Round 8 vs St Bedes Mentone – Match Report

Round 8 – Blues Ayce’s come to play
The Uni Blues got their first home win at Uni Main in season 2018 with an emphatic 46 point win against St Bedes Mentone Tigers on Saturday. Ayce Cordy led from the front in a dominant big man performance.
In other matches, the Blues Two’s continued with their winning win with a 39 point win to move into the 4 for this first time this year, the Thirds worked hard but went down to a polished SKOB side and the Unders bounced back into the 4 as they led all day against Collegians at the Crawford.

Goal Kickers: A. Cordy 4, T. Harper 3, T. Geappen 3, J. Carr, P. Flanagan, T. Carr, D. Batarilo, T. Batarilo, C. Hinkley, T. Quinn
Best Players: A. Cordy, P. Hayes, R. Eade, C. Hinkley, J. Carr, M. Hart
 
The impact of the tough hard fought draw was felt during the week, both mentally and physically. There seemed a real mood amongst the players to get the first win at the Uni; however this was not helped by 5 compulsory changes to the Senior Side due to the physical nature of last weeks match. However, it did provide an opportunity to the 2017 Unders B&F Sam Hodge to make his senior debut and 2014 Premiership player Matt hart made a long awaited return to the Blues defence.
The first term was tight early, with the Blues trying to keep a handle on the nippy Tigers. Ayce Cordy put the online midweek transfer saga behind him with 2 imposing majors and the Blues took control as the term went on. The Tigers missed some easy chance and these were thankfully punished with a Piers Flanagan bomb from downtown finishing the term.
The 2^nd term saw the Blues consolidate their lead with first use around the stoppages from Cordy. Ryan Eade continued to do his usual heavy work, feeding the outside runners led by Clayton Hinkley as the Blues extended the lead. For once the Blues seemed well in control at the half and entered the break with a 35 point lead.
St Bedes won at the Uni last year and are a proud team. They continued to come hard at the Blues as they looked to get back into the match. The Blues got down and dirty as the game became a defensive struggle during the term. Pat Hayes continually rebounded from half back whilst James Carr threw his body into the packs. An end to end goal from the kick in resulted in a goal to Tim Carr and the Blues held their advantage.
The opening term started with Ayce’s 4^th goal, taken directly from a throw in and the Blues looked like singing the song from a way out. Swoop began to get in on the act with 2 for the term and a few other chances that went missing. The Blues won the quarter comfortably to run out with a 46 point win.
The win was important as the season progresses, pulling the Blues closer to the top half than the bottom half of the table. The trend needs to continue as the Blues head to Toorak Park next week to face Old Xavs before the long weekend off.
 

Goal Kickers: D. Barton 3, J. Wood 2, B. Barton 2, M. Blair, A. Milham, j. Hinkley
Best Players: S. Carr, D. Cumming, H. Evans, A. Binns, M. Mayne, K. Mahon
 

Goal Kickers: L. Nunn, T. Brotchie, J. Bleicher, B. Denduang, H. Melville, T. Auld
Best Players: B. Denduang, S. Sapsford, K. Flanagan, H. Atkins, T. Cottrell, L. Nunn
 

 
University Blues
Goal Kickers: M. Scales 3, L. Holden 2, A. Eaton 2, N. Lanyon 2, S. Hanlon, S. Allen, J. Noonan, W. Foster, L. Chalmers
Best Players: J. Humphrey, T. Scotland, S. McCarney, L. Holden, S. Wylie, C. Hancock