SYDNEY AFL FINALS WEEK 2 - Demons Swim, Eagles Fly

Semi-Final weekend saw two contrasting matches - a slog in the Wollongong mud then a much more solid playing surface in sunshine at Henson Park. And by the end of the weekend Pennant Hills had booked themselves a place in the grand final while St George's season had come to an end.

On Saturday, North Dalton Oval was the venue for the Major Semi-Final, with UNSW-ES taking on Pennant Hills for a grand final spot. Rain in the days leading up to the game, and during the match itself, turned the normally excellent North Dalton surface into a quagmire; the slushy surface and the slippery ball making it difficult for the players to display their skills.

Winning the toss and kicking with the wind in the first quarter, it was UNSW-ES who made the front running. Three unanswered goals in the first term gave them a solid start; the highlight of them being a good long bomb with the wind and a nice off-break in the goal square from Ben Sutton. The second quarter, with Pennant Hills having the wind, saw the gap close but a set shot from a tough angle into the win by Sam Rutland ensured the Bulldogs would keep their lead at the long break; the margin being 6 points.

Going into the premiership quarter, the Bulldogs had an opportunity to put the game out of reach; but were unable to take advantage of their chances. From the opening centre break of the quarter, when the ball was kicked the wrong way out of the centre, things just didn't run the Bulldogs' way. There was one goal, a move that looked more like a soccer set piece when Luke Jarjoura slid towards the ball to soccer it at goal, failed to make contact, only for Brad Abbott to be next to the ball to kick it away from the outstretched arms of the Demon defence through the goals. But a 50 metre penalty gave the Demons an instant reply; and the required goals for the Bulldogs to build up a buffer failed to materialise. Worse was to come for the Bulldogs, when a bungled kick-in during time-on went straight to Alex Goodall who gleefully took the opportunity to bang a critical goal into the wind. The Demons, despite going into the non-scoring end, had won the quarter; and although scores were level it was Pennant Hills who had all the momentum.

Conditions by now had become the worst since the 2006 grand final. It was the third game played on the ground for the day; and in rain so bad that that day's AFL game produced the lowest finals crowd since 1924, it had become a tough slog for the players. With all the players by now physically spent, it was up to the players minds to somehow summon the energy to play another quarter. Pennant Hills, with their tails up after winning the quarter into the wind, were better able to do that in the last term. The Bulldogs were unable to trouble the scorers, while the Demons ran through 4.4 to take out a 28-point victory.

Matt Carey and Alex Goodall each scored 2 for the Demons, while the Bulldogs were unable to find a multiple goalkicker. Goodall and Jason Clarke were among the Demons' best, while Leigh Lavery and Peter Kefalas were among the best for UNSW-ES. Pennant Hills now progress through to the grand final, while UNSW-ES have until Sunday of next weekend to recover from this match and prepare for their second chance in the preliminary final.

In the prelim final, UNSW-ES's opponents will be East Coast; after the Eagles completed a 65-point win over St George in the Minor Semi-Final at Henson Park. In contrast to the day before, Sunday saw blue skies and sunshine while Henson Park was in surprisingly good shape; especially considering the ground had hosted a rugby league match in the rain the previous day.

The Eagles made a match-winning break in the second quarter, with 5 goals to 1 taking them to a 32-point half-time lead. Continuing his dominant form up forward, Gus Seebeck was again hard to stop; while Adam Byerlee stepped up to become a second target for the Eagles. But St George weren't done yet, and a period of Eagle inaccuracy early in the third term coupled with a run of 4 goals to the Crows saw the margin suddenly cut to just 10 points. But the Eagles steadied, stepping up a gear and increasing the pressure to quickly snuff out any hopes of a miracle comeback.

Although St George had won the third quarter, they had nothing more to give and their resistance was to disappear in the last. Instead it was the Eagles who found a further level of improvement in their game, opening the floodgates to run through 9 goals to 1 in the last quarter and blow the margin out in a game that for much of the contest looked to be a lot closer.

Gus Seebeck and Adam Byerlee each kicked 6 for the Eagles, while Jon Vlatko and Ed Wilson were among their best. For St George, Troy Cole scored 4, while Joel Minichiello and Tim Addison were solid contributors. With the victory, the Eagles live to take on the Bulldogs for a grand final berth; while St George's season is over.

No repeat of the grand final appearance for last year; but it had been a successful season for the Crows. Only once since the turn of the millennium has St George failed to make the finals, and this record was to be comfortably maintained in 2008. Declan Donohue was named captain of the Sydney AFL Team of the Year, while Peter Dugmore's 75 goals saw him also selected in the team. The development of exciting junior talent continued, with Dylan Taylor and Nick Charlwood recognised with Rising Star nominations. The club celebrated their 80th anniversary in 2008, a long and distinguished presence in southern Sydney. St George are usually still in calculations at the business end of the season, and with a young and developing list there's no reason to suggest they won't be challengers for the title in 2009.

Saturday was Preliminary Final day in First Division, and Manly-Warringah booked themselves a grand final date with UTS when the Wolves completed a 44-point victory over Holroyd-Parramatta. The Goannas were only able to manage 1 goal in every quarter, and against the powerful Manly forward line that was never enough to mount a challenge. It will be a busy day at Kelso Oval next Saturday, with UTS also playing Manly in reserves, UNSW-ES playing Southern Sharks in the Under 18s Challenge Cup and Pennant Hills taking on Sydney Uni Blue in Second Division.

Major Semi-Finals - North Dalton Oval, Saturday 6th September

Premier Division Seniors

Pennant Hills   0.2   3.5   5.9   9.13 (67)

Uni NSW-Eastern Suburbs   3.4   4.5   5.9   5.9 (39)

Goals : Pennant Hills - M Carey 2, A Goodall 2, B Jack 2, B Mill, A Richardson, J Duncan. UNSW-ES - S Rutland, A Heffernan, B Sutton, B Abbott, T Luff.

Premier Division Reserves

East Coast Eagles   2.7   2.8   5.11   5.12 (42)

Pennant Hills   0.1   1.2   1.2   3.3 (21)

Goals : East Coast - T Kear 2, J Mann, A Power, C Durie. Pennant Hills - M Hossen, M Holgate, J Moraitis.

Under 18s Premier

North Shore Bombers   0.6   0.7   2.12   2.14 (26)

East Coast Eagles   0.0   0.4   1.4   1.6 (12)

Goals : North Shore - J Brain 2. East Coast - M Mostert.

Minor Semi-Finals - Henson Park, Sunday 7th September

Premier Division Seniors

East Coast Eagles   2.1   7.4   9.10    18.12 (120)

St George   1.2   2.2   7.5   8.7 (55)

Goals : East Coast - A Byerlee 6, G Seebeck 6, A Floyd, B Rogers, S Ryan, G Garner, L Stanford, R Smyth. St George - T Cole 4, D Donohue 2, R Talbot, J Shineberg.

Premier Division Reserves

Sydney University   0.2   4.2   9.8   14.13 (97)

Uni NSW-Eastern Suburbs   2.3   5.7   7.8   8.8 (56)

Goals : Sydney Uni - S Crichton 5, M Stewart 2, C Walsh 2, A Hawkins, N Bibby, P Younan, B Fletcher, A Connor. UNSW-ES - P Gallo 2, K Emery 2, H Lee, A Lynch, G Archibold.

Under 18s Premier

Pennant Hills   1.2   7.5   9.8   14.9 (93)

Campbelltown   0.5   3.6   8.10   10.13 (73)

Goals : Pennant Hills - R Green 4, A Govender 3, M Thomas 2, T Widmer 2, C Smith, B Urwin, N Baglin. Campbelltown - A Syrros 2, G Snaidero 2, D Herne, B Farrow, B Yakimov, B Ferguson, C Leak, F Brown.

Preliminary Finals - Kelso Oval, Saturday 6th September

First Division Seniors

Manly- Warringah   4.6   5.9   8.12    10.12 (72)

Holroyd- Parramatta   1.0   2.3   3.3   4.4 (28)

Goals : Manly-Warringah - M Rawle 2, M Dodds 2, D Stroud, D Canham, S Murray, A Jarvie, R Hart, T Armitage. Holroyd-Parramatta - B Dyrhberg, S Costello, B Harland, B Crane.

First Division Reserves

Manly-Warringah   3.1   3.3   4.6   4.7 (31)

Macquarie University   1.0   2.2   3.3   3.4 (22)

Goals : Manly-Warringah - S Addicott, B Andrews, A Wright, R Clack. Macquarie Uni - C Lobascher 2, K Langtry.

Second Division

Sydney Uni Blue   1.1   6.5   6.7   12.13 (85)

UNSW-ES Bulldogs   0.2   0.2   0.6   0.6 (6)

Goals : Sydney Uni Blue - D Archer 3, L McDowall 3, A Cohen 2, D Owen, B Morgan, P Urizar-Climent, J Bennett.

Under 18s Challenge

Southern Sharks   0.2   0.3   3.7   3.11 (29)

Macquarie University   2.3   2.4   3.4   3.4 (22)

Goals : Southern Sharks - J Mahoney, M Cairnduff, T Carter. Macquarie Uni - D Moore 2, N Middleton.

NEXT WEEK'S FIXTURES:

Saturday 13th September, Kelso Oval

8:00am - Second Division Grand Final - Pennant Hills v Sydney Uni Blue

10:15am - Under 18s Challenge Grand Final - UNSW-ES v Southern Sharks

12:30pm - First Division Reserves Grand Final - UTS v Manly-Warringah

2:45pm - First Division Seniors Grand Final - University of Technology v Manly-Warringah

Sunday 14th September, Henson Park

9:45am - Under 18s Premier Preliminary Final - East Coast Eagles v Pennant Hills

12:00pm - Premier Division Reserves Preliminary Final - Pennant Hills v Sydney University

2:20pm - Premier Division Seniors Preliminary Final - UNSW-ES v East Coast Eagles