Round 2 of the Men’s season had some mixed results with inspiring wins and gallant loses. The A stream made the trip north, with the A-Grade and A-Colts recording season defining wins while the Reserves gained confidence against the league benchmark.
The Womens grades started their season at home after a strong pre-season. The Peacocks were beaten by a talented Bull Creek side while the Stormers fell just short against the reigning premiers in Curtin Wesley.
In the lower grades, the Pirates battled strongly but a limited pre-season proving a factor in the extended 25 minute quarters against a strong North Beach side. The Dingoes and C-Gulls built on their round one performances, notching another win against the Beach while the Puppy colts recorded the sides first loss in history.
With the Easter break this weekend, all sides will have a chance to rest some tired bodies and get some players back from injury before Round 3. The A-stream will host the in-form Curtin Wesley while all other grades are on the road again.
Steinepreis A-Grade
University 6.3 39 def North Beach 4.12 36
After a terrific effort in round 1 to secure a win, the league side had the tough task of heading up to Charles Riley Reserve to take on North Beach.
We were again severely impacted by injuries as we had a further 5 changes from the previous week. Nonetheless, key figures such as Blakely, Davies and Trombetta were welcomed additions back into the team. Charlie Mitchell was selected back into the league team and the playing group was excited for the debut of Alex Dykes, who has proven to be a consistent performer in the reserves and deserved his chance.
The first half was hotly contested. Uni’s pressure around the ball was pleasing for the coaching group, as the defensive unit lead by Tim O’Hara were able to repel many forward thrusts by North Beach. Uni took all of their chances in front of goal, with Matt Davies kicking 2 and looking dangerous. We went into the half time break 5.0 to 1.4.
Against an opposition of this quality, we knew a half of footy wasn’t going to win us the game. The directive from the coaching group was to ensure we started the second half like we played last week, ferocious and daring. Uni were able to control the majority of the third quarter, but missed a few chances as North Beach kicked a goal late to trim the lead to 14 points.
The last quarter was an incredibly tight tussle as Uni couldn’t deliver the football into the forward 50 as well as they would’ve liked. North Beach were peppering the goals, kicking 5 points in a row, but the heroics of young defender Ben Culloton was truly inspiring as he constantly put his body on the line to mark or spoil anything and everything. Uni were able to hold on (even without scoring in the last quarter). The group has shown a lot of maturity in the first two rounds. Rising to the occasion with a lot of our key personnel still on the sidelines. We will look to continue this momentum after the bye as we come up against Wesley Curtin @ UWA Sports Park.
Best: Ben Culloton, Cameron Wilson, Tim O’Hara, Matt Davies, Nath Stewart, Quinn Donaldson, Menno Inverarity
4 Pines A-Reserves
Uni 5.6 36 def by North Beach 11.11 77
The ressies hit the road for the first time this year, taking on North Beach. Charles Riley hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for University reserves sides in recent years, but the boys steeled themselves for a big contest. Early fumbles hurt us badly in the first quarter, with North Beach scoring a number of goals due to Uni errors. It took a deliberate rushed behind for Uni to hit the scoreboard, with Crudeli popping one in from the top of the goal square.
The backline defending relentlessly in the first half, lead by the four Toms – Doggart, Dowling, Ferguson and Lawson. Aden Rocket Wilkins returned for his first game and moved the ball beautifully across halfback, racking up 20 touches in the first half (plus taxes). Despite these strong efforts from defence, we struggled across half forward and went into half time trailing by four goals.
The boys kept their composure well and bounced back to play some solid footy in the second half, keeping much of it to an arm wrestle. Crudeli added a spark through midfield alongside his best mate Fleabag, while Ryan Williamson, Jacob Orr and Harry Donovan worked hard. The highlight of the day was provided by Pablo Bedetti, who managed a sensational dribbled goal. The other highlight was Nick nifty Evans in the fourth quarter. Finding himself in a paddock of space on the outer wing, nifty glided across the turf, taking a couple of bounces before sinking the slipper in from 45 in what was quite clearly a shot on goal. The ball fall several metres short, fortuitously landing in the lap of Pablo who managed to kick his second.
Uni went down by 7 goals, but showed great endeavour and improvement throughout the game. With North Beach being the premier side in the grade for the last 5 years, it was a good challenge early in the season and will provide a benchmark for the remainder of the year.
Goals: 2 Bedetti, Howard 1 Crudeli
Best: Messina, Wilkins, Crudeli, Doggart, Lawson, Orr, Williamson, Bedetti, Evans, O’Meehan, Howard
Phil Scott Colts
University 9.9 63 def North Beach 9.1 55
Crossing Law A-Grade Women Stormers
University 1.4 10 def by Curtin Uni Wesley 4.4 28
Steinepreis C4-Grade Women Peacocks
University 1.1 7 def by Bull Creek Leeming 9.7 61
Brewhub C5-Grade Pirates
University 8.5 53 def by North Beach 9.11 65
BDO C5-Reserves Dingoes
University 10.10 70 def North Beach 8.4 52
Brett Jones Colts C-Gulls
University 11.12 78 def North Beach 3.7 25
Subi Hotel Laurie Keene Colts
University 5.3 33 def by Coolbinia 8.4 52