putting the other under plenty of pressure. Loose men were hard to find, easy possessions virtually non-existent as packs formed around the ball with every possession and the ball being locked in around the wing more often than in either team’s forward zone. Just one goal apiece was scored in the third quarter; and when the siren sounded Manly were leading by 10 points, but the game was still up for grabs.
The third quarter was tense and tight, but such pressure was unsustainable. Instead, the game opened up in the last quarter, a more aesthetically-pleasing spectacle. The Magpies kept coming, kept creating chances, kept the scoreboard ticking over to keep their hopes of a boilover win alive. And they would draw twin flags from the goal umpires five times during the final quarter. But it wasn’t enough, as the Giants came up with the answering goals to keep themselves in front and prevent the Magpies from stealing the game. They would score six goals in the final quarter, enough to win a hard-fought contest by 18 points.
On a day when goals were all-important, Brayden Fowler’s six-goal haul was critical to getting the Giants over the line. Fowler, along with Anthony Robertson and Tom Pyle, was listed among the Giants’ best. They had the four points, but they’d been made to earn them.
For Wests, Paul Bevan scored five goals to be best-on-ground in a losing side; while Brenton Mumme and Taran Etto also made key contributions to the Magpie cause. It had been a gallant fight by the Magpies. A slow start to the season had seen their finals hopes fade many weeks ago; but they are finishing their 2015 campaign with a wet sail.
The remaining game of the round was at Gore Hill Oval, with non-finallist North Shore taking on minor premiers East Coast. And it would be a mismatch, possibly the worst defeat in North Shore’s long history, as the Eagles recorded a 154-point demolition.
Since their shock defeat in the opening round, the Eagles have dominated the competition, winning every game since and accumulating an enormous percentage. Despite having byes this season, meaning playing only 16 games compared to the normal 18-game season, the Eagles are the first team in living memory to score over 2,000 points in a home and away season. And from the start, the North Shore defenders were powerless to stop the Eagle juggernaut; the scoreboard struggling to keep up with the constant flow of goals as the Eagles scored eleven goals to one in the first quarter and lead by 64 points at quarter time.
The Bombers had put up minimal resistance in the first term. At least they would score three goals in the second, but they were just isolated moments of respite from the Eagle machine that was in complete control around the park. The Eagles score climbed past the century and kept going as they scored seven goals in the second term; and went into the rooms at half-time holding a 91-point lead.
There would be no relief for the Bombers in the third term, as the Eagles maintained the form that had put them so far ahead. Six goals to two was the scoreline for the third quarter, the margin at the last change out to 121 points.
By now what intensity the game had ever had was gone; and the only main interest was whether the Eagles would bring up the rare honour of a double-century. That milestone was easily passed in the final quarter, as the Eagles kept going and the goal umpires were kept busy in a frequency of flag-waving befitting of a patriotic ceremony. Seven goals to three in the final quarter was enough to take the Eagles to 214 and the winning margin to 154 points.
On a day when the Eagles had winners all over the ground, Trent Stubbs was the most dominant of them all, scoring 12 goals in a comprehensive best-on-ground performance. Andrew McConnell kicked five and was also among the Eagles’ best; while Jamie Vlatko kicked four and Kieran Emery picked up enormous numbers of possessions around the ground. The win completes a comfortable minor premiership for the Eagles. And with the bye next week and another week off in the first week of the finals, they’ll be refreshed when they’re called into action in the playoffs.
It was a tough day for North Shore. Ted Strudwick, Will Taylor and Harrison Carr tried hard in the face of adversity. But the only positive that North Shore could draw is that there’s only one more round before their season is over and they get a fresh start in 2016.
One round remains in the home and away season; with all games again to be played on Saturday afternoon next week. No finals teams will play each other in the last round; and minor premiers East Coast have the bye.
For Manly, Pennant Hills, St George and Sydney Uni, it’s a chance to fine-tune their finals preparations. For UTS, Wests, North Shore and UNSW-ES, one last chance to fly the flag and finish the season on a high before the long off-season begins.
Last Modified on 24/08/2015 10:49
