Seniors
Aquinas 13.7.85 defeated Parkside 6.9.45
After suffering their first loss of the season against Manningham last round, the Bloods were looking to bounce back and return to the winners list. Aquinas were up against Parkside away who were sitting 6th on the ladder. Despite their low position in standings, the Devils always provide a competitive matchup.
The game was delayed due to an unfortunate injury in the reserves game that required an ambulance to attend the ground, thus holding up play for over 40 minutes. The delay made for an unusual build up, with the Bloods putting emphasis on starting well to overcome the lull.
Aquinas did just that, as Ash Naulty and Michael Cardamone (both inclusions for this round) kicked two goals apiece to set up a 25-point buffer at the first break.
Parkside hit back in the second, lifting their intensity and kicking the first goal of the term. Aquinas managed to settle after nullifying the pressure of the home team, kicking the next four straight goals. Cardamone kicked another two to bring his tally to four majors at the main break.
Once again Parkside stormed out of the gates after the break, reducing the margin to just 3 goals within the opening 10 minutes. Cardamone showed a knack for consistency as he put through another two goals for the quarter, increasing his sides lead to 31-points and bring his game tally to 6-goals.
The last quarter become a heated affair, as the lights were forced to come on due to the delayed start to the game. Mattioli, Jurkovsky and McMahon stood up in the last quarter when the game was on the line, helping the Bloods run away to a 40-point victory. The boys have another bye this weekend as they sit equal first on the ladder.
Women
Aquinas 2.2.14 defeated by Whitefriars 7.6.14
In what felt like a quick turn around for the women they met with Whitefriars for their second time this season.
A great defensive game from Aquinas, the back line were too good for Whitefriars in the first keeping them goalless, with help from Steph Barnes and Holly Spicer later in the game.
One bad quarter that was the second and 3 quick goals, the Friars had a 20 point lead on the Bloods.
Jess Cridland and Rachel Iacuone set the the tone for the second half taking down some of their strongest. We welcomed Laura McHugh back into the side after an injury scare the few weeks prior, helping herself to two handy goals in the last.
Unfortunately three good quarters doesn’t get you the four points – the women are looking forward to a much needed break to come back strong in the second half
Reserves
Aquinas 21.15.141 defeated Parkside 5.1.31
The lads travelled over to Alphington to play Parkside on a deck that looked dubious from afar, yet was lovely underfoot when running across.
It was a good chance to back up the strong performance against Manningham and by quarter time it was clear we were a class above.
Thankfully, we focused on what we were doing and not what Parkside had in store, and managed to finally string 4 full, complete quarters of footy together.
The final margin of over 100 points painted the picture of what happens when everyone is on the same page, playing selfless and confident footy.
For a 100 point win, there were a lot of tired and sore boys who ran all day and put their head over the ball when it would’ve been easy to put the cue in the rack. This is the standard we now hold and measure ourselves against.
U19s
Aquinas 6.6.42 defeated Kew 5.10.40
The Unders took on Kew who sat 2nd at Blood Stadium on Saturday in what was a very important game.
The Bloods started well with Dan Crosbie in everything. A Chompers pack mark and conversion got us off to a perfect start. A tight first quarter saw us down by a solitary point at 1/4 time.
The game opened up a little in the 2nd with both sides slotting 3 each, a Gaz Asciak bomb from 50 close to the siren saw us go in at the break 1 point up.
A poor 3rd quarter was not what the Dr ordered as Kew added 2.4 for the quarter to 3 points to take a strong 12 point lead into the final change.
Coach Ox pleaded with his charges to take up the challenge and they answered the call. A Dyl Cawsey goal got us close, and in a high pressure quarter in which we laid 31 tackles a Harry Kerr tackle 20m out from goal and subsequent free kick saw us hit the front with 3 mins to go.
In a tense 3 mins some important touches from Josh Quinlan and Gaz saw us hang on for an important 4 points.
Goals Costello 2, Dwyer, Cawsey, Kerr, Asciak
Best Players Crosbie, Quinlan, Kerr, Grech C, Costello, Cochrane