Women’s Div 3
Round 9 saw our Div 3 Women’s team at home against North Shore Red. We needed a number of things to go our way this weekend if we were to make finals; however, our focus was only for the game ahead of us.
It was a very tight first half and going into the half time break scores were level at 1 point a piece.
Jen was unstoppable in the midfield and Alina’s speed and agility moved the ball down the ground quite quickly.
In the third quarter, North Shore came out and kicked the only goal of the quarter which put them up by 6 points.
Going into the last quarter St George were not giving up, we wanted to end our season with a win and sing our team song loud and proud one more time. We took advantage of North Shore kicking the ball the wrong way and Louise kicked our first goal of the game, evening up the score. Our next goal came from Gemma who was awarded a 50m penalty as her opponent ran through the mark.
We still weren’t over the line though, North Shore kept fighting back and the ball spent quite a bit of time in their forward line; however our backline were too strong and held them out every time they pushed forward.
In the end we ran out winners by 5 points in what was a tough last game for Div 3 for season 2020.
On behalf of the Div 3 team, thank you to our coaches, Warren and Dion for all your efforts this season.
Special thank you to all who have helped out throughout the season, Mick Clift, Watto, Josh Higgs, Paul, to the girls who took on the role of team manager for us, Kerry Wynn for the photos and to everyone else who has volunteered throughout the season in some way. All of your support has been greatly appreciated and we all look forward to coming back in season 2021.
Congratulations to Jen who was awarded the player of the game this week from one of our sponsors – Beauty on bonds.
Final Score
St George 2.3 - 15 defeated North Shore 1.4 – 10
Goal Kickers: Louise Grady and Gemma Cooke
Best on Ground: Jen Jusmin, Gemma Cooke, Sammi Cosstick, Bianca Robertson, Alina Singleton and Chantelle Nabaki
Men’s Div 1
After a tough year on the field it was time for our final game of the season vs UNSW. A beautiful day at Olds awaited and the boys were confident we could get a result against a fellow promoted side from last season.
The game started really well with the Dragons dominating for large parts of the first quarter and going in one goal down.
After that though it was unfortunately all one way traffic. The Bulldogs dominant all throughout the remainder of the game.
This did however give us an opportunity to have some fun and move some players around for the last quarter, it was great to see some players in different positions!
All in all it was a tough year on field for the boys against some quality teams, thrilled with the effort of the players all season however, it was a pleasure to coach them.
Premier Division Reserves
At the coach instruction before the game, we were playing formidable opposition.
They had lost 1 game. However, we wanted to compete & keep our structures in the lead up to the finals rather than focusing on the score.
No matter what happens we made the elimination final as the team in the 5th position.
Q1 Well the opposition went full speed from the outset. Similar to most weeks, we were somewhat shell shocked in the the crisp ball coming from the rucks & rovers & clean delivery upfield. We competed but were outclassed. UNSW scored 3.4 – 22 to our goal by S Cruse & 1 behind.
Q2 was similar to the previous quarter, their half backs streamed out of their positions connecting with centres & forwards. They were quicker & made better use of the ball. Some of their plays up the field deserve applause. Having more height in the forwards & scored another 3 goals & 4 behinds. We scored 4 behinds but never gave up. A bit of tension on the ground & at half time entered into the team out of frustration. The team was very sombre at half time.
Q3 started much improved. We won more clean ball & exerted greater pressure on the opposition. We matched their speed. We kicked 4 goals whilst they scored the same no. of goals plus 2 behinds.
A good goal was scored by Daniel Napper but Brad Uglow worked hard to outmark the close opposition on a number of occasions & scored 3 great goals to make the score a little more respectable.
Q4 was again contested strongly, both sides giving no quarter. Fin Ritchie scored 2 fine goals & 1 for Andrew Stelzer & 1 behind but UNSW used the ball better & quicker to score 5 goals & 2 behinds.
Final Score: STG: 8.6 – 54 UNSW: 15.12 – 102
Goal Scorers:
Brad Uglow 3, Fin Ritchie 2, Daniel Napper , Andrew Stelzer 1, Sam Cruse 1
Best on Ground:
Riles Tracey, Donny Hoban, Brad Uglow, Maxy Jeffrey, Mitch Gray, Cambo Andrews
Special Recognition
Stephen Willo Wilsen for his 300th senior match for the club.
Apparently, his 300th game was last year.
He is a tough character. As described by Decs Donohue at a Thursday night speech, he plays every game with some sort of pain. He doesn’t seek medical opinion because they would say stop playing until you recover. He never stops. He gives his all every game. Whilst his name is on the honour board for MVP for a number of years, he has never given himself points for best on ground but many a game his name should be listed.
Well done Willo oi oi oi !!!!!!
Premier Division
Olds Park for the last time in 2020, was the venue for our game against UNSW. As one of the big three Sydney clubs and reigning Sydney AFL Premiers, this was going to be a tough test and after taking the game right up to the top of the table North Shore team last week, this game was another significant test of our ability to compete at the very top level.
As expected, UNSW came out to play and may have been a little wary after our good effort last week. After a tense opening, UNSW quickly started to get on top and landed three quick goals in succession, mid quarter, which gave them plenty of confidence. For the first time this season we failed to score in a quarter, and by quarter time they were 23 points up.
A quick goal from Tim Tegg at the start of the second quarter gave the boys a sniff, but this was short lived as UNSW powered through the rest of the quarter adding seven goals to our two. The UNSW team were fast, clean with the ball and very strong overhead and the Dragons struggled to contain their running game. The half time deficit was 52 points and looking a bit grim.
The third quarter effort from our boys was good, but against a more skilful opponent, the backline again had to work overtime to keep the UNSW forwards out and our forwards just couldn’t take a trick. We managed a solitary point but were able to keep UNSW to three goals.
Whilst the game may have been over on the scoreboard, St George rallied in the final quarter and took the game up to UNSW. Tim Tegg and Nick Ryan scored early and the rest of the quarter was a pretty even battle. With ten scoring shots to five in the last quarter we fought it out with our signature determination at the contest, and we salvaged some pride outscoring them 5 goals to 4.
UNSW were strong all across the park and generally cleaner and more skilful with the ball. That being said there were some further glimpses of potential for St George and we again took something away from a loss to a top team. For the first time this season we really had to work to get the ball in to our forward 50, and a very capable UNSW defence were able to counter much of our forward work. Nick Ryan looked dangerous at times and made the most of limited opportunities. Tim Tegg provided plenty of outside run and was elusive across half forward.
Conversely, the UNSW forwards made the most of every opportunity and grabbed several goals from seemingly nowhere, often against the run of play when we were developing some momentum. Overhead they were very strong which made life pretty tough for our backline, which has otherwise been well up to the task all year. Kye Pfrengle really stood up, taking several great contested marks across half back.
St George Hall of Famer Graham “Danny” Dwyer addressed the team after the game and presented the Old Boys Mug to Tim Tegg as his player of the match.
With the home and away rounds done, next week we take on Pennant Hills at Henson Park in a sudden death elimination final. With two tough games in two weeks the boys should now know what’s required to win big games.
Final Scores
St George – Q1. 0.0.0 Q2. 2.3.15 Q3. 2.4.16 Q4. 7.9.51
UNSW – Q1. 3.5.23 Q2. 10.7.67 Q3. 13.12.102 Q4. 17.13.115
Goalkickers – N.Ryan 2, T.Tegg 2, Wynn 1, Mudge 1, Hodgson 1,
Best Players – Pfrengle, T.Tegg, Hodgson, Wynn, Maher, Ayres
Women’s Div 2
The final game of the season had a lot of meaning for both teams. The Power were fighting for a chance in the finals, with the Dragons hoping to secure the minor premiership.
The intensity was high from the first ball up, as the Power pressured the Dragons defence to claim the first goal of the game. There was an even tussle throughout the first quarter, with the mids winning majority of the stoppages and delivering into the forward line. The Power defence held strong and it was difficult to score a major until the second quarter, where the girls turned the game around.
The arm wrestle continued for the next 2 quarters, with outstanding defence by Flick and the back line, allowing the ball to be turned over multiple times and sent up to the forwards. Some great leading allowed set shots to be taken and the Dragons lead extended to 3 goals. SoPow slotted 1 midway through the 4th, that had the coaches on edge, however the team banded together and played with true DNA to hold them out, cementing the minor premiership for the first time in the women's grades.
This game was the best game we could have played and shows that the Dragons will be a force to be reckoned with in the final series. An outstanding match by all, now on to the finals.
