Iona College student shines; Padua’s surging win and Ashgrove’s recovery

Meet Mr Footy and Mr Cricket of AIC sport. He’s a Year 12 Iona College student who, within the space of 24 hours at the end of each week, kicks goals and hits sixes.

Padua’s Darby Breeden is congratulated by a teammate.

Gee, Iona College student Nicholas Bragger must sleep well on Saturday night - after he has had a big dinner.

Remarkably Bragger plays First XVIII Australian football on Friday afternoon where he has an ability to create goals out of nowhere, and then on Saturday he is a leader within the First XI cricket side.

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So what is the food helping fuel this multi-talented sportsman each weekend?

“Most of the time I would have a steak or bowl of pasta, but my favourite meal is a chicken curry,’’ Bragger said.

Bragger is a high achiever in both sports. In footy he loves kicking goals and in cricket he enjoys hitting sixes.

Nic Bragger is a cricket and footy Firsts player for Iona College.

But the enjoyment of playing with his mates in both cricket and rugby is most important of all to him.

“In recent years I have played club footy, but this year I have chosen to not play so I can focus on school,’’ he said.

“For most of the game I play on the half forward flank and occasionally chip out in the midfield.’’

So does he have a first love between the two sports? It is probably cricket where he plays during the summer at Wynnum Manly.

“When I leave school at the end of this year, I will most likely continue to play cricket,’’ he said.

“But I have not decided whether I will continue to play footy or not,’’ added Bragger, who rates two-time Coleman’s Medal winner Patrick Cripps and his Carlton teammate Charlie Curnow as his footy heroes.

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His favourite cricketer is Mr Entertainment himself, Glenn Maxwell.

“He hits heaps of sixes and has an insane reverse sweep shot.’’

In action following round 5, Marist College Ashgrove’s victory over St. Patrick’s College marked a significant turnaround in the squad’s season after two consecutive losses. Marist won 10-8-68 to 0-3-3.

And the big men fly in round 1 of the First XVIII.

The disciplined performance led to a commanding display against St. Pats, setting the team on a positive trajectory as they head into a crucial matchup against St Laurence’s next round.

Oscar Pitman delivered an outstanding performance in the ruck and forward, while Jack Williams proved instrumental with four valuable goals.

In addition, Jack Watson’s move to the backline proved fruitful, contributing to the team’s impressive outing.

Harri Armstrong on the move for St Laurence’s College.

St Patrick’s started well, and the first quarter was a close and tightly contested.

However, after the quarter time break Marist proved too strong, with their ability to transition the football and create multiple scoring opportunities the difference.

Paddies’ best players were Todd Lingard, Nick Watson, Pat Dalton and Noah Polinksi

Jordie Chambers.

Padua College surged in the final quarter to pip a Villanova College outfit which played its best quarter of football for the year in the opening term.

Villa led at the first break, then Padua recovered, working their way back into the game, setting the scene for a thrilling finish.

The score was within a goal for most of the last quarter, with Padua kicking a couple of goals late to earn a hard-fought win over Villa.

At one stage Villanova led by three before Padua steadied in the middle two quarters - despite

inaccuracy in front of goal.

Padua’s control of field position then saw them swoop late and clinch the win.

Nate Rowcliffe impressed in the Padua midfield, providing plenty of link up between the backline and forwards.

Jacob Moesbergen in the ruck provided a lot of grunt while Jordie Chambers was busy all day. Josh Forrest also held his own down back.

Best players for Villanova included Nick Landers, Ollie Logan and Max Downie.

Landers, a slightly built year 10 student, continued to play above his weight.

To cover injuries Landers played at both ends of the ground and kicked a goal, while also saving goals in the last line of defence at the other end.

He often displayed good option taking when he had possession of the ball.

Logan played a lot longer on the ball due to injuries to other players in the midfield, but he was still effective at winning the ball at ground level.

When not in possession of the ball, Logan applied great pressure to the opposition on ballers.

Max Downie played an effective game as the last line of defence at fullback.

He applied great pressure to Padua’s forwards, while also taking a great couple of well-read intercept marks.

He then transitioned quickly, allowing Villa to go on the attack.