Semi Final 2023 | Thirds at Whitefriars

After finishing the home-and-away season in a well-deserved second place, the Thirds headed out to Donvale to take on Whitefriars in a major semi-final with equal parts excitement and trepidation - finals footy was upon us! 

Having already faced the dominant league leaders the previous weekend, MHSOB were in for a challenging afternoon - playing in front of a hostile crowd of their Reserves and Seniors was a new experience for most of our group, but it was one we had to embrace. 

Despite missing several key players to injury, the Unicorns traded blows (sometimes literally) with their opponents throughout a feisty first half, with midfield bull Jack Reed taking his inside game to a new level, and wingers Stefan Longo and Albert Kuang providing the outside class.

Unfortunately, the conclusion of the interval heralded the arrival of a fired-up home team who, spurred on by their vocal supporters, showed their class and kicked away with a devastating third quarter burst. A backline marshalled by the inimitable Lucas Blatchford bravely held back the tide as long as possible, but ultimately the Unicorns’ depleted bench took its toll and the score line blew out in the last quarter to eventually go down by 93 points.

A lot of valuable lessons were learnt, though, and with a rejuvenated squad to pick from, we look forward to facing the unpredictable Mazenod in the preliminary final and play off for what would be a much-celebrated grand final appearance.

Final Score: MHSOB: 2.5-17 defeated by Whitefriars: 16.14-110 

Goal Kickers: D. Tsintsiras, J. Reed

Best Players: J. Reed, L. Blatchford, S. Longo, A. Ashton, A. Kuang, P. Bulford