R1 2025 | Thirds VS MAZENOD OC
Footy returned in 2025 on a perfect day at the picturesque Woodfull-Miller Oval as the excitement buzzed amongst the MHSOBFC Thirds group, who had trained strongly over the summer and looked to get off to a bright start, striving for a third consecutive finals series. 2024 was a fruitful season which culminated in a finals win and reaching the semi-finals from 5th position, while 2023 saw MHS finish 2nd at the end of the regular season and just fall short of a grand final berth in the preliminary final to the eventual premiers Mazenod OC, who were today’s opposition first up at home. With a mixture of familiar and fresh faces, hostilities were renewed between the Unicorns and the Nodders in an entertaining and close contest as the visitors prevailed by 9 points.
It was Mazenod who came out as the sharper side in the first quarter, making the most of their opportunities to kick 4 goals straight to take a handy 14-point lead into the first break, while a rather wayward Unicorns side managed 1 goal and 4 behinds. Both sides showed signs of early rustiness, as is often the case in the first game of the season, but improved as the match wore on.
The second quarter was a genuine arm-wrestle between the two rivals, with only 3 goals kicked between them. Coach James Yucel’s trademark plan of pressing players, including the defence up the ground to compress the opposition for room unless they could clear the ball out the back, proved to be effective in a dour quarter. Mazenod was able to hold sway to maintain a 25-point advantage at the half.
The third quarter belonged to the Unicorns, as they stormed back into the contest with 5 goals to 1, including a 3-goal burst to young key forward Ben Sharrock and a huge goal on debut for Chris ‘Tugboat’ Duncan from a perfectly executed set shot from distance. With their tails up throughout the quarter with slick ball movement and interplay between defence, midfield and attack all on the same wavelength, MHS enjoyed repeated forward entries and dangerous passages of play to put the Nodders side under immense pressure to trim the deficit to just 3 points heading into the final change full of adrenaline and belief.
The final quarter was one of attrition, as the climax of the match proved to be as exciting and jubilant as it was heartbreaking and frustrating for the home side. The Unicorns dug deep to kick a go-ahead goal late in the quarter, and as stoutly as they defended, two breaks fell the way of Mazenod to regain the lead and then seal the match with two very late goals, resulting in a 9-point loss for the hosts to start the 2025 season.
While the loss stung, having been in a winnable position, plenty of positives came from the game to buoy the side for next week’s match on the road against Ormond. Mark Fenwick proved to be a strong body in the contest all day, rotating between defence and midfield, especially lifting further in the second half to provide plenty of grunt and push the ball forward in all fashions to be the Unicorns’ best. Tall forwards Billy Mullin and Ben Sharrock provided strong marking targets all day while also being clean at ground level for key forwards, working better and better together in tandem as the game wore on, always being dangerous and kicking the lion’s share of the MHS goals (4 and 3 respectively) to easily take the chocolates against their Mazenod opponents. From defence, both Callum Hayden and newcomer Liam Leeden read the Nodders’ forward entries the best and regularly put themselves in the most damaging positions to repel, while also providing plenty of run and momentum out of the backline all day. Another new Unicorn who was unmissable with his abundant tattoos, Ben ‘Phil’ Drummond, was a welcome feisty customer who was tenacious and hard-working in his midfield role while also getting under the skin of the opposition, showing plenty of promise as an important member of the Thirds side for many more games ahead.
A trip to Ormond next week poses as a new challenge and a great opportunity to bounce back for the narrowly defeated Unicorns.
Final score: MHSOBFC 9.9-64 defeated by Mazenod OC 10.12-72
Goals: Billy Mullin 4, Benjamin Sharrock 3, Chris Duncan 1, Karl Lugod 1
Best Players: Mark Fenwick, Billy Mullin, Benjamin Sharrock, Callum Hayden, Liam Leeden, Ben ‘Phil’ Drummond