Ainslie fell GIANTS while Swans soar
The Canberra Times and sydneyswans.com.au
Ainslie’s Josh Bennett starred for the Tricolours in their dominant win over the UWS GIANTS, helping them to secure place in next week’s preliminary final against Belconnen Magpies, who were beaten by a strong Sydney Swans reserves side at Blacktown International SportsPark.
The Tricolours beat the GIANTS 15.15 (105) to 5.11 (41) at Ainslie Oval while the Sydney Swans demolished Belconnen Magpies 23.12 (150) to 10.9 (69) to set up another Canberra club showdown next weekend.
The preliminary final is a re-match of the final round of the season, where Ainslie was bested by the Magpies by 38 points.
”Belconnen have beaten us twice this year,” Ainslie coach Chris Rourke told Fairfax Media. ”We got a hammering off the Swans but that didn’t really matter … hopefully we can make a better fist of it this time.”
Bennett, who sits on top of the goal-kicking leaderboard of the NEAFL Eastern Conference, was kept goalless until midway through the opening term.
He kicked three of Ainslie’s five unanswered goals in the second quarter to give the Tricolours all the momentum.
The GIANTS showed good signs of continuity in their play before the interval but couldn’t turn the pressure into points on the scoreboard. Nick Paine’s strong performance in the forward pocket assisted the Tricolours, while experienced Ainslie player Eric Stone kept former Carlton stars Setanta O’hAilpin and Bret Thornton quiet in the back pocket.
”Eric has made a big difference to us,” Rourke said. ”He’s been very important, even though he hasn’t played a lot for us this year.
Rourke praised his players after turning around a disappointing performance last week against the Magpies. ”We started really well and got some good scoreboard pressure on and stuck to what we spoke about,” he said.
The GIANTS’ squad included 10 ”top-up” players, while coach Brett Hand only had two interchange players to start the match.
”That makes it really tough in conditions like this,” Hand told Fairfax Media.
”We were pretty impressed with the way we moved the ball towards the end. [It was a] frustrating day but I’m pretty proud of how the boys fought it out.
”We ran out of legs and they capitalised on our missed opportunities and turnovers.”
1st SEMI FINAL – AINSLIE v. UWS GIANTS
Ainslie 4.3, 9.7, 11.11, 15.15 (105)
UWS Giants 2.3, 3.5, 4.7, 5.11 (41)
GOALS, Ainslie :
J. Bennett 5, S. Ellis 3, J. Gourlay 2, K. Morris 2, A. Vandenberg 1, N. Paine 1, J. Fleming 1
UWS Giants :
M. Mattingly 1, J. Finlayson 1, G. Ugle 1, T. Bugg 1, S. O’hAilpin 1
BEST, Ainslie :
K. Morris, A. Vandenberg, R. Tuohey, N. Paine, N. Heyne, J. Bennett
UWS Giants :
T. Golds, S. Schulz, L. Plowman, S. Darley, S. Frost, M. Mattingly
Umpires: Rowe, Elsworthy and Whitehouse
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Meanwhile, the Sydney Swans reserves have booked their place in the NEAFL Eastern Conference Grand Final with a commanding 81-point win over Belconnen in Saturday afternoon’s second semi-final.
In warm and breezy conditions at Blacktown International Sportspark, the Swans controlled the match from start to finish to secure a spot in their third successive conference decider.
Jed Lamb, who returned to the reserves line-up after being the sub in last week’s senior loss to Geelong, got the team off to a flying start with two first quarter goals and plenty of run and carry through the middle of the ground. Such was Lamb’s impact to start the game that Belconnen moved their captain Lexie Bennett on to Lamb to play a run-with role on him.
In his first final for the club, Tim Membrey showed that he could be a future big game player, finishing as the leading goal kicker on the ground with six majors, as well as providing a leading option off the half-forward line and assisting multiple goals for his team mates.
All eyes at Blacktown – including those of senior coach John Longmire – were on Lewis Jetta, who was playing his first competitive game since the start of June.
Jetta – who played for the Swans in the inaugural Eastern Conference Grand Final in 2011 – finished the game early term after getting some run into his legs and showed brief glimpses of form including a running, long-range goal from outside 50 which was one of his last involvements in the match.
The Swans midfield, led by Lamb, Daniel Robinson and Jake Lloyd, were outstanding for the majority of the match and fed on first use of the ball provided by ruckman Sam Naismith.
In just his second game for the season, Naismith showed he will be an important player as the finals series progresses, finishing the game off well with two goals from contested marks late in the final quarter.
The Swans defence was solid all game, and save for a ten minute period in the third term, restricted Belconnen’s ability to kick consecutive goals and build any momentum. Tony Armstrong was one of the standouts as a rebounder from defence, while the key posts of Xavier Richards and Jordan Lockyer, supported by top-up Stephen Wray, shutdown the highest scoring offence from the home and away season.
The contribution of the top-ups was significant, with seven of them featuring on the goal kickers list, with Lloyd Perris leading the way with two, including a fine effort after accelerating through a pack and bouncing one home from just inside the 50 metre arc.
The Swans reserves will again have a week off next weekend and will play the winner of the preliminary final between Belconnen and Ainslie in the Eastern Conference Grand Final, scheduled for Sunday August 15.
2nd SEMI FINAL – SYDNEY SWANS v BELCONNEN
Sydney Swans 6.3, 11.8, 16.10, 23.12 (150)
Belconnen 1.0, 4.3, 7.7, 10.9 (69)
GOALS, Sydney Swans :
T. Membrey 6, S. Naismith 2, D. Towers 2, J. Lamb 2, L. Perris 2, T. Green 1, M. Spinks 1, J. Zoppo 1, T. Armstrong 1, S. Wray 1, B. Hoctor 1, T. Head 1, J. Lloyd 1, L. Jetta 1
Belconnen :
M. Lokan 2, A. Dess 2, D. Bunyan 1, S. Curtis 1, I. Taylor 1, C. York 1, A. Bennett 1, S. Harris 1
BEST, Sydney Swans :
J. Lamb, J. Lloyd, D. Robinson, T. Membrey, T. Armstrong, L. Perris
Belconnen :
M. Sharp, C. Jansen, J. Baker, N. Collins, M. Porter, A. Dess
Umpires: Pawley, Langdon and Gestier
Finals Week 3
Preliminary Final Saturday 7 September Belconnen v Ainslie 2:00pm, Kippax
Photo courtesy of The Canberra Times. For a photo gallery of the first semi-final, please visit:
