Losing the toss and kicking against a 2-3 goal wind was not the start we were looking for as we sought our first win of the year against the newly promoted Parkside at home.
Despite the wind we were able to start strongly with early goals from Paddy O’Leary and debutant David Malvaso before Parkside fired a shot. The rest of the quarter was quite even and we went into the break leading by 8 points after Parkside managed to get going and kicked 2 goals of their own to finish the quarter.
Kicking with the wind advantage in the second quarter The Bloods really turned it on. Goals from Billy O’Loughlin, Michael Connolly and 2 from David Malvaso were part of a 7 goal onslaught from the home side. The defence held strong all term only letting through a solitary rushed behind as they continually repelled Parkside attacking moves.
The third term was a tighter affair as both sides kicked 5 goals apiece. McClaren from Parkside was particularly dominant as the Aquinas midfielders forgot about defence for a 10 minute period. With the margin at 56 points at the final change the result was beyond doubt but Coach Russell Barnes demanded a big last quarter from his charges after a disappointing 3rd term.
An 8 goal to 1 final quarter was exactly what the doctor ordered with Sam Williams booting 4 for the quarter to take his tally to 6 for the day, a terrific return to the senior team after 4 goals in the Reserves last week. Billy O’Loughlin also kicked a great goal from a set shot outside 50m and followed it up with a typical celebration. David Malvaso ended his debut game with 5 goals in a brilliant display up forward.
The three best players on the day were all midfielders with Phil Jurkovsky, Nick Morrison-Story and Mick Connolly taking the votes and sharing plenty of possession. A huge congratulations to Michael Palmer and Chris Finnie on their first wins at the club and David Malvaso, Phil Dyck, Nick Wright and cult hero Jeff Valentine on their senior debuts.
Reserves
After a terrific win with only 18 players last week, the 2s were looking to make it 2-0 for the first time in many years. The day started off with blue skies, a warm sun and not a breath of wind. Perfect conditions for football.
The Bloods started off fantastically with the pressure on the ball carrier all over the ground immense. Parkside only got their first inside 50 with 2 minutes to go in the quarter in what was a terrific display of the structures we have been working on all pre-season. Some wasteful kicking and a late Parkside goal meant the 1/4 time margin was only 17 points but it should have been much more.
We really came out to play in the 2nd quarter booting 8 unanswered goals with Jack Price and co-captain Nick Spencer both kicking multiples. Going into the half time break leading by 70 points was a fantastic feeling and a great reward for effort.
The second half was more of the same with the Aquinas midfield continually sending the ball forward and the backline continually sending the ball back out of the Parkside 50m area whenever it did enter. Aquinas managed to increase the margin to 90 points at the final break before ultimately triumphing to the tune of 116 points.
A real focus on team first footy paid dividends as we had 9 goal kickers, led by Nick Spencer with a big bag of 6. Best players were the midfield division of ruckman Marco Taverna who kept feeding the ball all day to Luke Brouwer, Jake Kogelman and debutant Tom Anderson who also ended the day with 3 goals.
Round 3
This week we travel to Elsternwick in the hopes of making it 2 on the trot for the seniors and an unprecedented 3-0 for the Reserves.
A reminder of our Women’s game on Saturday May 7th against Canterbury Women’s FC. This game will be held immediately prior to the senior match as the curtain raiser. We are on the lookout for any potential players.