AIC AFL senior footy: Ashgrove claim 34-30 win over Padua in tight tussle
AIC AFL footy’s round 3 finished with a tight tussle betwen Padua College and Marist College Ashgrove as they battled it out for the Cameron-Andrews Cup. Match report, full round wrap here.
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Marist College Ashgrove clinched a thrilling 34-30 victory over Padua College at Yeronga AFC on Wednesday.
In their wonderful indigenous themed jersey, Ashgrove, cheered on by Old Boy and Brisbane Lion Charlie Cameron, played scrappy and fought hard especially in the final quarter to stop a late comeback attempt by Padua.
It was Isaac Roach who made the play of the day right on full time with a match-winning deflection, breaking the hearts of Padua players and supporters who had their golden ticket from in front, down 34-30.
Despite the result, Padua coach Tom Giuliano was incredibly impressed with his team’s effort, and applauded them for the effort, fight and grit they showed when taking to their rivals.
He was pleased with all the effort plays that kept his side in the game, knowing in the lead up that Ashgrove were going to be a tough opponent.
Giuliano was particularly impressed with Hayden Hall. He said he was absolutely outstanding, for a kid who isn’t the biggest, making plays, big tackles and putting in a huge effort for the whole game.
Giuliano had high praise for plenty of his boys, saying it was a great team effort, especially by the likes of Harrison Osborne, Will Stark, and Darcy Hoey who combined well.
Ashgrove manager Mic Travers was relieved to get the win, commending captain George Wood, who is in the Lions Academy, for the effort he put in to help his side past the winners post.
Travers thought he had a super game returning from injury, really coming back strong and leading from the front— due to his experience.
Around him was small forward Liam Rice who Travers said had an outstanding game, grabbing little opportunities out of the pack and making things happen,
He was also very pleased with Ned Rosenbrock, a Wilston Grange senior, commending the way he led from the front. He said he has a strong presence, and brought the team together with his talk.
Travers said Ollie Cotton was strong in the ruck, while Jack Thompson was a key goal scorer, bagging three in the end.
Edge of your seat stuff it was at Yeronga AFC, with Ashgrove holding a 25-24 lead heading into the final quarter.
Ashgrove Old boy Charlie Cameron and Padua Old Boy Harris Andrews watched on in support; stepping in for some words of wisdom at half time to guide their high school side to victory.
It was a tight tussle the whole way through, with Ashgrove ahead 12-10 at the end of the first, 18-16 at the half, and 25-24 with one quarter left.
In the first the towering Oliver Cotton was hard to contain, the disposal specialist using his height advantage to provide his side with an early lead.
On almost every occasion Padua had the response, keeping it too close for Ashgrove’s comfort. They captured the lead on one occasion but Jack Thompson took care of it with his pin point left foot boot.
For the boys in Blue and Gold, there was not one but two sets of identical twins running around.
There was George Wood and Munro Wood as well as Tom and Jackson Williams.
Indeed the four of them had their fingerprints all over the win, especially Jackson who made a crucial intercept mark.
Ashgrove earned the result through the little smothers and extra efforts. For example:
+ Oliver Cotton was strong in the ruck
+Jack Thompson was a key performer with three goals on the back of his teammates’ great defence.
EARLIER
Padua College claimed a thrilling win over big hearted Iona College in another AIC AFL mini-classic last weekend.
Padua prevailed 6-7-43 to Iona’s 4-13-37 in a match which swung too and fro and which could have gone either way.
Indeed Iona had slightly more scoring shots, highlighting the closeness of the clash, prompting Padua coach Tom Giuliano to declare “overall, we were very lucky to get the win and that Iona didn’t kick straight.’’
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He said that Will Stark led the back six who were solid all game and their consistency the reason for the win, with Stark the best on the ground.
“Playing on the last line of defence, Will saved us on multiple occasions, taking lots of intercept marks and leaving his man to stop goals. He always did the one per cent things and led us to victory.
“Hayden Hall also played a decent game in the midfield, winning majority of the team clearances and also pushed forward and provided an option for us offensively all game.
“Lachie Chambers also took lots of pivotal contested marks and worked hard up and down the field as our key forward all game.’’
Note: Padua will play Ashgrove on Wednesday, and we will be there to cover the clash.
One of the games of the round was Marist College Ashgrove pulling away from a very competitive Ambrose Tracey College to win by five goals.
Reagan Andriske, Elijah Harris-Loft, Michael Romelo and Aidan Brennan led the way for ATC, with the side on a high after coming off an impressive last round performance.
“ATC was looking to get off to a good start considering the challenge Marist was going to pose,’’ said coach Mick Keys.
“The first quarter started as planned with the boys starting with energy and skill and opening up a nice two goal lead into the first break.
“But a few simple lapses in concentration led to a few easy goals to Marist and allowed them to take a lead into the half time break.
Keys said the midfield had fought hard and a few changes were able to wrestle back the ascendancy.
“Our third and fourth quarter were a tough battle and only a few minor errors cost us dearly.’’
St Edmund’s College were outclassed by Villanova College, 115-2, but again the Eddies crew showed up to play.
“After a very competitive first quarter which showed both teams were willing for a physical encounter the Villa boys took control,’’ said coach Michael Podolak.
“Tafito and Conrad Browne were solid in the midfield and Lochlan Perry offered instances speed on the wing.’’
He praised Villanova’s speed around the ground and willingness to transfer play back through the corridor.
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“That meant our less experienced players found themselves chasing more than they should have,’’ Podolak said.
Robert Brown, Jett Preston and Brock Taylor had good games in defence for Eddies, rebounding a lot of ball throughout the game.
“A regroup before the final quarter got us back on track and allowed us to slow the play down,’’ Podolak said.
“This had the positive outcome of forward 50 entrances and a chance for Villa to start chasing us.
“More work on our balance over the ball and watching our opposition at stoppages will aid us next week against SLC.’’
Villa got back in the winners column where they belong, just two days after falling just short to Laurie’s (see below for highlights from that game).
Villanova players Isaac Solomon and Kieran Micheletti were commended by both the St Edmund’s coach Michael Podolak and the AFLQ representative for their positive and effective use of the ball turning defense into attack off the half back flank.
Congratulations to the players who covering for injury and illness played their first games for the Villanova Open AFL team. The debutants included Henry Oberhardt, Lachlan Brown, Will Serafini, Jackson Dalrymple, Joey Watson, and Matthew Linnell.
After a close loss to rivals Laurie’s, the Leaping Wildcats were instantly back to their brilliant best.
St Peters Lutheran College head coach Mark Holman has praised the “enthusiasm and passion shown by the boys each week’’ in a developing program.
“The sharp learning curve some of the boys are on, having never played the game before and it has been incredible to observe each week,’’ Holman praised.
“Our big improvers have been George Herron who is playing a defensive role for us, the raw speed of Kristian Fagamerno and the athleticism of Alex Thompson and Johnny Nano.’’
He said both Thompson and Nano had an “uncanny knack of being in the right spot at the right time’’. “It shows the game of AFL is a game that does truly cater for everyone,’’ he said.
“It was pleasing to see our Year 9/10s have their first win of the season, showing that we are on the right track in the early stages of the development of the game at St Peters.’’
St Laurence’s College head coach Sam Wiltshire, reflecting on last week’s exciting clash with Villanova, said it was a “hotly contested game’’ and gave full credit to Villanova.
“They were very good all night,’’ he said.
“The SLC coaching staff were very pleased to secure the win and noted that there was something blue collar about it. The boys rolled up the sleeves and went to work to secure the win.’’
Notable performances on the night were:
+ Ben Morison, a year 10 student, playing his first full 1st XVIII fixture, kicked four goals. The stealthy scorer was wearing bright green headgear, and with his accuracy, made things happen for his side.
+ Will Munro was outstanding from the half back line, picking apart Villa’s forward 50 entries, with multiple intercept marks.
+ Wyatt Greenaway, Cooper Mataia and Tyan Prindable were in the engine room and hard working all night.
+ Ben Davis, a rugby convert where he has been an AIC premiership winner, shows natural ability. He was key to our forward structure and also kicked the goal to seal the win.
The tall Cooper Mataia was also crucial for his team, adding energy, goal scoring prowess and countless aerial contests to disrupt Villa’s rhythm.
Wiltshire said the clash was always circled on the calendar as a big event.
“The SLC students acknowledged how special it is to play in such a big game, which always draws a healthy crowd,’’ he said.
For Villanova, Mason Honeyman was Mr. Everywhere Man, making plays left, right and centre to swing the momentum in his team’s favour.
Around him was the hardworking Jackson Connor, Oscar Tanks, Isaac Solomon and Charlie Corrigan. They were led in the middle by classy Jake Fazldeen who had a deft touch with the boot, advancing it up the field with slick passing or pin point kicking.
It was a mighty team effort from the Villa boys, but the game just seemed to slip away from them at times when conceding a couple consecutive goals.
They fought hard to remove the deficit and on multiple occasions in the final stages were just one goal away from taking the lead. But, high praise to Laurie’s for holding out Villa’s aggressors.
FOOTNOTE: Watch for our coverage of Padua v Marist College Ashgrove later this week.
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