R11 2024 | Seniors vs Aquinas

Head Coach Bernie Pretty strategises with ruckman Will Kruyt. Image courtesy of Jim Wilson.

Late June. Grey clouds. A muddied centre square and a heavy football. It was a day for the true football purists at the Woodfull-Miller Oval when MHSOBFC took on Aquinas.

Aquinas was the team that got off to a hot start, kicking four of the first five goals of the game, as the Unicorns accustomed to the swimming pool-esq conditions. The Unicorns were proud to welcome back stalwart, Zac Smooker, and “Smooks”, along with this namesake, Zac Comley-Burns, were two of the team’s best for the day, producing some bruising efforts in defence to halt the Aquinas onslaught and will the home side back into the contest. 

Ruckman, Will Kruyt, celebrating game 50 for the club, and skipper, Sean Lester, were prominent in turning the midfield ascendency MHSOBFC’s way in the second half. The feeling pre-game was that the wet conditions would be befitting for a Nick McKinnon masterclass, and “Pop up” provided a pivotal link between defence and offence for the Unicorns in a best-on-ground display.

Perhaps his nickname may have been better suited for ex-captain Mitchell “Titch” Wilson this week, however, who popped up with three goals of his own in the second half. “Titch”, whose magnet on the Unicorns board is usually sighted on the half back flank more frequently than milk is with milo, showed his footy IQ and slippery skills are an asset at both ends of the field.

Titch’s performance provides a good headache for Head Coach, Bernie Pretty, who you expect will be deep in his secret laboratory over the upcoming bye weekend, devising a machine that can clone Titch and use him at both ends in the club’s hunt for a finals spot in September.

The fourth quarter was party-time for the Unicorns. Riley Maringoni and Nick Campbell were at their brilliant best, setting up scintillating attacking forays for MHSOBFC as the club rounded out a comprehensive 37-point victory.

The Unicorns now head into the final bye of the season with the ledger squared at 5-1-5 ahead of a crunch game at home against fellow finals hopeful, Hawthorn. The senior side will be desperate to show how far they’ve come since their round one loss and break into the top 4 for the first time this year.

Final Scores: MHSOBFC 10.19-79 defeated Aquinas 6.6-42

Goal Kickers: Mitchell Wilson 3, Mathew Pereira 2, Will Hellier 2, Jamie Radcliffe-Smith, Nicholas Campbell, Riley Maringoni

Best Players: Nick McKinnon, Mitchell Wilson, Riley Maringoni, Sean Lester, Zachary Smooker, Zac Comley-Burns