Sacred Heart thrash reigning premier Prince Alfred in college footy opening round
Sacred Heart labelled ‘best team in comp’ by reigning premiership coach after producing a huge upset. Read our round one college footy match wraps here.
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Sacred Heart produced a huge upset over reigning premier Prince Alfred, while Rostrevor and St Peter’s also recorded big victories.
Check out our full match wraps plus what the coaches has to say here:
SACRED HEART 18.16 (124)
PAC 4.9 (33)
Sacred Heart has stunned the college football competition with a thrashing of the reigning premier 91 points at home on Saturday.
Hearts prevailed 18.16 (124) to 4.9 (33).
Jaiden Magor led the way with six goals, while Jacob Lochowiak, Kobe Ryan and Brandon Smith were also named in Hearts’ best players.
Hearts coach Jon Symonds was proud of his side’s ability to control the match, especially with eight players making their debut in the First XVIII’s side.
“The margin was very unexpected but I think we played as well as we could’ve possibly hoped to,” Symonds said.
“It was a very exciting day for our kids to get a result like that given we’ve found it pretty tough against PAC in recent years.
“Our midfield performance was very dominant, we looked solid and reliable in defence and had a mobile, hardworking forward line that proved difficult for our opposition to match up on.”
Sacred Heart hosts St Peter’s, who is also coming off a strong victory, this week and Symonds says it will be another big test.
“We are really looking forward to it,” Symonds said.
“They are a very talented side but the result for us on the weekend sets up a very even contest.”
Rohan Bailey, Luca Slade, Kane McAuliffe and Rory O’Callaghan were the visitors’ goal kickers.
PAC coach Matt Slade was disappointed with his side’s performance.
Slade
“We had 16 players play their first game for the college and a couple coming back from injury,” Slade said.
“We were probably a bit thin, going in a bt depleted, inexperienced and a couple were a bit underdone.
“We came up against probably the best team in the comp at the moment with a few state players floating through that team and a team that’s played together for over a year and it showed.”
Slade said it was important for his players to stay positive and look for a better performance against Westminster this week.
“I thought we matched it with them in the first quarter but then we just went away from doing what we should’ve.
“We dropped the head a bit too much then.
“They’ve got one game under their belts now so we are just going to have to work hard.
“At this stage we are about building each week.
“This school is renowned for winning and being very competitive so hopefully we can win against Westminster and build on that.”
ROSTREVOR 21.18 (144)
IMMANUEL 5.5 (35)
Rostrevor made an early statement in its clash against Immanuel, taking home a 109-point victory against Immanuel away.
Will Anning, Noah Hyde, Charles Kemp and Jesse Trevor combined for three goals apiece as the Red and Blacks triumphed 21.18 (144) to 5.5 (35).
Skipper Jayden Gale and Beau Baldwin also starred for the winners.
Rostrevor coach James Allan said it was a complete performance.
“We had a really even spread of contributors,” Allan said.
“I think last year we sort of relied on too few whereas this year we got contributions right across the board.
“We played the way we wanted to right from the start and the boys played a pretty complete game.”
The side had nine debutants and Allan was confident his side had what it took to continue its strong form throughout this season.
“We didn’t train for about five weeks leading into round one because we have a lot of boaders,” Allan said.
“But they seem to have picked things up really quickly which has made things a lot easier.
“We showed on the weekend we scored on the back of the pressure we put on and that’s not going to change from week to week.
“If we focus on being really aggressive when we are defending and trying to turn the ball over closer to goal, we will get scoring opportunities.”
James Reuther and Oscar Talbot booted two majors for Immanuel, while Alex Menzel also battled hard.
New Immanuel coach Mark Bickley said it was a good learning experience for his side as it understood what it took to become a formidable team.
“They jumped us in the first quarter, I think they kicked six goals to one in the first quarter and they got away to a really good start,” Bickley said.
“Then again in the last quarter it was eight goals to one.
“In the first and the last quarter we just didn’t handle their run and their skills, they were really good.
“We were outclassed they are a very good side.
“We are in an educating faze, we’ve got a lot of younger players who have come up so we’ve got a lot of learning to do and that’s what we will continue to do so they can handle situations better.”
SCOTCH 22.9 (141)
TRINITY 8.14 (62)
Scotch handed Trinity a reality check for the college’s return to the top tier with a 79-point win at home.
The hosts proved too strong, beating Trinity 22.9 (141) to 8.14 (62).
Zac Becker kicked an incredible nine goals, leading the way for Scotch, while Deon Bateman finished with three.
Jed Obst, who is the son of Olympic Gold Medallist Juliet Obst (nee Haslam) and former Port Adelaide SANFL and Melbourne AFL footballer Andrew Obst, was also named in the best for Scotch.
Scotch coach Ben Nelson said the match was played in a “really good spirit” and he was pleased his side to the win.
“We had a good strong win, a good strong four quarter performance,” Nelson said.
“That was part of our planning to be consistent across all four quarters, so that was pleasing to see the boys be able to manage that.
“It was a good game of footy.
“I think it was a lot more competitive than the scoreboard reflected.”
Cody Gilchrist and Trent Tatoli, who were both named as players to watch for Trinity this season, worked hard for the visitors.
WESTMINSTER 16.10 (106)
ST MICHAEL’S 8.4 (52)
Westminster got its season off to the perfect start when it beat St Michael’s by 54 points away.
The visitors enjoyed a 16.10 (106) to 8.4 (52) win, led by Tom Wheaton, who booted four goals and Taaj Nicholls (three).
Tom Wheaton, Harry Snodgrass, Jackson Allen and Jack Francis were also strong for Westminster.
Coach Tim Weatherald said it was a good, team performance.
“It was a really good start, we had nine boys playing their first game with the First XVIII’s — we had two Year 10 boys play and I didn't have any year 10s play last year,” Weatherald said.
“We had a few trial games and I thought we were a bit fumbly in those but we finished off our work much better this week.
“We spoke about before the game how important it is to get our season off to a good start.
“You get that first win and you start to believe in yourselves a little bit.”
Michael Papanotis (four goals) and Adam D’Aloia (three goals) battled hard for the hosts.
ST PETER’S 20.19 (139)
PEMBROKE 3.2 (21)
St Peter’s overcame a sluggish first half to finish with a convincing 118-point victory over Pembroke at home.
Saints prevailed 20.19 (139) to Pembroke 3.2 (21).
Felix Packer was unstoppable up-forward, booting six majors, while Morgan Ferres kicked four.
Will Francou and Hugo Gibson were strong, kicking three goals apiece, while Brad Jefferies and Sam Warrick were also best on ground.
Saints coach Sam Elliott said he was disappointed with his side’s performance in the first half but was proud the players turned it around to earn the strong win.
“I was pretty disappointed with them early on but they came good and played well in the second half,” Elliott said.
“The things impressed me were when they were willing to compete and get their hands dirty instead of expecting it to be easy.
“Once we compete we are a good football side but when we don’t we can look pretty average.”
St Peter’s has a huge round two battle with Sacred Heart and Elliott said his side would have to be at its best to win.
“We can’t wait, we love playing them (Hearts) and we’ve had a couple of really good contests the past two years,” Elliott said.
“We are just going to have to compete really, really hard.
“They play a really attractive, fats brand of footy and we try to do the same so it should be a great contest and a quick game of footy.”
ROUND TWO
Saturday, May 15 at 2.15pm
■ Pembroke v Trinity at Pembroke
■ Rostrevor v Scotch at Rostrevor
■ Sacred Heart v St Peter’s at Sacred Heart
■ St Michael’s v Immanuel at St Michael’s
■ Westminster v Prince Alfred at Westminster
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