Canterbury respond as Whitefriars continue unbeaten start: Division 2 Men’s Round 6 Review

After suffering their first defeat of the season last week, Canterbury made a statement in a 62-point victory over Power House, while North Brunswick knocked off Aquinas to record their first win of the season.

Whitefriars 14.7.91 def Elsternwick 12.12.84

Whitefriars kicked six goals in the last term to continue their unbeaten run, defeating Elsternwick by seven points. After trailing at quarter time, Elsternwick were the better side in the second and third quarters kicking nine goals to four over the middle terms.

“They are a quality opponent, and we knew momentum would swing both ways, but we didn’t help ourselves with silly free kicks and lapses in concentration. They are a big side, and they took advantage of that,” Whitefriars coach Andrew Daou said.

Daou’s side backed their system and belief and got on top in the contest in the final quarter with four individuals playing key roles in the turnaround.

“Lachie Blunden and Matt Dickinson were huge. Having lost Lachie McLean in the first, they really carried the load for our rebound game. Jesse Pearce and Max Warrick dominated and controlled the midfield as well,” Daou said.

Whitefriars are one of the younger sides in the competition, and captain Max Warrick has been pivotal in driving the young side’s unbeaten run.

“He (Max) had the honour of dealing with a hard tag … the boys seeing him beat that lifts them in unexplainable ways. But his leadership off the field is even more impressive with the way he gels the whole club together,” Daou said.

Elsternwick coach Oliver Gildea saw the contest as where the game was won and lost. “Tough last quarter in a game where momentum shifted back and forth a bit. Game was won and lost at the contest, and I felt Whitefriars were first to the ball late,” he said.

North Brunswick 8.14.62 def Aquinas 5.11.41

North Brunswick recorded their first win of the season against Aquinas, who will rue missed opportunities in front of goal.

North Brunswick have conceded some large margins so far this season. However, their defensive work was key in their victory over Aquinas.

“I was very pleased with the defensive side of the performance,” North Brunswick coach Domenic Fontana said.

“Aquinas won their share of contest and territory, but I thought our pressure on the ball and our ability to defend what that looked like behind the ball was a real strength. That allowed us to force intercepts and limit the quality of a lot of their forward entries.”

The performance has given North Brunswick something to build on and create momentum moving forward.

“What we can build most on from the win is belief and defensive buy-in,” Fontana said.  “The players saw that if we stay connected and commit to that side of the game, it gives us a strong platform to compete. We also had a few things work really well around a new clearance system and our forward structure, which was encouraging given the scoreboard challenges we’d had in recent weeks,”

North Brunswick’s desire and want to get the four points was key according to Aquinas coach Josh Quinlan. “They were just cleaner and hungrier than us when it came down to it,” he said. “Simple want was the difference. They stood up as a team, not waiting for someone else to do it for them. They put the onus on themselves.”

Aquinas kicked 11 behinds in the defeat, leaving goals out there. “Just poor execution on our part. Lots of set shots. Poor kicking is poor footy. Not going to win many games kicking 5.11,” Quinlan said.

West Brunswick 11.18.84 def Therry Penola 7.11.53

West Brunswick snapped a three-game losing streak by defeating Therry Penola by 31 points.

West Brunswick kicked the opening three goals of the last term to steady themselves. However, the margin could have been more.

“Credit to Therry, they fought the game out and made us earn it,” West Brunswick coach Rick Pograri said. “We probably missed some opportunities earlier, but to the players’ credit we stayed patient and were able to convert early in the last.”

Players from all areas of the ground were strongly influential in the win for West Brunswick.

“It was a strong team performance overall, with contributors right across the ground. The players worked hard for each other, stayed disciplined in their roles and were able to execute when the game was on the line, with Tom Cottrell among them,” Pograri said.

In the third quarter, West Brunswick put an extra defender behind the ball, which troubled Therry Penola. “The third quarter was poor,” Therry Penola coach John Tate said. “West Brunswick sat an extra player in defence, and we were poor with our skill execution and couldn’t stop them from scoring.”

Therry Penola will look to bounce back next week. With a few players coming back from injury, the rest of the squad will look to build on the performances of two key players. “Cairan Wrigglesworth was fantastic and Charlie Combridge gave everything, but too few made an impact. Reset with a couple back next week and hope for a better effort,” Tate said.

Canterbury 17.21.123 def Power House 8.13.61

After losing their first game of the season last week, Canterbury responded by beating Power House by 62 points. Canterbury only led by five points at quarter time, as poor goal kicking left them with 1.11. However, in the second quarter, they found their kicking boots.

“We kicked 1.11 in the first quarter. I felt like we were just not making the most of our opportunities and we were rushing a little bit with ball in hand. It was pleasing we sorted that out in the second quarter and kicked 6.3,” Canterbury coach Steve Brown said.

After last week’s defeat, Canterbury were hungry to get back on the winners’ list and their performance showed that.

“We owed ourselves one after last week’s defeat … I felt like we really hunted the opposition well all over the ground,” Brown said. 

After winning five out of their first six games, coach Steve Brown knows his team must not become complacent.

“As we saw last week and last year, it’s a very even competition and anyone can win on any given day, and the team we played in Round 6 will be very different to the team we play next time at Power House. We must keep improving,” he said.

Power House’s contest game has been a real strength of theirs, and Canterbury were able to win that part of the game which allowed them to control the game around the ground.

“Our midfield has been our strength, but they are pretty beaten up at the moment. Canterbury were really strong in the middle. I think in this division midfield is the most important area,” Power House coach Nick Cox said.

After losing two on the bounce, Power House will look to respond against top of the ladder Whitefriars next week. “Just get back to playing our way, winning the contest and spreading from contest,” Cox said.

MHSOB 14.12.96 def South Melbourne 12.6.78

After trailing at half time, MHSOB produced a brilliant second half to defeat South Melbourne.

After only leading by three points at three-quarter time, MHSOB kicked four goals in a row midway through the last term to seal the four points.

“In the fourth quarter we stopped settling for a kick down the line,” MHSOB coach Sean Lester said. “South Melbourne covered the ground well in terms of pressing deep defensively, but it’s a taxing game style, and I think we had fresher legs to take the corridor on and spring forward in the last.”

After trailing at half time, the Unicorns’ effort improved, applying more pressure to South Melbourne, which was key in their victory.

“After half time, our effort at the contest improved, which meant winning it more at stoppage, applying more pressure to South Melbourne and being more desperate,” Lester said. “Div 2 footy isn’t about fancy game plans. If you aren’t winning the contest, you’ll struggle to win the game.”

Lester, however, would like to see his players show a bit more energy and enthusiasm.

“Our group needs a few more coffees sometimes. Simple things like celebrating our teammates’ success,” he said.

South Melbourne coach Shaun Gould still saw signs of improvement in his side’s defeat.

“Glimpses everywhere of improvement and systems being used more effectively were the positives. Also, players in new positions such as Ethan Tormey having a significant impact up forward with a great goal across his body,” Gould said.

Gould would like to see his side improve their mindset and their ability to play four quarters. He was pleased with the physicality that got them on top in the second quarter. “Definitely our physicality and our strong work rate were positives. They showed the potential of what both could be at an above-average level, but it has to be maintained for a much longer period,” he said.