It?s rare for Sydney AFL to play on Anzac Day. And even more rare to play over the Easter weekend. To have matches on an extra long weekend that covers both Easter and Anzac Day was a departure from normal practice. But with an odd number of teams in this year?s Premier Division and First Division leading to a bye, an additional two rounds needed to be put into the fixtures this season. And so, on an inclement and windy Easter Monday, four games were played.
At Monarch, Campbelltown played host to St George. The Blues were looking for their first win of 2011, while the Dragons were hoping to bounce back after a big loss to East Coast last week. The Dragons had the better of the start, with five goals in the first term to lead by 21 points at the first change. The St George defence tightened further after the break, and the Blues were held to only one more goal before the last change.
By then the margin had blown out to 52 points, and it was only a matter of time until the Dragons? second victory of 2011 was confirmed. The final winning margin was 62 points, a reflection of their dominance around the ground.
Nick Ryan scored five goals for the Dragons in a best-on-ground performance, while veteran clubman Jon Shineberg chipped in with a bag of 4. Michael Holmes and Paul Sain were also influential in St George?s win. On a day the Blues would prefer to forget, Matthew Moore played a lone hand up forward for a return of 4 goals, while Kurt Hanson and Mark Leach worked hard all afternoon.
Defending champions East Coast Eagles took on the vastly improved UNSW-ES at Bruce Purser. The Eagles were hot favourites, but were put under pressure early by a determined opening term by the Bulldogs; and scores were level at the first change. Few could have guessed the one-sided second quarter that was to come. But the Eagles stepped up a gear in the second term, leaving the Bulldogs in their wake as they added 6.3 to nothing in the second quarter to lead by 39 points at the long break.
The one-sided nature of the football continued in the second half. The Bulldogs tried hard, but were outgunned by a red-hot East Coast lineup. With nine goals to five in the second half, the final margin blew out to 70 points; further boosting the Eagles? imposing percentage.
Jamie Vlatko kicked 4 for the Eagles, while Ryan Fitton, Brad Ure and Stephen O?Connor were driving forces behind the Eagles? success. For the Bulldogs, Alex Henderson, Ben Woods and Nick Tsindos were among their best.
Ladder leaders Balmain won their fourth game on the trot with a 13-point win over Wests at Picken Oval. The Dockers got out to a 13-point lead at quarter time, and after a scrappy second quarter in which only one goal apiece was scored, the Dockers still held the lead.
The Dockers didn?t do themselves any favour with some more inaccurate finishing in the second half, in which they scored 4.11. But they were able to keep the scoreboard ticking over in the third term enough to lead by 21 points. The Magpies caused the Dockers some nervous moments during the final quarter, scoring three goals to get back within striking distance; but the Dockers had enough of a buffer to hold on for victory and to maintain their unbeaten start to the season.
Daniel Brian, Daniel Turner and Travis Stevens were prominent performers for the Dockers, a side whose confidence continues to grow with each win. For the Magpies, Daniel Cusick, Robert Bamford and Dwain Watkins put in significant contributions to keep their team in the contest.
Illawarra had first use of the wind when they hosted the high-flying Sydney Uni at North Dalton. But poor kicking let them down, and the Lions scored 2.8 for the quarter. Against the run of play, the Students held a 5-point lead at quarter time; and the Students made the Lions pay for their inaccuracy in the second half when they raced the ball downfield time and time again to record 10 goals for the quarter and lead by 60 points at the long break.
The Lions made a better fist of their second turn with the wind, kicking 7 goals, but it wasn?t enough to get anywhere near the benchmark the Students had set. In the end, although both sides had the same number of scoring shots, the Students won by 50 points; their amazing accuracy in front of goals handing them a bigger win than the run of play would have expected. Like Balmain, Sydney Uni remains undefeated; but the Dockers still retain top spot by a minute percentage advantage.
Peter Dugmore, in his biggest bag of goals since joining Sydney Uni, achieved a return of 10 goals. Dugmore, along with James Brain and Tim Barton, were among the Students? best. For the Lions, Jim Weavers, Josh Lewis and Troy Bartlett applied themselves well all afternoon.
The remaining three Premier Division teams had the bye over the Easter round. Next weekend?s RedAndWhiteOnline?s match of the round features two of those teams, as we head to Pennant Hills. The Demons will be opening a new ground at Mike Kenny Oval, taking on North Shore ? and RWO will be there to bring you a review of the action.
St George 5.4 8.5 11.12 14.17 (101)
Campbelltown 2.1 3.5 3.8 5.9 (39)
Goals : St George - N Ryan 5, J Shineberg 4, D Donohue 2, T Addison, D Ryan, B McEvoy. Campbelltown - M Moore 4, B. Wharton.
Best : St George ? N Ryan, M Holmes, P Sain, M Graham, D Donohue, L Perris. Campbelltown - K Hanson, M Leach, M Moore, B Wharton, M Linsen, S Hardy.
Umpires - Kalayzich, MacArthur, Hayter. At Monarch Oval, Monday 25th April 2011.
East Coast Eagles 3.1 9.4 13.5 18.12 (120)
UNSW-ES 3.1 3.1 5.2 8.2 (50)
Goals : East Coast - Jamie Vlatko 4, S Doyle 3, S O'Connor 2, M Goodey 2, M Clinch, D. Costello, D Spiteri, Jon Vlatko, R Fitton, B Rogers, J Dwyer. UNSW-ES - B Woods 4, L Lavery 2, N Tsindos, C Jourdain.
Best : East Coast - R Fitton, B Ure, S O'Connor, J Dimery, T Baker, A McLennan. UNSW-ES - A Henderson, B Woods, N Tsindos, A Duthie, M Collett, P Kefalas.
Umpires - Lewis, T.Fletcher, Baigent. At Bruce Purser Reserve, Monday 25th April 2011.
Balmain 4.2 5.5 8.12 9.16 (70)
Western Suburbs 2.1 3.1 6.3 9.3 (57)
Goals : Balmain - N Fosdike 3, A Clark 2, T Head 2, M Edwins, J. Saddington. Wests - K Walford 3, L Bond, B Mumme, D Linsen, F McFarlane, B Lafferty, D Watkins.
Best : Balmain - D Brian, D Turner, T Stevens, B Taggart, J Farrell, B Jones. Wests - D Cusick, R Bamford, D Watkins, M Lemme, K Walford, R Barrett.
Umpires - Skinner, Pawley, Rowe. At Picken Oval, Monday 25th April 2011.
Sydney University 4.1 14.3 17.4 22.4 (136)
Illawarra 2.8 3.9 10.13 12.14 (86)
Goals : Sydney Uni - P Dugmore 10, A Campbell 3, A Lee 3, T Barrett 2, C Kendrick, T Elkington, J Brain, P Hughes. Illawarra - K Ewen-Chappell 3, B Patterson 2, J Weavers 2, R Price 2, M. Toussis, R Cutifani, M Daly.
Best : Sydney Uni - P Dugmore, J Brain, T Barton, A Campbell, T Barrett. Illawarra - J Weavers, J Lewis, T Bartlett, K Ewen- Chappell, E Franklin.
Umpires - Fox, Peck, Bertram. At North Dalton Park, Monday 25th April 2011.
Play Won Draw Lost For Agnst Pts %age Strk Balmain 4 4 0 0 332 234 100 141.88 W4 Sydney Uni 3 3 0 0 288 203 100 141.87 W3 East Coast 4 3 0 1 490 206 75 237.86 W3 Pennant Hills 3 2 0 1 266 209 66.67 127.27 W2 St George 3 2 0 1 218 270 66.67 80.74 W1 UNSW-ES 4 2 0 2 320 345 50 92.75 L2 North Shore 3 1 0 2 187 282 33.33 66.31 L2 Western Suburbs 4 1 0 3 250 261 25 95.79 L2 Illawarra 4 1 0 3 258 361 25 71.47 L1 Campbelltown 3 0 0 3 193 312 0 61.83 L3 UTS 3 0 0 3 157 276 0 56.88 L3
First Division:
Macquarie University16.10 (106) d Western Suburbs 7.3 (45)
East Coast Eagles 12.15 (87) d UNSW/ES 4.2 (26)
Manly Warringah 6.12 (48) d Southern Power 4.3 (27)
Sydney University 14.10 (94) d Illawarra 5.8 (38)
Ladder (Match Ratio) ? Manly-Warringah (100, 348.65%), Macquarie Uni (321.71%), East Coast (66.67, 211.32%), Southern Power (66.67, 136.96%), North Shore (50, 100.81%), Sydney Uni (50, 92.80%), UTS (50, 76.47%), Wests (33.33, 57.20%), Pennant Hills (33.33, 55.10%), Illawarra (0, 54.58%), UNSW-ES (0, 30.10%).
NEXT WEEK?S FIXTURES
Premier Division (Lurker?s Kiss of Death in bold):
Saturday 30th April
Mike Kenny Oval ? Pennant Hills v North Shore (2:10pm)
Monarch Oval ? Campbelltown v East Coast (2:10pm)
Olds Park ? St George v UTS (2:10pm)
Sydney Uni No 1 Oval ? Sydney Uni v Balmain (2:10pm)
Village Green ? UNSW-ES v Illawarra (2:10pm)
BYE ? Western Suburbs
First Division:
Saturday 30th April
Mike Kenny Oval ? Pennant Hills v North Shore (12pm)
Sydney Uni No 1 ? Sydney Uni v Macquarie Uni (12pm)
Village Green ? UNSW-ES v Illawarra (12pm)
Gwawley Oval ? Southern Power v UTS (2:10pm)
Blacktown Olympic Park ? Manly-Warringah v East Coast (3:10pm)
BYE ? Western Suburbs
Second Division:
Saturday 30th April
Olds Park ? St George v Penrith (12pm)
Blacktown Olympic Park ? Manly-Warringah v Sydney Uni (1pm)
Bensons Lane ? NorWest v Camden (2:10pm)
Gipps Rd Oval ? Holroyd-Parramatta v Auburn (2:30pm)
Rosedale Oval ? Moorebank v Balmain (3:30pm)
Third Division:
Saturday 30th April
Sydney Uni No 1 ? Sydney Uni v Macquarie Uni (10am)
Village Green ? UNSW-ES v North Shore (10am)
Gwawley Oval ? Southern Power v UTS (12pm)
Monarch Oval ? Campbelltown v East Coast (12pm)
Picken Oval ? Western Suburbs v Saints AFC (12pm)
Fourth Division:
Saturday 30th April
Bensons Lane ? NorWest v Macquarie Uni (12pm)
Blacktown Olympic Park No 2 ? Manly-Warringah v UTS (12pm)
Gipps Rd Oval ? Holroyd-Parramatta v Auburn (12:30pm)
Rosedale Oval ? Moorebank v UNSW-ES (1:30pm)
BYE ? Penrith
Fifth Division:
Saturday 30th April
Blacktown Olympic Park No 2 ? Manly-Warringah v Macquarie Uni (10am)
Gipps Rd Oval ? Holroyd-Parramatta v Southern Power (10:30am)
Rosedale Oval ? Moorebank v Camden (11:30am)
Pioneers Park ? Saints AFC v Sydney Uni (12pm)
Under 18s Premier:
Saturday 30th April
Bruce Purser Reserve ? East Coast v UNSW-ES (10am)
Mike Kenny Oval ? Pennant Hills v North Shore (10am)
North Dalton Oval ? Illawarra v Sydney Uni (10am)
Olds Park ? St George v Penrith (10am)
Picken Oval ? Western Suburbs v St Ignatius Riverview (10am)
Under 18s Challenge:
Saturday 30th April
Gipps Rd Oval ? Holroyd-Parramatta v Mac Uni Kookas (8:30am)
Rosedale Oval ? Moorebank v Southern Power (9:30am)
Monarch Oval ? Campbelltown v East Coast (10am)
Blacktown Olympic Park ? Manly-Warringah v Balmain (11am)
BYE ? Mac Uni Warriors
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