Read round two results here
Spill Crew A Grade
Uni 16.10 106 defeated Wanneroo 3.4 22
The Uni A Grade started their 2023 campaign with a convincing win over last years B Grade premiers Wanneroo. It was a new look Uni side that featured 10 players aged 20 or younger and with that came a lot of energy and excitement. The boys were particularly charged and ready to go also following Timmy Banfield’s inspiring jumper presentation speech for debutant Josh Ledger. Alongside Ledge was Oscar “Big Honey” Morcombe, Jakob Henriksen, Oliver “OZO” Zolnier-Owens and West Love who all made their A Grade debuts for the club.
From the first bounce Uni didn’t miss a beat playing tough and disciplined footy. The boys gave Wanneroo very little space to move the footy and generated numerous scoring chains in the process.
The University midfield was on top all day with debutant ruckman West Love and former A Colts captain Cyrus “Slippery Cat” Upson fantastic in their first proper hit out of senior footy. Isaac Barton was at his best and Dwayne Lake who is old enough to have fathered half the team was hard at it in and under every contest. On the outside, the young wing combination of OZO and Jack Mentink worked hard all day providing a vital link to our ball movement.
Our backline held strong with the young duo of Jakob Henriksen and Kyle Lim impressing all looking on, whilst the more experienced pairing of Jye Harris and Ben Fitzgerald ensured any Wanneroo ball movement ended with them.
Tim O’Hara, Sean Trombetta and Giles Dent were all impactful up forward with 4 majors each whilst Troy Culloton provided a strong contest for us at all times.
It was great to start the season off with a R1 win and get some experience and run into what is a very fresh team. We have a huge and exciting challenge next week up against Scarborough @ Millington Reserve and it would be great to see as many Uni supporters as possible down to help get the boys over the line.
Goals: O’Hara, Trombetta, Dent (4), Barton (3), Love (1)
Best Players: Barton, Dent, Mentink, Lake, Upson, Harris, Trombetta, O’Hara, OZO
Steinepreis Paganin A Reserves
Uni 17.6 108 defeated Wanneroo 4.6 30
The Reserves have kicked off the 2023 campaign with an emphatic 78 point victory over Wanneroo. From the final against TAs last year, the Reserves welcomed 15 new faces into the side. Even more staggeringly, the oldest player was 29 years old (sorry to our newly announced Vice Captain Con), with the remaining 21 players being aged 26 or younger.
Off the back of this youthful exuberance the main message from the coaches revolved around the group sticking to its defensive principles and playing smart footy. A strong opening 10 minutes gave us a 2 goal lead, but to the Roos credit they immediately responded, and took the lead at the QT break. Notably, recruit Harry Milne kicked an early contender for goal of the year, however, didn’t get to celebrate as he was unsure whether he had jailed it. Take note Milney, celebrate everything.
The second quarter we started wrestling momentum our away, but never quite separated holding only a 2 goal lead at HT. Nothing as notable in this quarter, however you got the sense Captain Gaj was starting to work his way into the contest and young Henry Kemp was plying his best trade. Henry provided a valuable goal in the first half and added a couple more in the second half.
At HT the message remained the same, with one slight change. Our newly announced VC and graduating A Colt Hamish Dickins commented the boys were currently a 6/10 on the “Fun-O-Meter”. Dicko called upon the boys to find the fun that was had by the group during the 2 preseason games.
Off the back of the now famous “Fun-O-Meter speech”, the boys lifted and played an unreal 3rd quarter kicking 7 goals to 1. Charlie Caldow, another graduating A Colt, kicked 3 in a row and was sure to let anyone who was at the AJ know about it on Saturday night. Also, wingman and graduating Colt Connor Brogan started to impose himself on the contest with his hard running and work rate on the wing proving to be significant in the boys lifting.
From there, the Coaches challenged the boys to “cook” in the last, with a 6 goal quarter helping us to a great opening round victory. The highlight of the last quarter was Uni debutant Kostya Daylight dancing around his immediate opponents and kicking a ripping goal – the hips don’t lie.
What we saw from this game was the best from a young side. A 13 goal second half is unreal for a group that is still coming together but has displayed some terrific talent. Next week we take on last year’s Ressies Grand Finalists Scarborough in a significant early game. I have no doubt if the boys bring the vibe and attitude of the past weekend, we will be positioning ourselves to challenge the runners-up from last year.
Fun-O-Meter scale of the day – 8/10 (as determined by Dicko)
Goals – Caldow & Kempy (3); Milney, Chaz & Con (2); Cruddy, Gaj, Justy, Dicko and Kossy
Votes – Brogs (5); Kempy (4); Caldow (3); Howard (2); Festival of Friendship (Bez and Kuta) & Justy
Red Cloud A Colts
Uni 8.16 64 defeated Wanneroo 7.3 45
Colters kicked off the 2023 season with a win against Wanneroo by 21 points. Although sounding relatively close, our chaps managed to kick 16 behinds, including hitting the post 5 times, 4 of which coming in the third quarter.
A very even start to the game saw us take a 1 goal lead into quarter time on the back of some great Wanneroo pressure and intensity. They brought a great energy to the game as they attempted to knock us off after an undefeated season last year. In all honesty, we were outplayed in the first quarter and were lucky to take a lead into the first break. In the second quarter we were extremely dominant all around the ground and should have capitalised on a multitude of inside 50’s, unsurprising to most, we kicked 0.7 in the second quarter to Wanneroo’s accurate 2.1 which meant we were all tied up at the main break.
The second half started strong as we dominated them in the third term, scoring more points but finally kicking some goals as we kept them scoreless, going into the final term 31 points in front. The final term we started well, kicking 2 unanswered goals, however to their credit Wanneroo never gave in and kicked 4 straight to pull the margin back to 21 points when the final siren blew. Overall, a strong start to the year for the colters and this makes an incredible 23 games since the colts last lost a game, hopeful to keep the streak going in the coming weeks.
Bike Bar Stormers
Uni 8.6 54 defeated Swan Athletic 1.4 10
GPA Engineering Peacocks
Uni 5.11 41 defeated Bayswater 2.0 12
4 Pines Pirates
Uni 4.11 35 defeated by Forrestdale 20.20 140
The Pirates made the treacherous journey down to William Skeet Oval to take on Forrestdale. After a great pre season, the new-look side were keen to start year and meet their new team mates on the day.
With coach Ari making his long awaited return to the field, assistant coach Ken took the reins for the first time. Ken impressed the importance of playing our style of footy and trusting in each other.
The first quarter was a tight tussle with both sides controlling periods and everyone going in hard. Smally looked like tearing open the game and the backline, led by Skaz, were holding up well.
From the second quarter it was one way traffic, with the opposition taking control and piling on goals. There wasn’t a lot the Pirates could do as the stronger, fitter and more experienced Forrestdale controlled the ball and had an answer to every attacking burst.
It wasn’t until the last 10 minutes of the game that Uni got back in to the contest. The debutant Smeed showed his superior fitness and skill by running out the game and kicking a great goal. It was nice to see his team mates getting around him, despite the scoreline, especially his best friends Blake and Frenchy.
We turn our attention to Curtin Wesley next week who have been promoted to C4 after winning the C5 competition last year. It will be another test for the young side who will be looking forward to bouncing back.
Best: Blackham, JN, Lowson, Barrow, Fraser, Hester
Goals: Blackham (2), Smeed, Smallwood
COYP
Byfields Dingoes
Uni 5.8 38 defeated by Forrestdale 7.5 47
The Dingoes went down in a hard fought contest against a resurgent Forrestdale Falcons.
It was a huge effort by the Dings, with all 8 debutants showing massive promise for the upcoming season. By far the most pleasing aspect of the day was the knowledge that we aren’t required to go to William Skeet Oval again this season.
Votes: 5) Jerk, 4) Butler, 3) Roida, Gus, Girdler, 2) Prowsey, Demon, Haz Leo 1) Evan, Wes, Toshi
Subiaco Hotel C-Gulls
BYE
A present for those that made it to the end, courtesy of Sauce