AFL Football
JAKOVICH PERTH/SWANS CHAMPION SCHOOLS SENIORS BOYS AFL 2019 SEASON
RD.4 – FINAL GAME OF THE SEASON IN FRONT OF BIG CROWDS FROM BOTH TEAMS
Week 2.8 - 19 June: SNC vs. Kent Street SHS
Kent Street came out strong and took an early lead of three goals, the team dug deep to stop the charge. Mr Houwen and the bench strategised and developed a plan. Oscar Butler’s dominance in defence was a key to the change. Jaxon Mikaere and Cooper Jenkin's dependable gritty tackles and pack work turned the control of the game over to us. Patrick Osias risked it all, taking an elbow to the face. Leaving everyone wondering was the nose broken? Samuel Berhane provided some great shepherds, one directly resulting in a goal to Izeldin Bol. Jack Sorrell and Dalton King assisted in moving the ball down the ground to keep it in our 50 more often. By the end of the first half the lead was reduced to one goal.
The half-time talk was electric. the team could feel the tide had turned and the strategy was to hold possession and keep our focus on the game as Kent Street was making mistakes. Liam Belsher-Smith’s dependable play every game helped steady the team, and he was backed by the consistent efforts of Tristian Lee. A spectacular mark from Izeldin Bol above the shoulders of the other players and a standard of football that the opposition could not match was set, only scoring twice in the half. Even a physical tussle that saw some spectators taking the field behind play did not draw in the SNC players, their maturity and focus was rewarded as they stepped it up a notch and some spectacular plays were seen in the last 10 minutes of play. The Year 10’s provided some great passages of play to move the opposition possession to our 50 quickly. The speed of Lubin Benedict was amazing as he chased the pack to provide a shepherd opening a run down the flank for Izeldin Bol whose kick to Charles Pleiter resulted in a goal. Kade Hanley took a great contested mark that was captured by our Media Team. Flynn Beckwith stepped up to the ruck when injury hit. And the goal of the day was scored by Kade Hanley from forward pocket at a impossibly tight angle. Final result SNC (7.4) 46 to Kent St SHS (6.0) 36. Goal scorers: William Roscoe, Connor Young Free, Izeldin Bol, Charles Pleiter, and Kade Hanley.
The team would like to acknowledge the assistance of Luke Kilgour and Mark Cogger who have been unable to play, yet come each week and take on the goal umpiring and running for the team; and the support of the SNESA players who came down in numbers again this week to support the boys and offer an invitation for them to join the many ex-students at the club so they can play on for many years to come. Our congratulations go to Ethan Glassborow for being selected in the AFL National U16 World Team Program we hope you enjoy the amazing experience.
Mrs M Silva (Coach)
AFLW – Finals Fever!
The positive season to St Norbert College’s AFLW team continued when they played a qualifying final against Ellenbrook College last week.
In tough, wet and windy conditions, our girls knew they were up for a fight early on as the Ellenbrook girls had a good mix of AFL and rugby players. The tackling (not all of them legal!!) was rough from the first bounce, but that did not deter the Canons Team. With Shenae Hartree playing in ruck, she was able to feed our midfielders, Chloe Reilly, Ivy Harding and Paige Craven-Bower, who worked well together to boot the ball forward and give us scoring opportunities.
To match them in the ‘physical stakes’ we continued to make the ball our object. Zeta Stevens ran and tackled hard to play a great first game of the season with Caitlin Spiegl continuing to do the same; as she does. Up front we had Summer Pollard, Nicole Dobkowski and Jacinta Barraza, who were providing options, and Natasha Catalano, who was tackling with good intent We scored a few goals early putting the pressure on our ‘single-minded’ opposition.
With Kyra Dalton linking up well on the wing it was our defence who had to ‘tough out’ the second half as Ellenbrook were a few goals behind. Ella Reilly again played the General who called the shots and guided our backs. Amber O’Donoghue was resolute at fullback, Lachuantae Eades and Emily Young-Free tackled hard-but-fairly to stop the goals, Akeelah Mayhew played well and Olivia Bell provided our run around the ground. Rylee Curtis was a handy addition and showed her pace throughout the game. Kaitlyn Johnson again played her tough brand of footy as Destiny Geary-Dodsley and Charlie Pollard provided us with options on a number of occasions. Our players continued to defend numerous attacks without becoming overwhelmed. With 7 minutes of the game remaining, the game was called to a sudden end when an opposition player suffered a serious knee injury.
It was a wonderful display by the SNC girls who put in a determined and disciplined effort to take the win by 7 points. A proud moment for the coach and all the spectators who came down to watch in the sometimes-unpleasant conditions. A big thanks to Mr Ford for providing shelters for the teams and spectators, to Ms Kyd the ‘super-manager/cheerer’ and to our students, parents and friends who rallied for our girls throughout. We now had to wait for our next finals opponent!!
On Tuesday, we boarded the College bus for a direct flight, I mean, drive to Mount Helena to play Eastern Hills College in a semi-final. We had some new passengers with us as there were other compulsory events on for some of our girls, so we were very fortunate to have Polly King, Jordan Wood, Charlotte Brown and Bianca Halton join our team for the first time.
The 40-minute-plus drive east had us arriving in what seemed like the deep-forest, which made for a picturesque, but rather small ground. At first sight some of their players seemed as tall as the trees around us, so we knew we were up for a contest in the air if they had the skills.
Both teams gathered in the middle to listen to the umpire’s instructions, the coin was tossed and the girls then moved to their positions. There were definitely some nerves in the fresh-air as the winner would progress to the Grand Final. The ball was tossed in the air and the game was on!!
Captain Chloe Reilly, who had organised our team professionally before the game, received some wonderful tap downs from Nicole Dobkowski early and with her licence to go for goal from just outside the centre square, she bombed a couple of goals. Chloe had made her mark early-on, but this team had the fire-power to put her under some pressure and to subdue her immense talent.
The game then moved into a battle of wills and our backline were under constant pressure. The tackling by Lachaunte Eades was ferocious and she was well-supported by Kiara Brack-Denham, Charlie Pollard and Caitlin Spiegl, who all fought hard. With the oppositions taller players becoming a factor, the Eastern Hills girls began to mark the ball and link their play like an experienced team who knew their strengths.
At half time the challenge was put to the team to punch, punch and then punch the ball some more, to bring the footy to ground. We knew this was going to give us our best chance, but it was easier said than done. Paige Craven-Bower and Ivy Harding continued to gather the ball, but they were under immediate pressure. Natasha Catalano tackled hard (as she does best) and Kaitlin Johnson worked hard to defend. Kyra Dalton continued to create a link from defence to offence to give us a chance to score and Jordan Wood worked hard to provide options for us up-front. They continued to score goals…
With our options reducing Nicole Dobkowski was moved to play on one of their taller forwards and ‘pinch-hitter’ Amber O’Donoghue was moved into the ruck to stem their flow. Akeelah Mayhew worked hard, Subeedah Rijal worked well at half forward and Emily Young-Free didn’t give up in her efforts to help our team win the game. With an injured Ella Reilly working hard as a water-runner there were signs that our girls were tiring in what was a tough game. Jacinta Barraza worked hard, Bianca Halton showed some positive signs for the SNC AFLW team in the future whilst Charlotte Brown showed she still had the skills after a lay-off. Polly King turned from basketballer to footballer in a matter of minutes and has the skills to be impressive in both sports.
With all options and efforts exhausted the gallant St Norbert team went on to lose by 5 goals. Although the girls were disappointed in the loss, they should be very proud of their efforts and how they represented St Norbert College, not only in how they played the game.
It was great to see the SNC girls had fun this season. They enjoyed playing with their fellow students from different year groups, creating new friendships and bonds. As a coach it was great to see this all occur with the wonderful leadership of Chloe Reilly, Ivy Harding and Ella Reilly putting our AFLW team in a very positive position for the future.
Mr B McGrath (Coach)