First Grade
In what was a perfect setting for the first game of the season with the sun out, a good crowd and playing the powerful Belconnen side, the young and nervous Ainslie boys with a handful of recruits ran out on to their home ground with high expectations after a solid pre-season.
The first quarter opened at a fast and furious pace which had the magpies peppering away at the goals but failing to put much distance between themselves and Ainslie. By the end of the quarter and with a late goal to dominate big man Tony Bourke there was only 8 points in it. Special mention should be made to the Ainslie backline who withstood a mountain of pressure to only let in 2 goals for the quarter.
The second saw the Tricolours come out firing, taking control of the center bounces through Buchanan, Neely and Holmes. The strong ruck work of Bourke and Mulroney saw Ainslie hit the front through the skills of talented forwards Hughes and Argall. The contest became very physical and heated as both side strived to be first to ball. Bourke was in everything and the backline refused to allow there opponents an easy kick and at half time Ainslie had a 1 point lead.
A reminder about discipline saw the Tricolours come out firing with Crooks, Touhey and young Conner Pettersson forcing the ball forward where Bourke and Hughes took full advantage allowing the Tricolors to surge ahead. However just as Ainslie were gaining ascendancy, injuries to Buchanan and Argall, along with Butler already finished for the day, suddenly we were down to 19 players and with still a quarter and a half to go. The third quarter finished with a 20 point advantage Ainslie way, and with an air of confidence not seen for so long the boys committed themselves to win the last stanza.
Led by club leaders Neely and Bourke, and a solid back six who followed the example set by youngsters Love and Harris, along with a strong desire to win the team produced a tense last quarter. The Magpies were again wasteful in front of goal and sealing goals to M Lawless and Montague resulted in a well fought and pleasing victory for the young Ainslie boys.
Good players in a very even team performance were Bourke (winner of Read medal),Crook, Hughes, Argall, Harris, Daniel and Love.
Goal Kickers: B. Hughes 5, A. Bourke 3, D. Argall, D. McFarlane, M. Crook, M. Buchanan, M. Lawless, W. Neely, J. Holmes, R. Touhey, B. Montague
Ainslie |
2.1-13 |
7.2-44 |
14.4-88 |
17.4-106 |
Belconnen |
2.9-21 |
5.15-45 |
9.17-71 |
11.20-86 |
Second Grade
A fine sunny day greeted the Ainslie reserves for their clash against Belconnen at Ainslie Oval.
The Tri-colours started a little slowly in what proved to be a scrappy opening 10 minutes with players from sides struggling under intense pressure befitting the first game of the season. Ainslie were the first team to settle and were rewarded with the lead going into the first change. They were able to use the ball better than the Magpies thus providing a 15 point lead.
The second quarter started as the first had finished with the boys from the Tri-Colours showing more endeavour and commitment to winning the Ball. However this seemed to wane as the magpies lifted their intensity late in the quarter to rally with a couple of late goals to finish the quarter only 7 points adrift. Without some wayward kicking from the Magpies it could have been a different story for the Ainslie Boys.
The third Quarter was the time for Ainslie to produce some wayward kicking 1.6 while allowing the Magpies to kick 3.3 to go into the 3 quarter time break with a 3 point advantage. The tri-colours were able to control most of the play without dominating on the scoreboard. This may have been worst only for the goal kicking practice on Thursday night.
The last quarter saw Ainslie get back on track and start to play the footy that we all knew that we were capable of. This resulted to us being 13 points up with less than 2 minutes to go and thinking that the game was in the Bag!!! The Magpies to their credit had other ideas and were able to score another 2 goals and a behind to tie the game. Having the magpies almost win the game after being 13 points down showed fighting spirit from them but it also showed how we didn't know how to shut the game down and slow their momentum. The coaching staff we more than pleased with the guys performed although we didn't crack it for a win the positive signs are there for the rest of the season.
Lets have a good week on the Track and prepare for Eastlake this week who will be a good test for us.
AINSLIE FOOTBALL CLUB
Goal Kickers: P. Neiberding 4, L. Sloan 2, D. Harrison, J. Iten, M. Ablett, G. Erickson, J. Wilson
Best Players: J. Wilson, B. Sheehan, P. Neiberding, G. Erickson, J. Sullivan, L. Sloan
AINSLIE |
4.1-25 |
6.3-39 |
7.9-51 |
11.13-79 |
BELCONNEN |
1.4-10 |
4.8-32 |
7.12-54 |
11.13-79 |
Under 18s
With much of the squad commencing training last October as part of Senior Coach Chris Rourke's U/23s development squad, the new look Ainslie Under 18s squad for season 2008 were full of anticipation after strong pre-season hitouts against Belconnen and Wollongong.
Ainslie started the first quarter more physical than their opponents and were able to create midfield dominance early in the game. Josh Creaser, Ben Spencer, Harry Piesley and Stewart Gray all combined very well to give Ainslie first use of the ball. Rodney Dart and Alex Grozinger showed plenty early and Brendan Sainsbury took his opportunities throughout the game.
Jack Gumley, Eddie Jurkiewicz, James Taylor and Matt Vickers stood the opposition very well all day from defence and setup many of the team's goals with strong run and pinpoint disposal.
This dominance continued in the second quarter and Ainslie had a 4 goal lead at the main break.
Poor discipline by Ainslie players provided Belconnen with three goals from directly in front throughout the second and third quarters. Ainslie's lead at three quarter time was extended to 5 goals in spite of this poor discipline and aggression.
The last quarter saw much of the same, with Ainslie outscoring Belconnen 4 goals to 2 to finish with a final 14 goals 9 behinds - 93 points to Belconnen's 7 goals, 9 behinds - 51 points.
It was a great team effort first up for the U/18's team, particularly given the unavailability of key players so early in the season. There is room for improvement on our first up performance with the elimination of some team killers required before our next up effort against Eastlake next weekend.
Goal Kickers: B. Sainsbury 5, R. Dart 4, H. Peisley, J. De Salis, S. Potts, J. Hirst, J. Flanagan
Best Players: H. Peisley, E. Jurkiewicz, B. Sainsbury, R. Dart, S. Gray, J. Creaser
Ainslie 4.2-26 7.5-47 10.8-68 14.9-93
Belconnen 2.3-15 3.6-24 5.6-36 7.9-51
Last Modified on 14/04/2008 13:48