Author: David Marsh
Macquarie University Warriors have made a terrific start to Season 2011 in the Sydney AFL competition with wins in 3 out of 4 grades in Round 1. President Luke Gemmill described the victories as a “Great way to kick off the season, and a great way to pay tribute to a club legend”. Will Ley, a life member of the club, passed away during the previous week aged 32. The club honored his passing with a minute’s silence before the Division 1 game.
The Division 1 side sent a warning to the rest of the competition with a dominant 19.15.129 to 4.2.26 performance over rivals Pennant Hills. The Warriors burst out of blocks kicking 10 goals to one in the first half including four goals to new recruit Eric Moody. Moody went on to boot another two in the second half to finish with six for the match. Coach Lindsay Bassani said he was proud of the way the team used the ball today, particularly their delivery into the forward line. He added, “If we can execute our skills like this week in and week out, we will be in with a real chance of September action.”
In Division 3, Campbelltown held off a fast finishing Warriors to defeat the home side by 10 points. In a low scoring affair, the Warriors went deep into their forward line on multiple occasions in the dying minutes but could not find a goal. Simon Lawrenson was the dominant forward on the ground finishing with four goals for the Warriors. Coach Luke Gemmill commended the team after the game on their determination to keep fighting until the final siren, which finished with the score line reading 6.7.43 to 6.17.53 in favour of the visitors.
Out at Gipps Oval, a five goal last quarter for the Warriors saw them overrun a spirited Holroyd-Parramatta in Division 4. Coach Matthew Scoular described the 11.13.79 to 7.6.48 win as “The perfect platform to build our season upon”. Warrior Stephen Mann was the leading goal kicker on the park with four majors.
And in the newly formed Division 5, Macquarie Warriors fought out a tough 4th quarter to record a win over Moorebank 7.16.58 to 6.11.47. Coach Tim Wolnizer described the victory as “a great team effort”. He added, “Many of these guys are in their first season of AFL and it was fantastic to see how they rose to the challenge when things got tight”.
Round 2 will see Macquarie Uni host UTS at University Oval in Divisions 1, 3 and 4. While in Division 5, the Warriors will take on Holroyd-Parramatta at home.
Macquarie University has six teams in the Sydney AFL competition, including four senior men’s teams, an U18’s side and a Women’s team. Training continues on Tuesdays and Thursdays at University Oval, North Ryde and new players are always welcomed. For more information, visit www.muafc.com.au or find us on Facebook.
Last Modified on 04/04/2011 10:06