Grand Final Review – Men’s Division One
Written by Michael Shillito
The Men’s Division One premiership was decided on Sunday afternoon at Rosedale Oval as North Shore took on Sydney Uni. It was a match that had no shortage of drama and controversy and would go down to the wire, with the result not determined until the final moments.
North Shore had swept all before them during the regular season, going through undefeated with an enormous percentage, and following it up with a 97-point win over UNSW-ES in their Semi Final. The Students had got to the big dance with a third place finish after the regular season, dropping two games, and then overcoming Pennant Hills by 12 points in the Semi Final.
But it was a horrific start for the Bombers as Erol Sertbas was shown a yellow card after just two minutes, and Sean Stokoe goaled from the resultant free kick. A long bomb by Danny Roberts restored parity, but the Students quickly got on the front foot. Gabriel Orr helped himself to a 50 metre penalty to put the Students back in front. James Mason marked in the square to extend the lead and Orr’s second on the quarter time siren set up a 13-point lead. Highlights for North Shore had been few and far between, although there was some good entertainment with a high-flying speckie from Trent Harley-Ross on the wing.
The Students made their decisive move in the second quarter, out-running the Bombers and setting up numerous scoring chances. Four goals to one for the quarter put them out to a convincing 33-point lead. North Shore frustration was rising, as Danny Roberts had a goal disallowed and had a yellow card shown to him moments later.
Well behind at half time, and with Erol Sertbas shown a red card before the third quarter started to leave the Bombers with 17 men for 15 minutes, the Bombers were in deep trouble. But they galvanised in adversity in the premiership quarter, and slowly but surely worked their way back into the contest. Straight shooting kept them in it, with five unanswered goals cutting the margin back to seven points. Suddenly we had a contest, and a game that had looked dead and buried at the long break had sprung back to life.
The shadows were lengthening, the tension was rising. The raucous crowd was in full voice and this contest was far from over.
Billy Lambert was paid a free kick in front two minutes into the last quarter. And when he played on from a marking contest and drilled his fifth goal through the big sticks, the Students were 20 points clear. It was a handy buffer for the Students, and they would need it. This contest was not over yet.
The Bombers had been behind all day, but they weren’t giving this one up. They kept coming.
Sam Penniment was collected late, and a 50 metre penalty took him to the square. Then Aiden Cox was bumped after marking, and a 50 metre penalty turned a tough shot into a certainty. The Bombers cleared the ball out of the centre, and Cox found a running Stuart London, and London found the big sticks. Suddenly it was back to three points.
21 minutes had been played, but we knew this would be a long quarter. There’d been an injury time-out of several minutes earlier in the quarter. There was time for one more twist in the tale. The Students were exhausted, the Bombers were full of running. Could they pull off the impossible comeback?
The Students had led all day, but now they had to summon one last effort. They drove it forward, and cometh the hour cometh the man. Josh Harvey pulled down the mark, 30 metres from home. Taking his full allowance of time and holding his nerve as he kicked truly. Finally the knockout blow was delivered.
The siren sounded, and the Uni victory was complete. Wild embraces as they celebrated a hard-earned win. While the Bombers slumped to the ground, with the empty feeling of being denied the reward of a season they had dominated.
Sean Stokoe was awarded the best-on-ground medal, while Billy Lambert and Rohan Geraghty also featured prominently, with Lambert finishing with five goals. Trent Harley-Ross, Sam Penniment and Stuart London had been best for the Bombers.
It had been a brave fight against the odds by the Bombers, but in the end the Students had done the hard work in the first half and the half-time lead was too big a deficit to catch up. And so it was the Students who enjoyed the spoils of victory after a dramatic contest that will long live in the memory of those who were there to see it.
Match Results
Sydney Uni 4.1 8.4 8.8 11.11 (77)
North Shore 2.0 3.1 8.1 11.1 (67)
Goals:
Sydney Uni – B. Lambert 5, G. Orr 2, J. Mason, J. Harvey, T. Atkins, S. Stokoe.
North Shore – D. Roberts 4, J. Potter 2, S. London 2, S. Penniment, A. Cox, J. Griffiths.
Best:
Sydney Uni – S. Stokoe, B. Lambert, R. Geraghty, M. Gazeas, J. Harvey, G. Orr.
North Shore – T. Ross, S. Penniment, S. London, J. Millar, M. Crisafulli, D. Roberts.
At Rosedale Oval, Sunday 27th September 2020.
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