R5 2024 | Reserves at Elsternwick
The Reserves travelled south to Elsternwick Park, looking to rebound from a tough loss against Brunswick in the previous outing. The atmosphere was different, with their opponents Elsternwick upbeat after a convincing defeat of another quality side, South Melbourne Districts. With the parity evident of the top half of the ladder, the two teams came into the game looking to put themselves into a strong position, leading into the middle third of the season.
With the sun peeking out of the cloud cover, the heat of the day was matched by the two aspiring teams as the first quarter unfolded. The midfield units of both sides applied themselves to the contest, limiting free flowing entry into the opposing forward zones. From the outset, ruck duo Fraser McGlashan and Josh Grierson worked tirelessly against their opposition numbers, and their leading efforts resulted in some scoreboard joy, with three majors for the term, two belonging to early league goalkicking front-runner James ‘Stretch’ Cusack. The home side responded with two of their own; with some strong contested marks and follow up efforts by their eager crumbing forwards. With the siren closing the term, the Unicorns had earned themselves a slender lead of eight points, 3.4-22 to Elsternwick 2.2-14.
The second term provided a dominant display by the midfield and defensive units of the visitors; almost completely stalling Elsternwick’s attempts to exact reward for their endeavours. The returning Jarrod Growse showed no signs of rust, displaying his dash and experience on multiple occasions, in concert with Gordon Beet on the other side of the defensive 50 arc. In the middle, former U/20 Nafi Anaan started to get busy with the pill, disposing of it with intent and efficiency. The team’s efforts to hold the ball in the forward half of the ground proved fruitful, as repeat efforts resulted in some deep one on ones, which were capitalised on by the forward unit, and despite only four scoring shots, kicked four straight goals to establish a sizeable advantage going into the main break. Both teams looked to gather themselves for an all-important third term, the Unicorn’s resolve rewarding them with a 29-point buffer, leading 7.4-46, to 2.5-17.
Coming out of the rooms, the Unicorns were implored to maintain their push and not allow a talented opponent the opportunity to pull themselves back into the contest. To the delight of the coaching staff and their supporters, they held fast, as whilst the scoring opportunities for both sides continued to be hard to find (with five scoring efforts for both sides combined), the visitors were able to take their chances, again kicking without blemish due to some deep entries providing high quality opportunities. Unicorns co-captain Nicholas Campbell, returning to the side after a two week spell, was injected into the forward unit; and his continuing drive and tenacity resulted in reward on the scoreboard, including a sublime running banana goal. Closing the third quarter, the Unicorns had established a healthy margin of 40 points aided by their kicking efficiency in front of the big sticks, 10.4-64, to 3.6-24.
Co-captain Nicholas Campbell celebrates one of his three goals. Image courtesy of Jim Wilson.
The final term’s test for the Unicorns was to stick to the positive play of the match so far, and they duly delivered, putting their opposition to the sword with constant efforts all over the ground. At one end, the back six, despite losing debutant Angus Brookes to injury (after playing excellently all game), were miserly, limiting their counterparts to 1.2-8 for the term. At the other end, Jordan Compte’s old fashioned tagging of Elsternwick’s impressive floating defender Thomas Oliphant was clinical, allowing the forwards to get to work crashing the packs. Alistair Rogers and Nafi Anaan provided incredible efforts through the middle, and the resulting entries gave the visitors much joy, with Nicholas Campbell putting his case forward to become a full time forward, with an additional two majors, and Dinuk Epa showing his class to kick true. Byron Gunn finished the game with six majors whilst teammate James Cusack kicked five, cementing their status as the top forwards in the competition. The margin skewed away from the tightness apparent in the first three terms, as the Unicorns cashed in to record a vital 68-point win.
The Unicorns’ season marches onwards with a second away trip, against another quality opponent in Wattle Park, who sit just behind them on the ladder by percentage in fifth place.
Final Score: MHSOBFC 15.10-100 defeated Elsternwick 4.8-32
Goal Kickers: Byron Gunn 6, James Cusack 5, Nicholas Campbell 3, Dinuk Epa
Best Players: Nafi Anaan, Jarrod Growse, Nicholas Campbell, Byron Gunn, Dinuk Epa, Alistair Rogers