SAAS First XVIII college footy round six: Prince Alfred College beats Sacred Heart on the siren
Headmaster Bradley Fenner watched for the final time as Prince Alfred College scored a thrilling win over the competition’s benchmark in the last seconds of round six. Full First XVIII football match reports.
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Round six of the SAAS First XVIII season was played out over the weekend and produced the most dramatic footy so far this college year.
Prince Alfred College sent departing Headmaster Bradley Fenner off in style at home, defeating the league benchmark on the final siren, while St Peter’s and Immanuel played out a dramatic draw and Rostrevor scored a big win.
Here are The Messenger’s full division one match reports:
PRINCE ALFRED COLLEGE 11.12 (78) d
SACRED HEART 11.7 (73)
Coach Matt Slade was over the moon with his team’s thrilling finish to beat Sacred Heart on the siren.
Departing Headmaster Bradley Fenner was left teary-eyed in his final game as Patrick Weckert marked a bullet pass at the top of the goal square and booted the winning six-pointer on the siren to hand Hearts their first loss since 2020 and send players and fans into a frenzy.
“It was an amazing way to cap off the Headmaster’s last game, he gave us a bit of a rev up before the game and had a few tears flowing when that siren went which was great,” Slade said.
“We worked really hard and I felt we put ourselves in a reasonable position with the seconds winding down, so to get the win like that and then see the boys jumping around, it was a great moment.”
It was a tussle from the first bounce, but Sacred Heart led proceedings by three goals at the main break, leaving the Reds with work to do.
The home side responded in the third however, booting six goals and heading into the final quarter ahead by two kicks.
“I’d been critical of our first half, we lost the contested ball even though we probably had the physical advantage so it was promising to see the boys respond to that and come out strong in the third,” Slade said.
“That third term was probably the best team footy we’d played all year, everyone was selfless and moving it on to a player in a better position, it was super effective and put us in a good spot to try and win the game.”
Harvey Montgomery had a big impact through the four quarters for PAC, dominating in the air, while Will O’Brien booted five up front.
Hughan Wissmann, Ewan Schmidt and Gabe Lagano were also strong defensively, while Weckert again proved to be a matchwinning target.
“A lot of guys have showed improvement this year and we’re beginning to come together as a team,” Slade said.
“Sacred Heart was missing a couple guys but we got smashed by them last year so we’re definitely on the up but we need to keep the momentum and keep building each game.”
PAC will see Rostrevor in round seven after the one-month mid-year break.
ST PETER’S 10.5 (65) drew
IMMANUEL 9.11 (65)
A highly-contested scrap between St Peter’s and Immanuel ended in a stalemate on Saturday, with neither team able to build a big enough lead in the last quarter to hold the other at bay.
Coach Mark Bickley said his Immanuel side was disappointed the ‘hard-fought’ game ended in a draw but that they were proud of the effort.
“It was just a really tough affair, there were missed opportunities and fumbles from both teams in that last quarter but that’s to be expected in such a close battle,” Bickley said.
“We were naturally a bit disappointed when the final siren sounded but considering we were behind 10 points at three-quarter-time against a quality opposition and got points out of the game, it was a great effort.”
Bickley’s side had the ascendancy in the contest to begin the fourth term and managed to equalise twice throughout the term.
Oscar Talbot was inspirational in the ruck for his side which was without Phoenix Foster but just could not drag his teammates over the line for the win.
“Oscar mainly plays as a half-back but he was sensational in ruck, and everyone else put a strong shift in, we just didn’t have enough to get it done,” Bickley said.
“It was more about the pressure in that final quarter and I thought we did well to put the pressure on and stay right in the game.”
Immanuel now looks ahead to a matchup with Westminster after the mid-year break, with a chance to play in the mid-season finals if it wins.
“We’ve been able to compete with a lot of the top schools this year which is promising,” Bickley said.
“We might be able to play that mini finals series if we have a high enough percentage – it’d be really good for us to be able to play in it.”
ROSTREVOR 174 d
SCOTCH 3.6 (24)
Rostrevor coach James Allan said his team produced a significantly stronger display against Scotch that it did against Westminster in round five as it charged to a 150-point round six win.
The visitors started on fire and never looked back, with usual suspects Noah Hyde, Beau Baldwin and Jack Hodges all in dominant form.
“We played much better, we worked hard both ways and used the ball a lot better,” Allan said.
“I was happy with the work rate, considering it was a focus for us through the week leading up to the game, and we were able to get good shots on goal because of it.”
The side’s defence was also improved, stifling almost every Scotch attack with extra help from the midfield.
Jackson Thomas and Jed Burton also starred down back, sticking to their opponents like glue and not allowing a clean run at the ball.
“We spoke about really wanting to help out our defenders more and create more opportunities off turning the ball over and the boys definitely achieved that,” Allan said.
“Our mids were great with that and hopefully we can maintain that level moving forward.”
Rostrevor will meet Prince Alfred College away after the break, a game Allan was looking forward to.
“It will be a well-deserved break for us the next few weeks but I still want the boys to put some time in and remain match fit,” Allan said.
“We’ll be fit and ready to go when we return for what should be a great game, so hopefully we can grab a win.”
DIVISION TWO RESULTS:
- Sacred Heart Two 19.10 (124) d Prince Alfred College Two 4.1 (25)
- Mercedes 13.10 (88) d St Ignatius 11.8 (74)
- Pembroke 11.13 (73) d CBC 5.15 (45)
- St Michael’s vs Trinity to be played Wednesday
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