Round 3, was the week of rain. The NSW SES had more calls for assistance than they had related to a weather event in the previous 60 years. 72 hours of non stop heavy rain caused the Sydney AFL to call off footy for all but the senior men and women. As is almost always the way, having called this early the Friday and most of Saturday were perfect for footy.
The dedicated brave few traipsed over to the home ground of UNSW-Eastern Suburbs, the Village green in Kingsford. The game was to start at 1PM and the UNSW Bulldogs entered with hope in their hearts. They have not had a good run against the GIANTS since promotion and now with the GIANTS having a 1 – 1 record they could be vulnerable.
The Bulldogs were coming off a handy 11 goal victory over North Shore while we were recovering from a heartbreaking 7 point loss to Penno.
The selectors had thrown the team around and were looking for increased speed and intensity. The GIANTS wanted to stamp their authority on the game from the start and then keep pressure evenly throughout the game. The game went as the GIANTS wanted with a powerful first quarter delivering a 25 point lead. That lead grew quarter by quarter until a final margin of 109 points was secured. While the changed structure worked reasonably well some of the kicking for goal remained an issue. Some bright performances by Cal D’Souza and Mick Atkinson highlighted some of the depth at the club. The back six looked a bit more settled, though the midfield pressure did not allow too many free running entries by the Bulldogs. In the front half, having 12 goal scorers was a true reflection of the diversity in attack. Jackson (Jacko) Pola-Smith, got off the chain as Brayden attracted a fair bit of attention and looked powerful in the contested marking. Eric (Ekka) Burke returned to the Seniors after a long layoff from injury in 2014 and added tackling pressure and quality ball use.
On balance a very sound performance where the Bulldogs were not allowed to play well. While still not running as smoothly as some of the 2014 performances the coaching staff should be pleased that the intensity had returned. Basically, the GIANTS played honest but unsociable footy.
The UNSW supporters expressed their clear admiration in frank and colourful terms during the day for Jacko, Brayden aand Cam Livori. The image below shows Jacko celebrating in his own quiet way one of his warmly welcomed 6 goals on the day.
Last Modified on 28/04/2015 09:35