Round 16 Match Reports
Division 2
Mac Uni 18.21.129 beat East Coast Eagles 4.0.24
The Warriors took on East Coast Eagles at home in perfect conditions and looking to fine tune their game for a big clash next round versus the flag favourites undefeated Southern Power.
We welcomed back Jerome Farrell from the Swans after paying a very high transfer fee and managing to convince Roosy it was better for his development to play Div 2 footy with the Warriors.
Craig Barnes & Dean Connors also came back in after a week off which provided some smarts up forward and pace in the midfield.
East Coast started well and once we settled into our rhythm they managed to kick only 2 goals for the remainder of the game after quarter time. In their first year, this third grade side will only get better next year and they way the prepare, recover and are coached is credit to the club.
Mick Twohig & Brett Harland continue to provide a great option up forward and kicked just about half our score by days end between them.
Bernard Bush played his best game all year with his foot skills & switching of play a highlight whilst Donnie Ollington was making his presence felt down back with strong body work and spoiling at marking contests.
In the end the result was satisfactory however you can not help but think the players were looking ahead to the top of the table clash next Saturday.
With a number of players playing reserve grade after returning from injury or due to form the selections to take on Southern Power will be a tough job for the coaches this Thursday night.
Best on Ground: D. Connors, B. Harland, B. Bush, D. Ollington, M. Twohig, J. Farrell
Division 3
Mac Uni 7.14.56 lost to Nor West Jets 10.10.70
Saturday saw the Warriors host Nor West and looking to avenge the 34-point defeat in their Round 8 encounter. With a number of players returning from injury it was a strong, if relatively new, squad that took on the second placed Jets.
Again the Warriors got off to a sluggish start with the Jets opening the scoring and it wasn’t till a nice passage of play from Hamma to Kinky to Damo midway through the first quarter that the Warriors had their first major on the board. TJ was mopping up across half back and getting a heap of possession which prevented the Jets from having a bigger lead at the first change. Nor West had edged clear by twelve points.
The second term saw the Warriors kicking with aid of a slight breeze and with Claw and Big Kev winning the tap and our on-ballers starting to give us first use of the ball we started to find the ball more in our attacking half. It was up there that Hamma was starting to find space and he kicked our first 2 goals for the quarter and when Scotty snapped a freakish left-footer from half way up the hill the margin was back to 5 points.
Down the other end Stapo and Hobbo was thwarting many scoring opportunities as the Jets streamed the ball forward. The Nor West forwards managed to capitalise on their limited opportunities however and slotted 4 straight for the quarter whilst the Warriors were a little less efficient kicking 3 goals 4 for the quarter.
The third quarter saw both teams’ waste opportunities up forward. Razzle continued to pepper the ball into the attacking 50 and with Wazza getting plenty of the ball on the expansive Mac Uni wings we were finding more run into the strengthening breeze. Busta was a rock through the centre and across half-back putting a stop to many a Jet attack with timely marks and spot-on disposal. TJ racked up a heap of touches (and a number of jumpers as well) along with negating the effectiveness of the league’s leading goal kicker. Getting the ball through our big sticks however was proving to be quite a challenge and it took an opportunistic grab from Scotty to register our only major for the quarter. Our 1.3 was matched by an equally inaccurate 2.4 from the visitors and at the final change the Jets held a handy 21-point lead.
With the breeze picking up to be about a “4-goaler” the Warriors were still in the game but needed to get an early goal or two to start the fourth quarter. Again the gap between the two big sticks proved elusive and after all the play being in our forward half for the first 10 minutes all we had registered was a frustrating 4 points. Finally the goal came when Scotty slotted his 3rd for the day after some good lead up work from Kinky on the wing but it was not going to be enough. Even with the back-line holding Nor West goalless in the final term and the Warriors having more scoring shots the visitors were able to hold on to record a hard fought 14 point win.
Best on Ground: T. Reddin, D. Avery, W. Lal, P. Hyndman, B. Staples, A. Hobart
Division 4
Mac Uni 8.11.59 lost to Nor West Jets 11.8.74
Round 16 saw the Warriors back at home against the might of the Nor West Jets. After a close loss the previous week the boys were keen to make amends and keep their finals hopes alive.
The start of the game saw the Warriors slip into some old habits, conceding the first three goals to a Nor West outfit which had clearly come to play. A lack of intensity combined with some poor ball use put us behind the eight ball however it was not long before things started to click. Frenchy went into the ruck and started to give our on-ballers first use of the ball and this lifted the rest of the boys. When Hobby gathered a loose ground ball and kicked truly to register our first, the difference was back to two goals and the teams traded goals for the rest of the quarter to sustain this margin going into the first change.
Once again we were asleep at the start of the second quarter as Nor West kicked away to a four goal lead. This would have been much greater had it not been for another disciplined display from our backline, who were admirably led by Whistler in his first game back and managed to control the damage and keep us in the game. Once again we started to get on top midway through the quarter. Gareth gave us some spark off the bench and Lukey moved onto a wing and managed to find some ball and use it well. Butch and Stumpy kicked a couple between them to reduce the deficit to 3 goals at the main break.
The third quarter started well as the boys started to take the momentum away from Nor West. Julz gave some spark in the middle and Hobby continued to present at centre half forward, his second goal cutting the deficit back to less than two goals. We seemed to have winners all over the ground however just could not quite transfer our dominance on to the scoreboard as some inaccurate kicking and a crowded forward line made things tough. Despite still training by 17 points at the last change we were playing good football and confident of running over the top of the Jets.
The last quarter was a cracking contest, with both teams displaying the intensity of football typical of a final. Stumpy got on the end of a lovely pass and duly converted to cut the margin further and when Coops miraculously weaved through a left foot check side from the pocket the difference was less than a goal and a fairytale was on the cards. This was as close as we got in the end though, as the Jets found another gear and managed to kick the last two goals to close out a 15 point win. Once again we were in the game all day but just could not quite finish things off, full credit to everyone for once again giving 100% all day.
Footnote – Stumpy now sits on 58 goals with the leader from Manly sitting on 59 with 2 matches to play.
Best on Ground: D. Van Ryswyk, L. Kalaf, J. Hobby, P. Le Breton, J. Beaman, G. Smith
U18 Challenge Cup
Mac Uni 6.7.43 lost to East Coast Eagles 9.12.66
Saturday saw us at home to the Eagles in our last 8:30am game for the year and after our win last week and a good week on the track the boys were up for the challenge and a better showing as we didn't kick a goal against them in our earlier meeting.
The 1st quarter saw us turn up to play which was a pleasing sight and also kick a goal and only trailed by 5 points at quarter time. The Eagles run was causing us some trouble and Sam did a good job tagging in the 2nd quarter with Tim rebounding well and giving us run off the backline.
Half time saw us down by 7 points and right in the game. Kyle started to cause the Eagles some trouble with his pace and Bish was starting to find the hole a kick behind and was racking up touches in the 3rd as we were out scored by a point for the quarter.
The first 10 minutes of the last was where the game was won as ECE slammed home the first couple quickly and their fresher legs were starting to make a difference but to our boys credit they fought on and if not for a couple of posters the game could have been a cliff hanger but we ended up going down by 23 points.
In the last few weeks the boys have really lifted as was evident with Nathan and Clint both having their best games for the year and we are playing more consistently across the whole of the game which is a really pleasing sight. At this stage of the year it would be easy for the boys to just go through the motions but to their credit their effort at training and on game days the last couple weeks has been outstanding. Keep it up boys.
Best on Ground: S. Lehmann, M. Bishop, T. Anderson, K. Morkel, N. Lee, C. Hanna
Last Modified on 10/08/2009 13:00