AIC First XVIII footy Players of the Round after two thrilling encounters
AIC First XVIII footy Players of the Round after the Best of the West derby involving Marist and Ambrose Treacy, and a classical cross river bout between Iona and Padua College.
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Ambrose Treacy College almost caused the biggest boilover in AIC First XVIII history when they went within four points of toppling the 2024 two-time joint premiers Marist College Ashgrove during round 2.
Marist won 7-9-51 to Ambrose Treacy 7-5-47, with Kian Dickman providing the difference around the forward line.
AIC FOOTY: ROUND 1 PLAYERS OF THE ROUND
And in another nail biting match, Padua College almost brought down cross river rivals Iona, with Iona College’s Harry Egan kicking the winner with seconds remaining. The final score was 9-2-56 to 7-8-50.
“It was an incredible game of chances taken and chances missed by both teams,’’ Iona College’s Leigh Harding, the assistant Head of Sport High Performance.
Padua coach Matt Waters added: “The match highlights how even the competition is this year between the top four schools, that being Villanova, St Laurence’s, Padua and Iona, who are all capable of winning it.’’
In the two other games, St Laurence’s remained on track with a 7-6-48 to five behinds over St Patrick’s College, while Villanova enjoyed a big win over St Edmund’s College.
MARIST v ATC
The match
Players from both sides bought into the contest, working hard for each other throughout.
ATC coach and teacher Brett Cashmere said he admired the team work and will of his players, particularly when injuries forced a reshuffle across the ground.
“We had our chances to win it, but Marist were composed the most when it was needed,’’ Cashmere said.
Marist assistant coach and teacher, Matt Beattie, was relieved to get the win, praising Kian Dickman for his three goals that proved the difference.
PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Kian Dickman (Marist): In a class encounter of the footy kind, Dickman was strong in the air. His second efforts also kept the ball in Marist’s forward line, setting the tone for his team’s forwards. He kicked three majors.
Jarvis Warr (ATC). Featuring a penetrating kick, Warr was dominant all over the ground. Playing in the midfield, he seemed to bob up everywhere and anywhere. Warr’s reward was three classy goals.
Van Sanders (Marist): Sanders was the midfield general, someone who led superbly by example. His disposal in willing contests was another reason Ashgrove won.
Spencer Glover (ATC). Glover got through a mountain of work in the midfield and was able to sneak forward and take some important marks. He was a great leader for some of ATC’s more inexperienced players.
Ben Hawley (Marist): Hawley impressed with his run and creativity from the backline which was particularly welcomed in a tight contest.
Will Howard (ATC). Howard kicked Ambrose Treacy’s first goal and had a shot to kick a goal late, only to see the ball fade across the goals. Howard had to spend more time in the ruck, but he answered the call to arms, playing his best game for the year.
IONA v PADUA
Iona’s Harry Egan kicked the winner with seconds remaining as the bayside boys were forced to come from behind after Padua had jumped out of the blocks to kick 3-3 in the first term.
Indeed so good were Padua in this period, they could easily have led by more.
Iona then regathered composure to close the gap to just four points at the long break, setting up a grand second half.
“It was a high standard game and Iona College has certainly made vast improvements this year,’’ said Padua coach Matt Waters.
“Compared to the Padua v Laurie’s match in the final round last year, it was just as physical and there were some great examples of high skill on show.’’
PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Max Bolton (Iona): In a cutthroat match, an on target sharpshooter was pure gold and Bolton turned out to be that man. He kicked three majors.
Koby Bau (Padua): A Year 10 student, Bau was lively up forward and finished with two goals.
Charlie Abell (Iona): The Iona defender played on Padua’s best player Noah Cameron and did a fine job.
Jacob Grant (Padua): The Padua vice-captain, Grant was a bull in the midfield and blanketed the dangerous Iona player Ben Lillico early on.
Blaze Mohi: Another defender, Mohi was able to influence and repel many Padua attacks.
Oscar Murphy (Padua): Murphy did a mountain of work across halfback.
Cam Plackett and Nate Rowcliff (Padua): The team’s co-skippers, they led from the front and inspired the final quarter fightback.
THE MATCH
The crucial third term
After an arm wrestle early in the third quarter, Iona were able to kick the first goal of the term thanks to Harry Egan, whose effort put his side ahead.
Iona then kicked three goals in five minutes, breaking open the contest and zoom ahead by 21 points before Padua counter punched to sneak two majors through the big posts. As a result Iona led by just eight points entering the final quarter.
Fourth term finish
Padua’s Noah Cameron kicked the first goal of the final quarter to reduce the margin to just two points, and then missed some opportunities in front of goal - but still drew level at 49-all.
Iona was then able to transition the ball the length of the ground and some desperate defending from Padua, Iona scrambled one behind to go ahead with four minutes remaining.
Padua then transitioned the ball from a stoppage and had a chance to win, but found a behind which levelled the scores again with just 80 seconds remaining.
Iona then went end to end, leading to Harry Egan kicking the winner from the goal square.
ST LAURENCE’S v ST PATRICK’S
As you would expect St Laurence’s College, who have either won outright or shared the last three AIC footy premierships, had a 40 point win over Paddies.
However, Laurie’s had to fight their way clear after St Pat’s defensive pressure led to the side being within touch of their rivals at halftime.
But against the good sides it can be difficult to sustain defence and as the match wore on, St Laurence’s were able to find consistent goals in the final half-hour of the game.
PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Noah Polinski (St Patrick’s): He had an overheating motor by the end of the game, so much ground did he cover across the midfield. Polinski continued on from round one, finding plenty of the footy and used it very well.
Ben Trenow (St Laurence’s College): Ruckman Trenow provided first use of the ball for his midfield. He was on song from the opening bounce.
Ash Prindable and Harry Thomson (St Laurence’s College): The onball boys were elite with their speed, decision making and ball use. They gave plenty of opportunities to Ben Gomersall who impressed with strong marking and two goals.
Tahj Hubbard (St Patrick’s): Hubbard was strong in defence, attacked the contest and provided good rebound from half back.
VILLANOVA v ST EDMUND’S
Players of the Day
Will Campbell (Villanova): As a slight year 10 student, Campbell plays above his weight and has an ability to make good choices when in possession.
Playing off half back flank, Campbell made several intercept marks to rebound the ball.
Dom Simionato (Villanova): He played a lot longer on the ball due to injuries to other players in the midfielder rather than his usual half forward flank, and gave a good account of himself.
Simionato was effective at winning the ball at ground level and when not in possession of the ball, he applied great pressure to the opposition’s on-ballers.
Lewis Nunn (Villanova): Nunn played an effective game at full forward. A Year 10 student, he applied great pressure to St Eddies defense to try and limit his marking. He worked hard to gain his own possessions.
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