The Students enjoyed 4 wins from 7 games on Saturday, with an impressive win against reigning NEAFL premiers, the highlight of the round.
5th Grade Golds: Sydney AFL Division 4
The first game of the weekend saw the Golds host the South West Sydney Magpies at University Oval No. 1. Both teams hit the scoreboard early, in what was a tight first quarter.
After taking a 9-point lead into the first break, both teams found it hard to score in the second. The Magpies managed to kick the only goal of the quarter, but still found themselves trailing at the main break by 3 points.
The Students broke the game open in the second half, holding the Magpies to just the 1 goal, while piling on 12.8 (including a 9 goal last quarter) to win their first game for 2016.
Tim Lay and Jack Hunter were lethal up forward; booting 9 goals between them, while Sam Walker, Luke Higgins and Leigh McWeirter all played great games for the Golds.
Final Score: Sydney University 15.16 106 def. South West Sydney Magpies 6.8 44.
6th Grade Plats: Sydney AFL Division 5
In the closest game of the round, the Plats took on the Campbelltown Blues following the Golds at University Oval No. 1.
The students started the game the better of the two sides, kicking 5 goals to 2 in the first quarter. The second quarter was a tight affair, with both teams enjoying success at different stages. The Blues managed to reduce the first quarter deficit to 8 points by half time.
The third was a quarter of missed opportunities, as the Students kicked poorly in front of goal (1.5). Campbelltown capitalised, kicking 2.4 to reduce the deficit to 3 points at the final break.
The final quarter was down to the wire. A better kicking day for the Students would have likely given them the victory, but that wasn’t the case today, with the Blues winning by 2 points.
Caleb St.Ather, David Starkey and Nigel Tao were the best for the Students, while Rob Lay booted six goals.
Final Score: Sydney University 10.11 71 def. by Campbelltown Blues 10.13 73.
U19 Colts: Sydney AFL U19s Division 1
The Colts were the first game of the day to be played at Henson Park, taking on Pennant Hills.
A club boasting both Division 1 & 2 U19 sides, Saturday’s game was never going to be an easy one for the Colts.
The Colts backline were solid at the beginning of the game, keeping the Demons scoreless in the first quarter. The Demons fought back in the second to even the scores at halftime, kicking 2 goals to 1 in a low-scoring affair.
The Colts seemed to run over the Demons in the third, linking up well through the middle of the ground with handballs before hitting their targets inside 50. The Colts held Pennant Hills to just 1 behind, and despite inaccuracy in front of goal (3.5), the Colts took a 22-point lead into the final break.
A hard preseason seemed to pay off for the Colts as they continued to run Pennant Hills off their feet in the last quarter. Kicking 5 goals to 2, the Colts were resounding winners by 40 points in a great game of Students football.
Final Score: Sydney University 11.12 78 def. Pennant Hills 5.8 38.
4th Grade Reds: Sydney AFL Division 2
The final game at University Oval No. 1 saw the Reds play the Camden Cats in a tough encounter.
The Cats showed why they’re flag favourites, getting off to a flying start, booting 7 goals to the Students 1.
Thankfully, the Cats struggled for accuracy in the second quarter, kicking 3.7, to the Students 2.0. Despite a better effort from the Reds in the second, the Cats still lead at halftime by 55 points.
The main break didn’t fix Camden’s inaccuracy as they managed 3.7 for the second quarter in a row. The Students were unable to capitalise on Camden’s inaccuracy, kicking just the 2 behinds in the third.
The Cats did not hold back in the final quarter, piling on 6 goals to the Students 1 to run out convincing winners by 110 points.
Callum Kennedy, Brendon Clendenning and Stephen Lloyd were 3 shining lights for the Students, on a day they’d rather forget.
Final Score: Sydney University 4.4 28 def. by Camden Cats 19.24 138.
1st Grade Seniors: NEAFL
The NEAFL boys faced off with reigning NEAFL Premiers, NT Thunder at Blacktown, in what ended as an empathetic victory for the Students.
Plenty of new faces could be seen in the starting 23 for the Students, with Tom McCaffrey and Jarrod Irving making their SUANFC debuts this week, joining last week’s debutantes Zac Fyffe, Sam Tagliabue, Jackson Potter and Mike Manteit.
The Students took a 34-point lead over the Thunder into the first break, dictating the game through their work defensively and around stoppages
The second was much the same. On the back of some great individual efforts, such as Mike Manteit’s 3 first half goals, or the work done by Lewis Stevenson in the middle of the ground, the Students success stemmed from a great team effort, with players such as Jordan Law, Nick Foster and Monty Krochmal applying great pressure to an NT Thunder side who dashed the hopes of the Students in last year’s preliminary final.
The Students continued to dominate the Thunder all over the ground in the second half. Jake Derickx had 4 goals by 3-quarter time, while down the other end, the NEAFL’s all-time leading goal kicker, Darren Ewing was kept scoreless by debutante Jarrod Irving.
The last quarter saw the Students ensure the Thunder had lots to think about on their flight home. Excellent defensive pressure and execution of the Students gameplan saw our NEAFL boys win by 69 points, in a game the club and its supporters will remember for many years to come.
Lewis Stevenson was best afield for the Students, in what was overall, a good game for all in the starting 23.
Final Score: Sydney University 16.16 122 def. NT Thunder 6.6 42.
3rd Grade Blues: Sydney AFL Division 1
The Blues were the first of two teams this week to take on the East Coast Eagles at Henson Park Saturday.
The Students took the most of their chances in the first, kicking 3.3 to the Eagles 1.3, to lead at the first break.
The second quarter was where the Students took the game over the game, moving the ball quickly to set up forwards Gabriel Robbie and Andrew Holmes for multiple goals.
Leading by 5 goals at halftime, the Students were unable to shake off a determined Eagles side, with both sides kicking just the 2 goals each for the quarter.
The last term was much the same, with the Students able to hold off everything the Eagles threw at them, running out 37-point winners.
Sam Ryan, Adam Birman and Jim Beard were best afield for the Students, while Gabriel Robbie booted 3 goals in a dominant performance.
Final Score: Sydney University 11.16 82 def. East Coast Eagles 6.9 45.
2nd Grade Reserves: Sydney AFL Premier Division
In the final game of the day at Henson Park, the Students played off with the East Coast Eagles for the Gordon-Physick Cup, in honour of the outstanding work of volunteers at the two respective clubs.
The Students started slowly as the last year’s grand finalists’ kicked 4 goals to 1, to take an early lead at the first break.
The Eagles continued to take their chances in the second, as the Students’ skills struggled. The Eagles kicked another 3 goals as the Students struggled in front of goal, kicking just the one, to find themselves trailing by 31 points at halftime.
The Eagles managed to hold their lead in the third, as both teams could only manage 2 goals each for the quarter.
The final quarter started positively for the Students, as a few successive goals saw them get within 3 kicks of the Eagles, before East Coast were able to steady the ship and finish the game with 3 goals, to win by 6 goals.
Defender Oliver Mahoney was best afield for the Students after some great efforts down back, while promising young forward, Matt Vicic finished with 2 goals.
Final Score: Sydney University 6.14 50 def.by East Coast 12.14 86.
All 7 seven sides are away this weekend. To find out locations, times for these games, and any other news about SUANFC, check the weekly newsletter coming out Wednesday.
Up the Students!