The University Blues have clocked up a cricket score in round 7 of the Auckland AFL as they piled on 147 points while keeping the Manurewa Raiders scoreless.
In the remaining matches, the Waitakere Magpies have taken the honours in the match of the round defeating the Howick Hornets by 30 points while the Mt Roskill Saints have made a huge statement on the competition as they beat the North Shore Tigers in a thriller at Onepoto Domain.
Howick Hornets vs Waitakere Magpies
14th October, Parrs Park, Oratia.
The last time these two sides met, they fought out a thrilling draw back in round one at Paparoa Park.
It was a big day for the home side as the Magpies all came together to celebrate our Inaugural Old Boys Day.
With a great crowd on hand to watch, Waitakere were eager to put in a good performance.
Magpies stalwart Dan McGregor was at his dominating best kicking two goals early on in the first quarter to set up a solid foundation for the home side.
Defending well into the wind in the second quarter, Waitakere rookie Matt Keyse was a rock in defence spoiling everything coming his way and taking great pack marks deep in the backline.
The home side welcomed back defender Jamie Gresham who had a best on ground performance taking multiple intercept marks in the back line running and delivering well into the midfield.
The Hornets worked hard early on in the second term but inaccuracy in front of goal was hurting them on the scoreboard.
Midfielder Kevin Crowe was having a strong game early on and was linking well with Mike Taylor out on the wing.
Waitakere went into the main break with a slight lead and spoke about putting a big emphasis on their defensive pressure in the second half.
It was a huge second half performance from Shane Leat helped steer the Magpies to a good win as he took charge winning good possession and intercepting marks.
With the Magpies defense playing their role, the forwards were also dominating as they kicked four goals in the third term giving them confidence going into the final quarter.
A fast start in the final term saw Carlos Donnell-Brown gain back to back centre clearances to deliver some quality footy straight into the hands of the Magpies forwards which lead to two goals and sealed the victory for the Magpies.
The Hornets came away with one positive from the day with their reserves having a big win.
With their season back on track, the league will need to watch out for the swooping Magpies come finals.
Magpies Captain Shane Leat was happy that his side turned it on for all the past club members. “A fantastic day for the club, and a great result on a special day. A big thank you to all that were involved in making this day possible and the volunteers who put in the effort to make it happen!”
Best:
Waitakere: Jamie Gresham, Matt Keyse, Shane Leat, Daniel McGregor.
Howick: Fraser Kessling, Jay Green, Mike Taylor, Kevin Crowe
Mt Roskill Saints vs North Shore Tigers
14th October, Onepoto Domain, Northcote.
The Saints turned up ready to play and got the better of the Tigers in the first quarter of play.
Some good run of the Saints backline and through the middle of the park made it difficult to get the ball into the Tigers forwardline.
There were some great passages with Logan Selvadurai and Jessie Baty using their speed to exploit the space and showing great accuracy in front of goal helping the Saints to take out the opener of the day.
In the second quarter the Tigers fought hard into the wind, working to move the ball down the park, but with James Mckenzie, showing why he is the best Mckenzie, taking strong marks in the forwardline the Saints moved to a 3 goal lead at the half.
The message in the Tigers huddle was that everyone needed to lift, the footie, the win and every possession needed to be earned and it was the wake call they needed with a goal coming through their first entry into the Forward Line.
Tigers forwards Josh Sedgwick and Rob Mostert began to get some ascendancy over their opposites and with a couple more goals helped the Tigers take a narrow lead into three quarter time.
The Saints had the wind at their back for the final quarter and did well to keep the ball locked in the Tigers defensive 50 for the majority of the quarter.
The Tigers fought well and with Saints unable to capitalise on their goal scoring opportunities kept hope alive.
With less than two minutes to go the Tigers finally broke out of their defensive 50, through the middle of the park and found Jackson Clince on the edge of the boundary 40m out from goal. A shot came off the boot and the Tigers began to celebrate as they thought they had escaped defeat with the equalizer, only to realise a behind and been called and the Saints had raced away down the other wing to snatch one last goal on the full time siren.
“Didn’t really go the way we had planned early on and it took us some time to settle, but once we did we played some very good footy and players are starting to gel together nicely. We still have a lot of progress to make over the next few weeks but happy to see we are heading in the right direction.” Tigers coach Andriu Sucu.
Best:
Mt Roskill: Matt Kemp, Tristan Burnett, Hamish MacKay, Michael Boyce
North Shore: Rhys Pegoraro, Jake Tucker, Josh Cunliffe, Josh Sedgwick
Manurewa Raiders vs University Blues
14th October, Colin Maiden Park, Glen Innes.
Playing University at home is daunting for any club and with a host of injuries in the Manurewa squad, it was always going to be a tough day.
The visitors set themselves a goal at the start of the game to play smart footy.
University won the toss and and decided to play with the wind and took full advantage of it.
The trend continued for the rest of the game as Blues ruckman Pat Landy fed his midfielders who broke free of the centre square to deliver to James Considine who finished with 10 goals for the game.
Raiders wingman Ronan Morling continues to give it all each week and is developing into a well rounded player.
Inaccuracy in front of goal will be the Blues main concern as they get closer to finals.
With a week off for labour weekend, Manurewa will rest up and look to finish with a strong end to the season.
Best:
University: James Considine, Pat Landy, Chris Haden, Cobus Muller
Manurewa: Ronan Morling, Kikorangi Hibbs, Ash Thompson, Brandon Phillips
The Auckland AFL takes a break for Labour weekend and returns on Sunday 28th of October.
Story – AAFL.co.nz
