Waverley AFL First XVIII
From Coach, Matthew Porter
Waverley College (22) defeated by St Ignatius (86) on the 19th of May. Waverley started very strongly winning the first quarter convincingly through the boot of Ash Bucklund and Baxter Oleksyn. However, Riverview brought it back in the second quarter to lead by 2 goals at half time. The third quarter showed the spirit Waverley first XVIII has through the efforts of Harry Whitaker, Isaac Bartholomaeus, Oliver Hackers and Matthew Higgins-Titsha. With little chance of a fightback in the last quarter, William Durkin put his body on the line for the team to show Waverley’s heart. Riverview ended up victors by 64 points, showing they were too strong in the end against an injury-hit Waverley side.
Final Score: Waverley 3-4-22, St Ignatius 13-8-86
Waverley AFL 9/10’s
The Waverley AFL 9/10’s had a well-deserved Bye this week.
Waverley AFL 7/8A’s
From Coach, Billy Tyson
After a Round 2 thumping to a bigger and better Knox outfit, the boys were eager to bounce back and put a win on the board, no easy task considering Barker only narrowly lost to the Knox side who put 60 points on us. Before the game started it was evident they had a tall side, but this did not intimidate the boys one bit, both sides came out hard and you couldn’t pick who would capitalise overall. Waverley came out with a narrow lead at the conclusion of the first quarter but there was nothing in it. As the game progressed Waverley’s fitness started to come into play, the ferocious efforts from the first quarter didn’t diminish, good hard tackles, bumping and shepherding and marking contests where the boys only had their eyes for the ball against a much bigger side was simply impressive. They wanted it more than the opposition and that was reinforced with the scoreboard. There was not a single player that had a bad game, the boys played for each over not themselves. The backlines ability to read the flight of the ball and rebound Barker’s attack was something to note. The midfield were hard and aggressive, no missed tackles and courage involved with every play. Our forward line was the highlight, with the boys sharing the ball around and only going for a score when a player was in the best position, their ability to lower their eyes and find a better target was unselfish and the team thing to do. In the dying minutes of the game they were having fun with the footy and playing the game on their terms.
A special mention needs to go out to the parents and supporters of the team as they help out and do things such as the oranges at half time, volunteers to help goal umpiring, getting the boys in and on time and the passion to support the boys on the sideline. It is something myself and Finn appreciate greatly and do not take for granted.
Best Players: Aodan Byrne, Carl Waterson, Leo Astridge, Hugo Roles and Louis Kitto
Final Score: Waverley – 53, Barker – 35
Waverley AFL 7/8B’s
From Coach, Matthew Miller
This week the 7/8B’s Waverley boys came up against a tough Trinity team in their third game for the season. Trinity came out firing in the first half with strong plays leading them to an early lead over Waverley. As the game progressed the Waverley boys began to become more and more involved in the game and ended up keeping Trinity to only a few goals in the second half while our boys chased down the deficit. This was due to some key performances all around the ground including some individual efforts by Jake W, James A, and Ethan P. These efforts unfortunately came too late into the game as Trinity was able to take home the win. All up it was again an excellent effort from all players and we hope next game our boys can take home the win when they come up against Knox on Saturday.
Best on ground: Jake Weinstein, James Armstrong and Ethan Petersen
Final Score: Waverley- 17, Trinity – 61
