The small ground and hard centre square meant the game was going to be physical with a lot of inside pressure. Within 10 minutes we had lost CHF Mick Dunlea to a bad cork and by halftime we had lost both Adam Hobart with concussion and Brodie Cooper to a shoulder injury.
Despite the injuries the scores were level at 1/4 time and we knew it was going to be a battle all day and we had to keep putting our head over the ball at every contest. The 2nd quarter we had a slight breeze behind us and managed to obtain a well deserved 8 point lead at halftime.
Highlights of the first half was Luke Gemmill's hanger and our strong experienced backline repelling many UTS forward raids. The backline was lead well by Phil Hare, Cameron Inchley, Tom Reddin and Donnie Ollington.
We made some positional changes at halftime with Scott Cations moved closer to the goal mouth and Jeff Hardman into the centre which worked well. Scotty ended up kicking 5 goals in the 2nd half and proved what a great pick up he will be for the Warriors.
Despite having no players on the bench and hiding other injured players in pockets around the ground the boys dug deep and kicked 9 goals to UTS's 3 goals in the last half to run out 41 point winners. It was a gutsy win that all 22 should be very proud of and something that we can draw back on during the year.
Highlights of the 2nd half were Scott Cations 5 goals & Dean Connors goal from the boundary line to seal the win.
The Warriors now take on Southern Power in a big clash at home on Saturday and hope to have a number of players return from injury to strengthen the side in what will be our toughest challenge yet.
Best on Ground: C. Inchley, L. Gemmel, T. Reddin, P. Jackson, S. Cations, J. Hardman
Division 3
Mac Uni 7.7.49 lost to UTS Bats 11.7.73
The Warriors travelled to Trumper Park for an early encounter with fierce rivals UTS. The Mac Uni boys were greeted by sunny but somewhat tricky conditions with a strong swirling breeze blowing up, down and all around the ground.
Kicking with the aid of the breeze, which favoured one end about 60% of the time, the attack on the ball reflected two teams looking to cement their spot in the top four. Body on body contact was prevalent on the smaller ground with both teams looking to gain the ascendency. Quarter time saw the home teams accurate kicking having them up by 10 points - 4.1 to 2.3.
The second quarter saw a real arm wrestle with very few scoring shots. Rooster continued to drive the ball forward and although we were unable to apply any scoreboard pressure, if it wasn't for an awesome performance from the backline the deficit would have been considerably more. Stapo, Bud and Abs combined well to thwart many a Bat Attack and conceded only 2.2 for the quarter. It was good to see Salmon back on deck and getting some game mileage in the legs.
Still in the contest at half time, down by only 4 goals, we needed to outscore UTS in the third quarter to give us a chance of wining the game. Claw continued to dominate in the ruck, along with picking up numerous possessions around the ground. Summer too was getting plenty of the ball and managed to continually find space on a ground not having much of it. Gunns was everywhere and his attack on the ball, or the player in possession of it, was relentless. These efforts contributed to many a Warriors possession at the stoppages.
Three quarter time saw both teams kicking 2 goals for the quarter, with the pick of them being Duncs boundary run, burning one defender, drawing another, dishing off a handball, and then finally getting the ball back to kick truly from the goal square.
On the small ground we were still in the contest and when Jimmy kicked the first of the quarter to get within 3 goals. UTS held strong however, and in kicking the next 2 goals virtually sealing the win. To the boys credit they fought the game out kicking another 2 for the quarter, with Jimmy snapping a pearler from the boundary to finish with 3 for the day. The end result saw us kicking the same score as UTS in the second half and we look forward to our next encounter on our home track later in the year.
Best on Ground: Gavin Nixon, Patrick Sobb, Simon Kenny, Carl Edwards, Ben Staples, David Allison
Division 4
Mac Uni 9.5.59 lost to UTS 12.14.86
Best on Ground: D. Ranson, L. Kalaf, J. Haines, S. Matthewman, M. Ash
U18 Challenge Cup
Mac Uni 4.9.33 lost to Pennant Hills Demons 6.12.58
Saturday saw us away to Pennant Hills and with a strong breeze blowing it was going to make for interesting footy. We started off with plenty of footy and lead at quarter time but kicking into the breeze in the 2nd quarter saw us down at half time.
Our second half saw us have our opportunities but we couldn't put it on the scoreboard.
Sam Wood had a consistent game on the wing and Mark Bishop continued his good form down back. Jordan Bell returned to some form and covered a lot of territory and was also supported by Josh Noney in the middle but in the end we could not claw back the lead and lost by 25 points
Best on Ground: Sam Wood, Mark Bishop, Jordan Bell, Josh Noney