Whilst half of Sydney was found marching from North Sydney to Randwick for World Youth Day, SWAFL continued on to Round 11. The better question was which teams would best recover from SWAFL Trivia celebrations the night before. I would like to thank Sarah Court, Bondi-Waverley RSL Club, Chevvy and Troy Luff - captain of the UNSW Easts Men's Club for organising a great night. I think with over $3500 raised through the raffle, entry fees and games, the league is in great shape. Congratulations to all the teams who participated, I hope you enjoyed the evening. The winner of the main raffle was Adeline Yaw (St George) who goes to see the Swans play Crows in a box seat. Being keen Hawks supporters, I think the wine and food may be more fun than the action!!
In game 1, Easts forfeited to Balmain due to insufficient players. Despite this, a scratch match was played with 13 a side so all the players could get a run. Balmain, with the added benefit of being able to substitute the whole team if they liked, ran away with the match after the second quarter. Easts had some fantastic passages down the wing and out from fullback with some quality linking plays, but Balmain's experience and ability to constantly find the target proved too much. Goal of the match goes to Janene Thorpe from Balmain with a brilliant run finished off with a great snap at goal. Easts player, Roxy, was unlucky not to bags two goals for her side, managing to hit a post at both opportunities after some courageous running in the first half.
Game 2 was Wests visiting St George for the second time this season. St George did their best to welcome their visitors with a biting cold wind. With both clubs fielding 18 and 19 players each, it would be a test of the individual players stamina. St George matched it up to Wests for all the game but fell down in (a) bombing the ball forward hoping a team-mate was there (b) not manning up defensively as an instinctive action (c) not maintaining possession long enough continuously and were punished by Wests accordingly. Wests scored pretty much 3 goals each quarter but had to earn them as St George tackled their hearts out across the board. The score was 13.11.89 to 0.2.2
Game 3 saw Sydney Uni host Newtown at Oval No.1 in the perfect conditions for night football (ok, it was little cold but there was no wind and playing under lights is always fun...). The first half saw Newtown ahead, with the scoreline suggesting they could have run away with it if they had managed to find the big sticks on more occasions, with the score at the major break Newtown 2.8.20 to Sydney Uni's 1.4.10. The third quarter saw Sydney Uni go on the attack, kicking the first goal of the half and closing the gap to just 4 points. This was the closest they got on the night, however, with Newtown taking out the game 6.10.46 to 3.8 24. Quality play by Emma Yuen and Talei Owen from Sydney Uni failed to get the home side the victory, with their efforts often thwarted by Newtown's Mandy Jennings and Pam Hulusi. All in all, a great night of Women's AFL at a fantastic Sydney AFL venue. Doesn't get much better than this.
Next week is Round 12. Both bottom teams must be looking forward to seeing if they can continue their improving form and knocking off some scalps before the end of the season and a much-improved 2009. For the other four teams, complacency will be the enemy as the final order of spots is still up for grabs. Finally Wests are on the verge of securing the minor premiership. See you next week!!!
Last Modified on 19/07/2008 23:15