Harboursport - Sydney AFL Finals Week 1 2008

HARBOURSPORT

SYDNEY AFL FINALS WEEK 1 - The Hills Are Alive With the Sound of Football The finals series is under way

The introduction of a final 5 in 2008 meant an extra week of finals action; and so while minor premiers UNSW-ES had the week off to prepare for their grand final qualification, two matches took place at Henson Park. And it was the Hills teams that took the honours, with Pennant Hills too good for St George on Saturday and East Coast Eagles ending the North Shore revival on Sunday.

In the qualifying final, St George got off to the perfect start when Steven Wilsen marked and goaled from a tight angle; but the Pennant Hills reply would take less than a minute and from there the Demons were never headed. Declan Donohue in defence tried hard to turn back the tide, including a spectacular scissor kick rushed behind that would have been the goal of the year had it been at his attacking end. But far too often the Demon forwards were able to mark uncontested as they raced to a 30-point quarter time margin that could have easily been more.

While Donohue's rushed behind was a highlight, the spectacular moment would come during the second quarter. Pennant Hills' Scott Reed had the crowd in raptures as he flow over the pack to take a mark that, for 24 hours, would be a contender for mark of the season. It was during a period of the game where St George were trying hard to make their way back into the contest, and the Crows were to win the second quarter; and although Reed found Charlie Richardson with his kick after the mark the Demons were unable to convert it to a major score. But with a 15-point lead at half time the Demons still had the advantage. An open goal for the Demons

The game was to be blown away in the third term, as Pennant Hills ran through 8 goals to 1 to put the result of the game beyond doubt. The Demons played sensational football, with Nick Campbell up forward out-pointing any defender the Crows attempted to put on him. Alistair Richardson continued his purple patch, while youngster Blake McGrath in his first senior final made a strong impression. By the last change the margin had blown out to 61 points. And although St George doubled their goal tally in the last quarter to restore some respectability to the scorecard there was no denying the result was an emphatic win to Pennant Hills. The final margin was 55 points. Nick Campbell scored 7 for the Demons and Kieran Wright scored 3, while Mitchell Cers scored 3 for the Crows.

Pennant Hills now go through to the major semi final, taking on UNSW-ES for a grand final spot. For St George, it now becomes sudden death, with the Crows having just 8 days to regroup before the minor semi final clash.

St George's opponents in that final will be East Coast, after the Eagles took out a 50-point win over North Shore in Sunday's elimination final. The Eagles made the front-running, and from the moment Gus Seebeck on the lead opened the scoring in the opening 30 seconds of the match it was clear the Eagles had come to play. Four goals in the first 5 minutes, but the Bombers managed to regroup and work their way back into the contest. It was a high-scoring shootout, and with the Bombers finding Adam Nicks a high-flying target up forward cut the margin back to just 3 points at quarter time and hit the lead early in the second.

But the Eagles' forwards had the edge all day and were quickly able to re-assert themselves. Gus Seebeck was awesome up forward, too strong in the air and on the lead; and what he missed was picked up by Adam Floyd as the Eagles got their run going. It had been a footballing exhibition by the Eagles by midway through the third term when the margin had blown out to nearly 50 points. But the Bombers weren't finished yet, kicking the last 4 goals n the quarter and suddenly the margin was back to 24 points at the last change. The Bombers had made the finals with a late surge during the season, could they produce another surge in the last quarter to pull off an unlikely victory?

Mitch Aitken in front in a marking contest

From the centre, the Bombers went foward inside the 50 when Nick Egan flew for a mark even better than Scott Reed's effort on Saturday, coming down from the clouds with the ball. A goal would have lifted the Bombers and continued their run from last in the third quarter; but his kick sailed wide. From the restart the ball went to the wing, but as the pack scrambled around the ball, young Bomber Sam Carruthers copped a ball kicked straight into his face and was knocked out, his neck unstable. The stretcher was immediately called for, but despite pleas for the game to be stopped the umpires, not realising how serious the injury was, called play to continue until the stretcher emerged from the rooms.

Play was held up for over 10 minutes while Carruthers received treatment until it was safe to stretcher him off. Once play restarted the Bombers' momentum was gone and the Eagles steadied, dominating the last quarter to round off a 50-point victory and keep their season alive. Seebeck kicked 8 in a dominant display up forward for the Eagles while Adam Floyd scored 5; for the Bombers Adam Nicks scored 4 and Ben Attwood 3. East Coast are through to take on St George next week while North Shore's season is over. Nick Campbell grubbers a goal through

In some ways the match was a microcosm of North Shore's season - blown away early, down for the count two-thirds of the way through, but showing a fighting spirit kept bouncing back to cause their more highly-fancied opponents some nervous moments but severely hampered by injuries. There will be no title defence for the Bombers, but plenty of highlights to take from the season. A young side with plenty of talent; Max Wilson, Teddy Strudwick and Will Sierakowski took out Rising Star nominations while Ron Wason and Lachlan Pryor were selected in the Team of the Year. Wilson, Strudwick, Sierakowski and Pryor are all aligned to AFL clubs through the Scholarship program; which is playing a role in giving Sydney football's emerging talent an opportunity to learn from the best.

In First Division, Manly-Warringah got off to a promising start in their major semi-final clash with UTS when they led by 17 points at quarter, but UTS gradually got themselves on top, hitting the front in the second half before finally taking out a 14-point win. Andrew Thain was the star of the show, scoring 7 for the Bats. In the minor semi-final, Holroyd-Parramatta put on an explosive second-quarter burst to lead by 49 points at half-time; and despite a second half comeback by Southern Sharks the Goannas hung on to take the game by 13 points. Desmond Worrell scored 5 for the Goannas, while Alan Fritsch with 8 goals played a key role in the Sharks' fightback.

Qualifying Finals - Henson Park, Saturday 30th August 2008.

Premier Division Seniors

Pennant Hills 5.6 7.9 15.13 20.16 (136)

St George 1.0 5.5 6.6 12.9 (81)

Goals : Pennant Hills - N Campbell 7, K Wright 3, A Goodall 2, J Duncan 2, B Jack 2, L Spencer, S Myers, C Richardson, T Angel. St George - M Cers 3, P Dugmore 2, A Johnson 2, M Goolagong, C MacDougal, M Holmes, S Wilsen, D Watkins.

Premier Division Reserves

Pennant Hills 2.2 6.7 11.10 15.14 (104)

Uni NSW-Eastern Suburbs 3.7 3.7 4.10 6.12 (48)

Goals : Pennant Hills - P Barnes 3, J Hancock 2, T Kenny 2, D De Looze, J Gaggin, P McLaren, R Ediwickrama, S Widmer, M Holgate, N Low, J Low. UNSW-ES - G Archibold 2, P Gallo, A Lynch, T Linehan, S Ball.

Under 18s Premier

East Coast Eagles 5.2 8.3 9.6 10.10 (70)

Pennant Hills 3.3 6.5 8.5 10.6 (66)

Goals : East Coast - J Gordon 4, J Steer 2, J Moeller, M Power, J Shephard, T Stubbs. Pennant Hills - A Govender 3, F Nixon 2, R Green 2, C Smith, M Thomas, N Vamish.

Elimination Finals - Henson Park, Sunday 31st August 2008.

Premier Division Seniors

East Coast Eagles 6.3 13.4 17.7 22.10 (142)

North Shore 6.0 9.3 13.7 14.8 (92)

Goals : East Coast - G Seebeck 8, A Floyd 5, A Byerlee 2, R Smyth 2, D Bowles, M Maher, E Wilson, B Rogers, G Garner. North Shore - A Nicks 4, B Attwood 3, N Egan 2, L Pryor, M Livy, S Carruthers, T Strudwick, R Butchatsky.

Premier Division Reserves

Sydney University 6.5 8.6 11.7 15.10 (100)

St George 2.1 7.5 7.6 8.8 (56)

Goals : Sydney Uni - R Stokes 4, T Ly 3, A Hawkins, M Stewart, N Bibby, S Crichton, C Walsh, A Shain, A Connor, L Higgins. St George - C Windle 2, J Horder, M Milner, A Ellis, A Low, B Addison, D Taylor.

Under 18s Premier

Campbelltown 5.3 8.3 10.8 16.9 (105)

Wollongong 2.2 6.7 9.7 13.10 (88)

Goals : Campbelltown - B Farrow 3, C Leak 3, G Snaidero 3, F Brown 2, D Herne, B Ferguson, A Sneddon, A Syrros, G Hoppitt. Wollongong - M Daly 4, R Wells 3, K Temple 2, J Mahony, T Bell, T Hurst, S Tibben.

Major Semi Finals - Wagener Oval, Saturday 30th August 2008.

First Division Seniors

University of Technology 3.0 6.2 12.5 15.8 (98)

Manly-Warringah 5.5 7.8 10.9 12.12 (84)

Goals : UTS - A Thain 7, S Hissey 2, J Aitken 2, J Ryan 2, J Urban, L Trimboli. Manly-Warringah - E Jarvie 3, M Dodds 2, D McMillan, D Canham, M Webb, M Rawle, B Hawkins, R Hart, C Pridgeon.

First Division Reserves - UTS 16.6 (102) d Manly-Warringah 5.7 (37)

Second Division - Pennant Hills 13.11 (89) d Sydney Uni Blue 4.10 (34)

Under 18s Challenge - UNSW-ES 16.21 (117) d Macquarie Uni 5.5 (35)

Minor Semi-Finals - Wagener Oval, Sunday 31st August 2008.

First Division Seniors

Holroyd Parramatta 4.3 10.7 14.8 17.8 (110)

Southern Sharks 1.3 2.6 9.7 15.7 (97)

Goals : Holroyd-Parramatta - D Worrell 5, B Harland 4, L Mansbridge 4, S McKinley 2, H Goodman, J Southurst. Southern Sharks - A Fritsch 8, M Bellman 2, J McIntosh, A Carmody, B Jansson, P Harmer, W Oakley.