Messenger Shield: Sacred Heart opens its college footy season with a thrilling win over Prince Alfred
The Messenger Shield First XVIII boys’ college footy competition kicked off on Saturday with a thriller as reigning premier Prince Alfred went down by two points to Sacred Heart with the last kick of the game. Here is our wrap of round one.
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Greatest first XVIIs: Rostrevor | Sacred Heart | Prince Alfred | St Peter’s | Brighton | Henley |Immanuel | St Michael’s
The Messenger Shield First XVIII boys’ competition kicked off on Saturday with a thriller as reigning premier Prince Alfred went down by two points to Sacred Heart with the last kick of the game.
Here is our wrap of round one:
SACRED HEART 11.12 (78) PRINCE ALFRED 11.10 (76)
Sacred Heart opened its Messenger Shield season with a thrilling two-point win against reigning premier Prince Alfred College away on Saturday.
The visitors’ 11.12 (78) to 11.10 (76) triumph came afterLachlan Stoddard marked about 15m out with 12 seconds remaining in the game and kicked the winning goal.
Stoddard finished the clash with five majors.
Sacred Heart coachJon Symonds said the school had not beaten PAC for a “number of years” and it was good to get the monkey off the back.
“We started the game fantastically well and really dominated the first quarter but unfortunately we only kicked 3.7 and we didn’t convert on the scoreboard,” Jon Symonds said.
“They worked their way back in and got in front in the last quarter by about 16 points but we then kicked the last three goals.
“It was really exciting and I was a bit stunned when the siren won because we hadn’t beaten them in a couple of years.”
PAC coach Marty McKinnon was left to lament a poor start to the game but was pleased his side did not give up.
“Sacred Heart certainly jumped us early and quite frankly could’ve been out of sight at quarter-time,” McKinnon said.
“They had 10 scoring shots to two in the first quarter and at least 10 extra forward-50 entires but they didn’t hit the scoreboard and that kept us in the game.
“At three-quarter time we were nine points down and in with a show and then we kicked the first four goals of the last quarter and looked to have all the momentum.
“But to Sacred Heart’s credit they were able to come back at us late and snatch the win.”
IMMANUEL 12.11 (83) PEMBROKE 6.10 (46)
Immanuel also kicked off its season with a win, beating Pembroke 12.11 (83) to 6.10 (46) away.
The visitors were behind by a goal at quarter-time but broke the game open in the second term with six majors to one.
Aussie Forbs, skipper Sam Wormald, Chris Bawden and state under-18 squad member Jordan Moore led the way for Immanuel.
“The game was pretty tight early both teams were hard at the contest,” Immanuel coach Troy Clements said.
“It was a good win and I was really proud of the effort from our boys.”
ST PETER’S 15.17 (107) WESTMINSTER 1.2 (8)
St Peter’s enjoyed a 99-point triumph against Westminster at Thebarton Oval on Friday night.
Westminster mentor Ian Cox said his side was missing a few key players due to them resting for the SANFL under-16 grand final on Sunday.
But he conceded his team was simply outclassed.
“It was a tough night,” Cox said.
“They’ve (St Peter’s) really improved since last year.
‘We just struggled against a quality side and we had a few boys out.
“The lack of depth probably cost us and I think we probably struggled with the intensity but it was a good experience for the boys and one for us to learn from.”
Cox said Calvin Perks, Connor Drum, Harvey Brock and Hamish McRae worked hard for Westminster.
St Peter’s first-year coach Sam Elliot said it was a full-team effort which helped his side record the comprehensive victory.
“They (Westminster) were quite undermanned which was a bit unfortunate for them,” Elliot said.
“We were quite aggressive at the footy and worked really hard, so I guess the things we had been working on over summer paid off.
“We are a far more attacking football team which the boys have embraced.”
TRINITY 12.2 (74) SCOTCH 8.10 (58)
Trinity’s accuracy in front of goal helped it to a 16-point win against Scotch at home on Saturday.
The hosts nailed most of their entries inside forward 50 to secure the 12.2 (74) to 8.10 (58) victory.
Hamish Mosey and Mani Liddy (four goals) were best for Trinity.
Trinity coach Scott Charlton was pleasantly surprised with how good his side was able to jell together.
“We were pretty surprised (to get the win),” Charlton said.
“We weren’t too sure how good we were going to be because we hadn’t had a lot of time together as a group before our first game.
“We knew we had some talent but we didn’t know how we would go on the park together.
“Scotch was coming pretty hard at us … but we were able to capitalise in front of goals and that was probably the biggest difference on the day.”
Skipper Angus Kitto and forward Tom Powell (five goals) starred for Scotch.
Scotch coach Nathan Eagleton said his team needed to improve its kicking skills, not only in front of goal but also its passing.
“We were on top in the first quarter but kicked five behinds so we didn’t get reward for our effort,” Eagleton said.
“Tom Powell was impressive through the midfield and up forward he finished with five goals and our captain, Angus Kitto, stood up across the midfield.
“We’ve got lots to work on and look to fix up a bit of execution with our delivery with the ball and a bit of foot skills.
“All in all we probably played a good half of footy and a bad half of footy.
“You can’t be doing that if you want to win at this level.”
ST MICHAEL’S 2.9 (21) ROSTREVOR 15.16 (106)
Rostrevor opened its season in emphatic fashion on with an 85-point drubbing of St Michael’s away on Saturday.
The visitors were far too good in the 15.16 (106) to 2.9 (21) round one victory.
State under-18 squad member Cameron Taheny starred for Rostrevor with five goals, while junior Australian cricketer Kyle Brazell made his first XVIII debut.
Rostrevor coach Ron Fuller said the match was tighter than the scoreboard showed.
“We were a little bit scratchy early and St Michael’s appeared to be a lot stronger than they were last year,” Fuller said.
“They took the game right up to us, even at the end and it probably looked a bit easier than it actually was.
“We had a couple of boys that will play at a higher level – Cam Taheny has already played senior footy in the SANFL for Norwood.
“That was probably the difference, we just had a couple of quality guys that finished the game off.
“After quarter-time our defence was really strong and rebounded and gave us a lot of drive.”
ROUND TWO
Saturday, May 11
■ Immanuel v Rostrevor
■ Pembroke v Trinity
■ St Michael’s v Sacred Heart
■ St Peter’s v Prince Alfred
■ Westminster v Scotch
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