Elimination Final Match Report
Division 1 SAFL
Mac Uni Warriors 18.7.115 defeated North Shore 4.10.34
The Division 1 Warriors take on Manly this weekend in the First Semi Final after defeating North Shore last Sunday in the Elimination Final.
It had been two wins to the Warriors in the home and away season however not one was comprehensive with both wins by single digit margins. In addition North Shore had beaten us pretty well in a pre season game which further shows how close these two teams were.
The side was really looking forward to this match after a great training session the Thursday Night prior in which Micky O, the Swans Legend, trained with the side. We trained the house down and the question was whether we could play the way we trained. An added bonus was the fact that for the first time all year we had the opportunity to pick the same 22 players that played in the previous week. For some reason everyone is fit and available for finals!
A quick start ensured the Warriors took control of the game early and with Brett Harland, James Coburn & Scott Cations proving deadly in front of goal the half time score was 13 goals to the Bombers 1.
The midfield provided plenty of early ball with Brad Moore, Brodie Cooper and Dean Connors stand-outs. Our two ruckman for the 2nd week in succession provided good early clean ball to the midfield and are forming a lethal combination.
Down back Tim Scoular, Geoff Clarke, Carter Mullins and Donnie Ollington would ensure the Bombers would kick only 4 goals for the day. In the last two weeks the backline have conceded only 3 goals to Sydney University and now only 4 goals to North Shore.
The 2nd half was a lot close with the Warriors outscoring the Bombers by 5 goals to 3 to set up an 81 point win and a First Semi Final against Manly, 12pm Sunday at Blacktown.
Special thanks to emergency Mick Twohig for running water and also Matt Chaplin and Nate Jackson for running water after a big night on the town.
And finally thanks to Lukey “Gemmatron” Gemmill for his special audio presentation before the game. A 7 goal first quarter really showed the hard work of Gemmatron paying off.
Best on Ground: Andrew Polkinghorne, Brodie Cooper, Brad Moore, Dean Connors, James Coburn, Brett Harland, James Brackin
Division 4 Warriors
Macquarie Warriors 9.3.57 defeated by Moorebank Magpies 9.8.62
After much anticipation the finals were here, and a sunny day out at Henson Park greeted the Warriors as they prepared to take on fierce rivals the Moorebank Magpies in a do or die clash. Meetings between these two clubs are always hard fought tussles and this game was to prove no exception.
The Warriors started well with a couple of forward thrusts and Stumpy took a strong contested mark and although his resulting kick hit the post, early signs for the Warriors were good. However it didn’t take the Magpies long to kick into action and they gained the upper hand, with intense forward pressure making it hard to clear from our backline. When we did finally clear though, Addo was able to find Steve who went back and sent a long bomb sailing through to level the scores at a goal apiece. It was apparent however that Moorebank were more desperate in the early stages, and they kicked two more goals for the quarter to take the lead at quarter time.
The second quarter saw the game continue in much the same vain as the first, as Moorebank continued to dominate around the ground. It wasn’t until halfway through the term that the ball entered our forward 50, however, when it did Stumpy managed to crumb his own marking contest, wheel around and kick our second to keep us in the contest. We were clearly lifting but poor disposal let us down time and time again, as we could not find a way forward. Down back, Byrnesy, Storky and Chappo were providing great drive from half back and limited the margin to three goals at the main break.
Our second half would need to be a whole lot better than our first for us to have any chance, and we showed definite glimpses of the play that we are capable of. Despite Moorebank opening the scoring, Rove and Stumpy both kicked goals to keep us in touch. But just as it seemed like we were about to make a charge, Moorebank would strike back, keeping the margin at 3-4 goals throughout the quarter. In the middle we started to break even for the first time, with Party blanketing a dangerous opponent and Pup working into the game nicely. Hilly was working hard off half back giving great service too, and although the scoreboard was not reflecting it, we were right in this game of footy.
The last quarter was our last hope, and we needed to pull out something special if we were going to extend our season any further. The first 7 minutes saw the tussle continue as both sides were not going to give an inch. But then suddenly everything seemed to click. We started to get on top in the middle, dominating the clearances. And after being moved closer to goal, Butch thrived on the quick ball and pinpoint delivery to kick three goals in 5 minutes. Byrnsey chimed in to kick his first and in the blink of an eye we had levelled the scores! Another centre clearance saw Butch get on the end of another pass, and his kick registered a minor score to put us in front for the first time. Surely there could not be long left! With the siren looming, the Magpies lifted again and with their last roll of the dice entered their forward 50. One of their players managed to find some space and drilled a goal from the boundary to let them snatch back the lead, and unfortunately this was to be the last score.
An incredible game of football that could have gone either way, although full credit to Moorebank who were the better team on the day and deserved their win. Boys, great season, no one gave in and everyone contributed but we just fell short, next season will be our year!
Best: Eamonn Byrne, Gareth Hood, Ben Chapman, Dan Ranson, Andrew Hill, Ben Stork, Emmett O’Reilly
Last Modified on 31/08/2010 09:11