Round 11 – Reserves
Aquinas 30.20 – 200 def. St. Francis Xavier 3.1 – 19
Goal Kickers:
- L. Naulty 6, N. Spencer 5, K. Rosewarne 4, A. Kinghorn 3, N. Weidemann 2, T. Rosevear 2, D. Keltie 2, H. Tyssen 2, C. Williams 2, L. Stafford, M. Palmer
Best Players:
- L. Naulty, T. Rosevear, N. Weidemann, D. Keltie, A. Jayasinghe, B. Zwarts
The most in-form team in perhaps the entire world in the Aquinas Reserves came into this game undefeated and with a monstrous percentage of 963%. Unfortunately for St. Francis Xavier they were given the toughest task in Amateurs football – Aquinas at home.
Last time these teams met, the X-men were mutated by 204 points on their home soil, and recent results suggested a similar result could be at hand.
However, to the credit of St. Francis they came out with a positive and aggressive attack on the ball and managed to keep possession for majority of the first 5 minutes. The Xavs imposed themselves on the game and provided continuous pressure right across the ground keeping the home team scoreless for some time.
The Aquinas steam-train quickly kicked into gear nonetheless, as they managed to control the game entirely. This was sparked by Aaron Kinghorn’s dominance in the ruck, as he managed to feed his fellow reserve best and fairest and clearance king Tom Rosevear who was able to set up multiple forward 50 attacks.
Lachie Naulty proved an imposing figure at full forward and put his name up for senior selection kicking 2 early goals as well as setting up more for his fellow forwards, helping to set up a 28-point margin at the first break.
Aquinas then gained control of the wind in the second quarter, which must have resembled signs of Hurricane Katrina as the Bloods booted a staggering 11 goals to 0.
This dominance was ignited by a purple-patch-of-perfection by Kyle Rosewarne who booted 3 goals in as many minutes. This freak performance caused the St. Francis coaching staff to request the umpires to check to see if there was in fact a string connected between Rosewarne’s hand and the sherrin.
Aquinas turned their 28-point lead into a daunting 97-point margin at the main break. However, in classic modern-day football fashion, the X-men came out with ferocity to start the third term, and aided by a helpful zephyr, managed to restrict their opponents to just the 4 majors, as well as ticking over their own goal column on the trusty Barry Plant scoreboard.
The third quarter saw the silky Ash Jayasinghe impose himself into the game, winning the contested ball and providing important run off the wing.
The Bloods managed to increase their lead to 121 points at the final break, which no signs of stopping.
Unfortunately for the gallant X-men, this steam-train was on an express route as the Bloods piled on goal after goal. Nathan Weidemann wreaked havoc in the last quarter, kicking a miraculous goal from the boundary. Nick Spencer was dominant up forward ending the day with 5 majors, all of which were accompanied by an over-the-top celebration.
Drew ‘Banga’ Keltie continued his solid form for the season with another dominant performance in the midfield, supported by the ever-consistent Hans Tyssen who added a touch of class on-ball.
Ben Zwarts and Cam Wright were instrumental off half-back and provided plenty of run and drive from defence and helped Aquinas kick a further eight goals to end the game.
The Bloods finished the day with a mammoth 181-point victory and remain undefeated on top of the ladder.
By Phil Jurkovsky