The Waitakere Magpies have made it 6 wins in a row after defeating the University Blues by a goal in a thrilling match at Colin Maiden Park.
The North Shore Tigers weren’t able to kick straight but held on for a 7 point win against the Howick Hornets AFL. In the final match of the round, the Mt Roskill Saints defeated the Manurewa Raiders by 14 goals at Mountfort Park.
Howick Hornets vs North Shore Tigers
3rd November, Paparoa Park, Howick.
Postcard perfect conditions for footy greeted both teams as Howick hosted the North Shore Tigers at Paparoa Park in a match that had the makings of shaping the top 4.
The game started swiftly with both teams going out hard in an effort to get the upper hand early on. Rob Mostert was everywhere in the forward pocket, seemingly getting his hands on the footy every time in entered the 50m arc. After a few big hits and great play from both sides, a couple of sleek plays from the Tigers saw them take a 2 goal lead into the first break.
The Tigers continued their assertiveness and pressure in their attacking 50, keeping the ball locked in for much of the second quarter. The Hornets did stay in touch after finding some glaring holes in the middle of the park, moving it forward easily and converting well from the set shot. Another close quarter with the Tigers maintaining a 2 goal lead.
The Hornets came out blazing in the third term, dominating the play and kicking 4 or 5 unanswered goals. The Tigers struggled to get clean possession of the footy and battled to get it clear of their own defensive half. The Hornets swarmed the footy at every opportunity and with a couple of mistakes from Tigers defenders, they looked to have the all the momentum heading in to the final quarter with a 2 goal lead.
The Tigers were staring down the barrel of an unwanted defeat as they head into their finals campaign but after a spray from the coach the Tigers were determined to show some fight and get the match back. A much improved defensive effort at the back lead by Steve Howard and well supported by Xavier Bryham kept the ball moving forward for the Tigers. Robbie Mostert and Justin du Toit were invaluable in the final quarter working hard and kicking a couple of crucial goals between them to wrestle the lead back for the Tigers and earned a hard-fought win.
“A great game of footy today and thanks to Howick for hosting. I wouldn’t say we were lucky to come away with the win today – we earned it – we just went the long way around to get the win. We made it difficult for ourselves with some mistakes but I’m proud of the whole team stepping up in that last quarter. Showing that when we get back to the basics and get our line-ups right, we play some really good footy. Looking forward to the next few games.” Dan Pearce, North Shore Captain
Manurewa Raiders vs Mt Roskill Saints
3rd November, Mountfort Park, Manurewa.
The Mt Roskill Saints moved into second spot on the Auckland AFL ladder after a big victory over the Manurewa Raiders.
The Saints started the game well kicking 3 early goals to take an early lead thanks to veterans Matt Kemp and Daniel Archer.
At the back end of the first, the Raiders found form and kicked 2 goals to go into quarter time a goal down.
Jevaan Croft, Alex Fakatoumafi and Clayton Hicks all combined well for the home side.
In the second quarter, Saints ruckman Ben Curtis started to control the game. From each ball up the Saints were getting the tap and moving the ball forward through Will Dickinson, Mitch Weir and Michael Boyce with the forwards converting multiple opportunities.
Saints backs had little to worry about here as they managed to get through a quarter with no scoring shots conceded, having established their match ups well and stuck to the game plan.
In the third quarter, the Kemp, Archer duo up forward turned on the style as the Saints slotted 7 majors.
Suddenly very interested in the club’s Golden Boot award, Matt Kemp and Daniel Archer kicked another 5 goals between them in the fourth as the Saints ran out 86 point winners.
“Pretty pleased with our performance today, it’s now all about getting up for next week’s game and kicking on through finals.” Sam McKenzie, Mt Roskill.
“There were glimpses again of what we can produce but we just need to work on becoming more consistent. We have one more game to go for the 2019 season so we are looking to finish on a high against the Hornets next week. Thank you to the Saints for a great game.” Jordan Thompson, Manurewa.
Waitakere Magpies vs University Blues
3rd November, Parrs Park, Oratia.
A real ding dong battle took place at Parrs Park on Sunday as the Waitakere Magpies and University Blues went head to head.
It was a seesawing affair throughout the contest as both teams kicked a couple of goals only to have the opposition return fire shortly after.
University grabbed hold of some early opportunities and managed to turnover the ball and score. Playing off the half back line, Nic Holdsworth continues to shine and is having an impressive season.
With University starting to gain the ascendancy, Magpies Captain Shane Leat was thrust into the midfield to stop Uni from creating go forward ball.
The home side drew the score closer in the second quarter as Jordan Hearn kicked 2 goals from 60 metres out.
It was another tight tussle in the third quarter which kept the scores close.
Dan McGregor (Magpies) battling with Chris Mundell (University) all game was able to kick two goals and returning player Hayden Cleere kicked one for the quarter to trail by 9 going into the final term.
Shane Leat stepped up a gear and gave all his effort in the final quarter to swing the momentum back the Magpies way with key intercept marks being the catalyst for this.
With the pressure on and minutes left on the clock, Jonny Aalbers leveled the scores from a set shot before Dusan Hakaraia crumbed the ball off the pack and snapped a goal with 30 seconds left on the clock to steal the win.
“Proud of the effort put in today. We came out and started letting the occasion of the game get to us, but once we composed and started playing some Magpies footy it really showed and went a long way to us winning this game.” Magpies Captain, Shane Leat.
“Always disappointing to lose the close ones but some passages of play that tie in what we have worked on and some positive performances are great to see.”
Story – AAFL.co.nz
Image – Avatar Sports Shots
