AFL Report Round 9 – 22/6
Fight for Top Two Wide Open
Port Macquarie have the monumental road trip north to Grafton this afternoon to protect their top spot on the ladder. The Tigers booted a cricket score last week and are chocked full of confidence. Despite the fact that Port will field a much more competitive opposition, momentum is such a big part of footy and the Tigers have tonnes of it. Grahame Connolly is giving first use of the ball to midfielders Ron Davis, Jarrod Meade and Evan Duryea who deliver with precision into a star studded forward line boasting Sam Morrison and Chris Holder. On the occasions that the defence is called upon, and I think Port will certainly win their share of the clearances, Ryan Sheather, Kelly Thompson and Tim Whalan are ball magnets and return it with interest.
While Port will start the underdogs today they are not sitting on top of the ladder for nothing. Matt Lill, Ben Hennessey and Stewart Todd are all dangerous forwards while the pacey Ethan Durbridge has been in scintillating form. The tenacious Luke Long may get a tagging role on either Davis or Duryea and likely young inclusions Tom Dickson and Isaac Brambley will give the Grafton midfield plenty to think about. The Magpies defence is all class and provided they travel ok this will be a tight contest. The Tigers are starting to mount their premiership challenge and will be hard to toss at Ellem Oval.
In other games Camden Haven are home to North Coffs and should cement their finals positions while the Sawtell Saints host the Coffs Swans at Richardson Park. The U18 contest should be a cracker.
AROUND THE TRAPS with ‘Rocket’ Rod Macpherson
Courageous Kangaroos
There are a number of ways to display courage but none more obvious than the way the North Coffs club did last week. Travelling to Grafton to play the reigning premiers they had only the bare minimum and knew before they got there that they would have two hard games of football. They won the reserves encounter and then fronted up to a ruthless Tigers side and got absolutely belted. Despite a near record score against them they never gave up. While the history books will record a one sided affair that brave effort could well be a definitive moment for the club. Well done Kangas.
Umpire under Attack
Last week the Grafton Tigers kicked a massive 44 goals to record one of their biggest ever winning margins. In the 3rd quarter alone they booted 19 goals 6 behinds that equates to a score every single minute! I can tell you that the goal umpire had little time to write scores down and collect goal kickers as he did more running and dodging than some of the players!
Bombers Title Favourites
The Camden Haven Bombers stamped themselves as potential premiership favourites in their first year in the reserves competition with a solid 18 point win over a strong Sawtell/Toormina side at Sawtell last weekend. The fledgling club is only in its second season and both the U18 and reserves sides are realistic title contenders.
Last Modified on 28/06/2013 16:52