Round 17 Review – Final tuning before Finals hit
Article by Michael Shillito.
The penultimate round for 2017 was played under sunny skies. After a relatively dry winter, there’s more dust than mud on our grounds and conditions have been good for footy.
St George Dragons vs. UNSW Eastern Suburbs Bulldogs
St George took on UNSW Eastern Suburbs at Olds Park. Neither team went into the game with form, both having lost their last two games. This was a chance to return to the winning list and it would be the Dragons who would take the opportunity, taking a hard-earned nine-point win.
There was not much separating the two teams early. Desperate for a win, both sides were trying hard to find and exploit any weaknesses they could find in their opponents, but there weren’t too many glaring chances. The Dragons had the slightest edge over their opponents with four goals to three for the quarter, taking an eight-point lead to quarter time.
A swirling, inconsistent breeze was not making it easy, but players were mainly affected by the pressure of the situation. Both sides produced some coach-frustrating clangers in a second quarter of footy. With three goals to two for the quarter, the Dragons had pulled ahead to lead by 15 points at half time.
The Bulldogs were in danger of letting the game slip. Unless something changed, they had to go all-out on the attack in the third term. They threw their players forward and turned on a quarter of footy, which proved entertaining. It did not always come off but the scoreboard was ticking over and the Bulldogs were having the better of play around the ground. The quarter would produce six goals to four in favour of UNSW Eastern Suburbs, with the Dragons lead reduced to just three points at the last change.
The Dragons could be thankful that the siren sounded when it did as the break gave them a chance to regroup. They had to tighten their defence and stop the Bulldogs run and in the last quarter, and they were able to do just that. It was tight and scrappy, and the Bulldogs did not help their cause with some inaccurate finishing in the final term. The Dragons held firm and the game fell their way by nine points.
Liam Maze twisted and turned his way out of trouble numerous times in a best on ground performance for the Dragons, while Connor Flanagan and Ben Jones also featured prominently. The Dragons remain in fourth place, a game behind the Bulldogs, but with a percentage gap too great to overcome with only one more round remaining. The Dragons will play East Coast in the final round, in a game where they will be looking to fine-tune their finals preparation ahead of sudden-death finals to come.
Steven Pollock contributed four goals for the Bulldogs, while Michael Thompson, Ned Reinhard and Jared Deep picked up plenty of the ball around the ground. After three losses in a row, the Bulldogs, drop to third place with this result. They will still qualify for the double-chance in the finals, but there is only one round remaining for them to turn their form around before the playoffs begin
North Shore Bombers vs. Western Suburbs Magpies
North Shore moved ahead of UNSW Eastern Sburbs into second place on the ladder when they won their sixth straight game on Saturday afternoon at Picken Oval.
They were simply too good against the bottom side Wests, recording a 74-point win. The Bombers were the hottest of favourites, and always looked the stronger side.
The Magpies knew they would have to fly the flag early and put the Bombers under pressure. It was a high-scoring opening term, with the Bombers kicking five goals to four, to lead by 11 points at quarter time. The Magpies were working hard despite clearly not having the firepower that the Bombers possessed.
The second quarter followed a similar theme to the first. The Bombers always looked the stronger side and at times threatened to run away with the contest. The Magpies hung in there and were able to come up with the goals that kept them within striking distance. Four goals to three in favour of the Bombers saw them leading by 18 points at the long break.
The Magpies showed plenty of fight and desperation in the first half to stop the game from blowing out. Their efforts to hold back the North Shore tide could only go so far, and in the third term they lost touch with the Bombers. North Shore dominated the quarter and the stats sheet, adding six goals to two for the quarter to extend their lead to 41 points at the last change.
The domination from the Bombers continued in the final quarter as they kicked seven goals to one, blowing out the final margin out to 74 points before the siren sounded.
Kyle Devlin, Jimmy McKenzie and Zac Fyffe were in the thick of the action for the Bombers all day, playing key roles in setting up the big win. The Bombers move up to second, and are in strong form with wins in the last six games under their belts. Next week in the final home and away game, they take on UNSW Eastern Suburbs, and will then play them again in the Qualifying Final.
Ben Zoppo put in four goals for the Magpies, while Brenton Mumme, Callum McEvoy-Gray and Dan O’Connell were best for them around the ground. The Magpies fought hard for a half, but were overwhelmed by the Bombers after the long break. They remain stuck at the bottom of the ladder and need a win against Manly in the last round to avoid the wooden spoon.
UTS Bats vs. Manly-Warringah Wolves
After what has been a frustrating season for most of the year, UTS have started to hit some form in recent weeks. Going into their match against Manly-Warringah at Waverley Oval on Saturday afternoon, the Bats would need to win their remaining games, and hope for other results to go their way to stay in finals contention. The Bats kept up their end of the bargain with a 14-point win.
Goals were hard to come by early as both sides asserted themselves physically. It was hard for the outside runners to find room to move. The Bats always looked the stronger side, but some determined Manly defending prevented them from getting full reward for effort. The weight of possession would count, as the Bats managed to score four goals to two and lead by 12 points at quarter time.
The Bats started to pull away in the second term. Getting more of the ball, and having forward targets presenting themselves as leading options, the Bats were seeing the run of play going their way. The Wolves tried their hardest to hold back the tide, and did manage three goals against the run of play, but the Bats added five of their own and took the lead to 25 points at half-time.
The third quarter would not be one that reached any great heights, but that was to the Bats’ advantage. The Wolves found themselves second to the ball most of the time and when they did get possession inside the attacking-50, struggled to create many scoring options. The quarter would yield three goals to one in favour of UTS, extending the Bats’ lead to what looked a safe 37 points at three quarter time.
The Wolves were well behind and had no chance of finals to play for, but as proud team they still had a chance to salvage something from what had been a disappointing day. In the last quarter, their work rate lifted kicking seven goals to three and reducing the final margin to 14 points.
Scott Jansen, Edward Thwaites and Edward Murphy were standout contributors for UTS. They have left their run of good form for 2017 until very late, but have played better in recent weeks. A three-game winning streak sees them catch up to East Coast’s tally of six wins for the season with a similar percentage. The Bats will travel to Mike Kenny Oval to take on Pennant Hills in the final round.
Tyrone Armitage, Wills Brassil and Connor Pettersson were best for Manly, but it was not enough to prevent the Wolves from registering another loss. Next week’s clash against Wests will be to avoid the unwanted wooden spoon.
Sydney University vs. Pennant Hills
A twilight game at Sydney Uni No. 1 saw the Students drawn to take on Pennant Hills. The Students had top spot sewn up, but if the Demons could avoid a loss to the top team, their own finals spot would be secured. The Demons hit the ground running and had three goals to one early on, but fate would intervene.
Every club has injuries, almost every player has at some point or another, but when Pennant Hills’ Theo Moraitis’ leg collapsed, it was worse than most. It was too dangerous to move him and the ambulance was called. Treatment would take a long time and play could not go on around the injured player, so the decision was made to abandon the game and a draw between the teams recorded.
The implications of the draw at Sydney Uni No. 1 for the 2017 AFL Sydney Finals Series is that Pennant Hills are now a game ahead of East Coast. But so big is the percentage gap between Pennant Hills compared to East Coast and UTS, that we have a set final five.
Sydney University will have the bye in the last round, and then as minor premiers will have the week off in the first week of the finals.
North Shore and UNSW Eastern Suburbs play each other next week, and will then play off again in the Qualifying Final.
St George will play Pennant Hills in the Elimination Final. The Dragons play East Coast next week, while the Demons play UTS.
FINAL SCORES
St George 4.5 7.8 11.10 14.10 (94)
UNSW ES 3.3 5.5 11.7 12.13 (85)
Goals : St George – B Jones 3, D Addison 2, N Ryan 2, K Ayres, C Flanagan, O Selvi, D Lycakis, J Mudge, D Michalak, N Shaw. UNSW-ES – S Pollock 4, N Reinhard 2, T Banuelos 2, J Cann, M Thompson, T Dickson, J Buckley.
Best : St George – L Maze, C Flanagan, B Jones, N Kenny, B McParland, D Addison. UNSW-ES – M Thompson, N Reinhard, J Deep, J Bartholomaeus, H Annear, T Dickson.
At Olds Park, Saturday 12th August 2017.
North Shore 5.6 9.9 15.12 22.17 (149)
Western Suburbs 4.1 7.3 9.7 11.9 (75)
Goals : North Shore – A McConnell 3, S Barkley 3, S Carruthers 3, S Crane 2, L Smailes 2, W Taylor 2, N Campbell 2, J David-Wright, K Latham, Z Fyffe, K Devlin, J Marsh. Wests – B Zoppo 4, B Mumme, C Ford, J Newbury, S Stephens, L Davis, S Pearson, J Tidd.
Best : North Shore – K Devlin, J McKenzie, Z Fyffe, S Crane, A McConnell, J Marsh. Wests – B Mumme, C McEvoy-Gray, D O’Connell, S Pearson, B Zoppo, M Tuttle.
At Picken Oval, Saturday 12th August 2017.
University of Technology 4.2 9.5 12.9 15.11 (101)
Manly-Warringah 2.2 5.4 6.8 13.9 (87)
Goals : UTS – P O’Rourke 3, S Lewis 2, J Crameri 2, R Bates 2, L Maslin 2, T McKenzie, S Jansen, T O’Donnell, T Larby. Manly – C D’Souza 3, T Armitage 2, C Pettersson 2, L Behagg, W Brassil, A Robertson, E Kaporis, H Washington, A Fraser.
Best : UTS – S Jansen, E Thwaites, E Murphy, B Moyle, T Larby, P O’Rourke. Manly – T Armitage, W Brassil, C Pettersson, C Johnston, E Burke.
At Waverley Oval, Saturday 12th August 2017.
Pennant Hills 3.5 Abandoned
Sydney University 1.0 Abandoned
Goals : Pennant Hills – N Hey 2, M Preen. Sydney Uni – M Krochmal.
At Sydney Uni No 1 Oval, Saturday 12th August 2017.
