Sydney Representatives come out on top

While it was time for the Sydney AFL competition to take a breath and gather itself at the midway point of the season, three Sydney AFL representative sides traveled to Canberra and Newcastle to face off against NSW/ACT’s best leagues.

While there were mixed results across three matches, there were many positives to come out of the weekend.

Both the men’s and women’s senior sides scored impressive victories over AFL Canberra on Saturday in the nation’s capital, however the Sydney AFL Under 23’s development side were defeated by an impressive Black Diamond side in Newcastle.

Football Operations Manager for AFL Sydney, Matthew Graham commented on the triumph of representative football in the Sydney region.

“The [representative] programs have been a great success this year and the professionalism and commitment of the players ensured they were great ambassadors for the league and code,” said Graham.

The Sydney AFL Under 23’s Development Squad traveled to Newcastle on Saturday afternoon, to face a Black Diamond outfit that boasted tall and athletic players on each line.

The Sydney side started strong, kicking the first five goals of the game on a perfect day for football.

Sydney’s strong start kicked the Black Diamond outfit into gear, as they slowly clawed their way back into the match, eventually running out 48-point winners.

For the Sydney side, Harry Green and Matt Lemme were strong contributors all day, while UNSW/ES pair Jack McKinlay and Allan Foote showed resilience against a confident Black Diamond outfit.

Saturday also saw the first ever AFL Sydney Women’s Representative side take the field, as they traveled to StarTrack Oval in the nation’s capital, to face an AFL Canberra Women’s side, hungry for a victory.

While it was a tough and physical match, the visitors were never troubled and ran out 32-point winners, with Sydney University’s Steph Walker, and UNSW/ES’s Maddy Collier outstanding for Sydney on the day.

The final representative fixture for the weekend saw the AFL Sydney Senior side face a confident AFL Canberra outfit at StarTrack Oval, Manuka on Saturday evening, with the winner awarded the Carter-Jesaulenko shield.

AFL Canberra was looking to claim victory after failing to challenge the Sydney side in last year’s traditional encounter.

Canberra started quickly, exploding out of the blocks with the first goal of the match, however Sydney’s quick reply turned into an onslaught, as the visitors piled on seven first half goals to Canberra’s solitary major.

The second half was much the same, as Sydney eventually ran out 68-point winners, with Brayden Fowler finishing with eight goals in a dominant best on ground performance.

All of the weekend’s matches can be viewed by clicking on the links below:

www.youtube.com/aflsydneylive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMNR3h6qK_o

Match Centre:
AFL Sydney Under 23’s Representative Side
Black Diamond AFL: 2.4      6.7     11.8    17.11 (113)
AFLSydney U23s: 6.3      8.3       8.5     10.5 (65)

Goals:
BDAFL: Head 4, Gibson 2, J.Lewis 2, P.Van Dam 2, M.Betson 2, S.O’Brien 1, C.Knight 1, B.Erickson 1, Z.Metcalfe 1, N.Vaisey
AFLSydney U23s: E.Smith 2, J.Pidgeon 1, M. Young 1, H.Green 1, D.Killworth 1, W.Blackburne 1, L.Sands 1, H.Washington 1, T.Widmer
 
Best:
BDAFL: T.Head, S.O’Brien, J.Dawes, J.Webster, P.VanDam, A.Willmot
AFL Sydney: H.Green, N.Bosscheiter, D.Johnson, E.Smith, M.Lemme, J.Cass

AFL Sydney Women’s Representative Side
AFL Sydney Women’s: 3.1     3.4     7.5     7.6 (48)
AFL Canberra Women’s: 0.1     0.3     1.3     2.4 (16)
 
Goals:
AFL Sydney Women’s: H. McIntosh 3, S. Walker 2, J. Lew , S. Sleeman
AFL Canberra Women’s: J. Sibley , L. Winter (nee Castle)

Best:
AFL Sydney Women’s: K. Hull, C. Briggs, J. Lew, S. Walker, C. Gum, L. Hilmi
AFL Canberra Women’s: L. Winter (nee Castle), G. Gill, H. Anderson, R. Crittenden, M. Johnson, S. Rose

AFL Sydney Senior Representative Side
AFL Sydney: 5.4     7.12     11.14     14.21 (105)
AFL Canberra: 1.0     1.1     1.3     5.7 (37)

Goals:
AFL Sydney: B. Fowler 8, B. Addison 2, D. Hadden , J. Daniher , J. Kiel , T. Etto
AFL Canberra: M. Ryan , S. Wilkinson , M. Ghirardello , J. Hancock , R. Towill

Best:
AFL Sydney: A. Goodall, A. Wynn, B. Fowler, A. Robertson, T. Armitage, J. Weir
AFL Canberra: S. Wilkinson, J. Hancock, L. O’’Neill, M. Ghirardello, L. Wharton, W. Brayshaw