From the President
This weekend we were spread far with half the teams travelling to Fairfax Reserve to play the Camden Cats and the other half headed to Kanebridge Oval to take on the East Coast Eagles in the traditional “Back to Baulko” round.
When we play this local derby against East Coast there is always some feeling in it. What adds some extra feeling to the game is that it is played for the Warren “Pops” Quintrell Shield. Pops was a life member of both Pennant Hills and Baulkham Hills. He helped to establish the senior club so as we didn’t lose Pennant Hills Juniors to opposition clubs or to the game. Having successfully achieved this Pos went on to establish Baulkham Hills so as to provide AFL to a growing population in the Northwest of Sydney. AFL would not be as healthy in or region without the work of Warren. Unfortunately, he passed away in July 2022. We will continue to honour his work and remember him every time we play for this shield. We were glad to take this trophy home to our cabinet again this time.
At home we are seeing progress, although slow, with council on the completion of the lower level of the clubrooms. We were on hold pending a Sydney water upgrade to the area, and unfortunately were not getting high priority from them. This has been resolved and we are now advised that the construction will commence June and be completed in December. During the delays there has been a change of contractor from council to complete the works and thus finishes etc are being renegotiated. We believe that the tiered seating at the front, to view lower ground games, will now be sandstone blocks and not concrete. We certainly look forward to the completion.
This weekend we have our top grades playing at Trumper Park against UTS., Our 19.5 Div 2 at Sydney Uni and our other grades at home. We hope the weather gods are good to us and we get al games underway.
Please enjoy our coaches report of their matches for Round 5.
Hope to see you around the grounds.
Todd Williams
President
Match Reports:
Premier Division Men's Match Report with thanks to ARA Group
Premier Division Men Vs East Coast Eagles (PH 11.11.77 Defeated ECE 5.8.38)
Round 5 would see us against our old rival East Coast Eagles for ‘back to Baulko day’. East Coast came in with mixed results, beating last year’s premiers but also getting rolled by Manly.
We would have a number of changes with some players being managed, promoted and injured. Joel Rush would play his 2nd VFL game for the Giants after being a late in the day after a bruising Anzac game. Moraitis & Boag were rested, while Mudge & Moran were both injured. We would welcome in Nick Eynaud back from a knee injury, which gave the boys a lift. Oliver Williams, Zac Elliott, Patrick Witt were promoted from the Div1 team while Dylan Bonham, who won the league 19’s medal last year, would make his prems debut.
EC came out to play and would maintain possession for most of the 1st qtr, working harder than us on the spread. However, the highlight of the qtr would be Harrison Pitt’s huge grab which I’m sure will win mark of the year. Our boys lifted in the 2nd qtr, lifting our intensity and pressure around the contest. We would go into halftime leading 24 to 16 with some work to do.
The 3rd qtr would be our best, we would come out firing kicking the first 5 goals, kicking 7 goals to 1 for the premiership quarter. The last qtr the rain came down heavier and dried up the free-flowing footy. We would go on to win by 7 goals against a determine Eagle’s outfit. Mitchell Blow had a dominant game in the ruck, giving our mids first use and being a huge presence around the ground. Cameron Mitchell continued his fine form, spending time in the midfield after Clark getting injured, his attack on the footy is something to behold. Luke Skrivanic would play his best game, with elite skills & leadership. Pitt, Hey & Nockles were all super with lots of energy and forward craft.
Ben Roberts (Head Coach)
Best: Mitchell Blow, Cameron Mitchell, Luke Skrivanic, Harrison Pitt, Nicholas Hey, Oliver Nockles
Goal Kickers: H. Pitt 4, N. Hey 3, O. Nockles 2, T. Larby 1, P. Witt 1.
Premier Division Women's Match Report with thanks to Ritera Electrical Wholesale
Premier Division Women V’s East Coast Eagals (PH 4.1.25 Loss to ECE 9.7.61)
We had 3 players who had been laid low all week with the flu and played in parts on the weekend.
Thank you to Jess, Brighid and Armelia you all showed great courage and character by truly committing to the team and above all to your follow players.
First time this season we had kicked a goal in each qtr. and we had a multiple goal kicker with 3 goals well done Natalie Pajor. First for the season.
One of many things we as a team are completing is that we understand the value of playing for 72 mins with no excuses. Well done to all of you.
Our learning of structure and implementing the 7 sec rule has shown plenty of positive signs.
The ONLY difference in the game was in 2 parts :-
Firstly - They showed us how valuable structure set up at a contest is and they did it for longer periods in the game to us. (We need to keep on working on this for the full 72mins)
Secondly - They had 5 goal kickers (key forward kicked 5 of the 9 goals)
We had 2 goal kickers. Natalie Pajor (3) and Sheridan Baker (17y old) kicking her first the team.
Best: Hayley Lowe (stand out), Natalie Pajor (3 goals), Elly Rudd, Eliza Havey, Amelia Bennett and Kaity Noble
Special mentions: Mia Hartley (2nd half in the ruck was superb) , Kelly Chapman and Emma Waters.
We will keep moving forward.
Terry Mudge (Head Coach)
Best: Hayley Lowe, Natalie Pajor, Elly Rudd, Eliza Havey, Amelia Bennett, Kaity Noble
Goal Kickers: N. Pajor 3, S. Baker 1
Under 19.5 Division 1 Men's Match Report with thanks to Tyrepower Dural
Under 19.5’s Division 1 v East Coast Eagles (PH 11.9.75 Defeated ECE 4.8.32)
“TRUST, WORK, BELIEVE”
Kanebridge is a beautiful ground for footy and whilst we were expecting the heavens to open up, conditions stayed dry and the ground looked great. Ready for a big game.
Out of the blocks we were good and Oscar started with a great snap goal early from a front and square pick up off a marking contest. Bill and Harvey had the job of rotating in the rucks today and both did very well. Bill worked the ball forward from stoppages and our forward entries for the quarter were 7 for a good conversion rate. We were tackling really well and giving East Coast little room. Henrys tackle pressure was superb as was Chapps at CHF and he was also rewarded for a goal. Forward entries were clean and structured to our game plan. Looking good.
In Q2 East Coast adjusted and put more players around stoppages to try to lock us down. But our skill level stood out to spread the ball through multiple hands. Callum Irish did a great job this qtr off half back blacking, stopping their run then counter attacking. Riley was creating great space and leads up forward for his first goal after some great grunt work by our backline. We had some great passages of play, through hands from Oscar, Spida, Lunna, Lachy, then delivering cleanly to our forwards multiple times. Big Jack and Riley were proving to be a great combo up forward with strong marks from Jack and great leading by Riley. Luka at CHB was hard at the contest winning 50/50s in the air and on the ground and commanding respect for his role. Great work and well structured team play with another 6 effective forward entries.
In the second half we didn’t need to make dramatic changes, just continue to play to our game plan and be mindful of their moves. East Coast like to try to swing out the back and sling shot across the ground but we were on to them. We held our defensive press well and our defensive structure was solid to give them minimal forward entries and goal scoring opportunities. Ryan Lauff was a rock down back with nothing getting past him as was Luka. Our running players in defence in Murder, Jack, Callum, Liam, Henry were all dominating in their roles and rebounding well.
We were disciplined for 4 quarters. We held our structures well. Some of our kicking from defence through the middle was a little off at times and partly to do with our leading patterns so something small to adjust but overall, an impressive performance. TRUST< WORK< BELIEVE. We trusted in our team mates to do their role and give first options, we worked well as a team, we worked harder than our opponents to win the contests when on the line, and we believed in our system and game plan to execute. The rewards came naturally on the scoreboard for an impressive and consistent 4 quarter performance. In the last quarter East Coast outscored us with 2 goals but not enough to cause too much concern. A great performance and with a continuous thirst for improvement we will keep fine tuning to get better and better.
Best players –
Spida, Jack D, Ryan L, Henry, Oscar, Lachy P, Riley, Luka.
Justin Kerley (Coach)
Best: Riley Hawes, Oscar Irwin, Liam Everett, Jack Kinnane, Jack Dwyer, Lachlan Pauly
Goal Kickers: R. Hawes 4, O. Irwin 2, J. Chapple 2, H. Williams, R. Bonham, N. Cranwell.
Division 1 Men's Match Report with thanks to Pennant Hills Toyota
Division 1 Men Camden Cats (PH 5.8.38 Loss to Cats 9.10.64)
A tough day for DIV 1 as we travelled down to Camden to take on top of the ladder Cats. We went into the game with 10 call ups from Div 3 due to players either away, working or called up.
Expecting a wet game we tried to be physical on ball and move the footy forward at any opportunity but the rain held off giving a great day for footy.
Our first quarter we wrestled with Camden taking the opportunities to move the ball forward but Camden were too slick and rebounded the ball well keeping our backs under the pump.
The second quarter was our lowest i felt giving them space to move and unable to stop their rebound. We kept fighting but unable to hit the scoreboard hurt.
We went in at half time down but reassessed and went out not giving up on the fight. Swanny and Rivers worked hard intercepting the ball and moving it out releasing HT to run and carry. Carrol was able to hit the score board giving us some life and letting us know we are still in this.
Final quarter the guys left nothing out there and worked hard from the middle being led by Kiz, Trenamen and Everett. we were able to convert and out scored Camden bringing the margin back to 32 points, then a late massive goal from Pellizon at the end of the quarter sealed a 26 point lose.
Considering the change in line up the team did very well and fought hard. It took a little while for the lads to gel but there was good signs from halftime onwards.
Warren Atwell (Coach)
Best: M. Trenaman, K. Coaldrake, M. Collins, H. Rivers, H. Toczydlowski, J. Carroll
Goal Kickers: J. Carroll 2, M. Carey 1, T. Pellizzon 1, J. Friend 1.
Division 2 Women’s Match Report
Women’s Division 2 v Camden Cats (PH 0.0.0 Loss to Cats 18.22.130)
Firstly, welcome to Ellie Davis and Mikaela Quinlan. Ellie Davis started on the wing and then went into our backline, and was really strong in competing for marks and made lots of strong tackles.
Mikaela’s debut with us was sensational as she took a heap of marks at full back and prevented probably fifteen goals. Her kicks out of defence were very good.
Even though we had a big loss today I have never been more proud of a team, as we never gave up and continued to compete till the end.
We were up against the Ladder leaders in Camden, who have not been defeated. We were also severely depleted in numbers fielding 15 players versus 21.
In the first half, whilst we went in hard for the ball and tackled well, our balance was poor and we gave our opposition too much space. Camden were able to clear easily once they had won the ball. This put a lot of pressure on our backs with Sophie, Ali and Emma all working hard to shut down Camden’s forwards. However repeat entries from Camden led to plenty of shots on goal despite Mikaela’s many marks and rebounds.
The second half saw a big improvement as we became more accountable for our opposition players. Our tackling was even stronger and this reduced Camden’s free play, such that we had good periods of time were we locked Camden down. Jazz got stronger and stronger as the game went on and dominated in the ruck. Kat moved to the midfield in the 2nd half and got a heap of the ball. Georgia was also having a strong game in the Midfield. We also had some good passages of play where we took four consecutive marks and moved the ball from the goalsquare to our forward line.
We are team full of new players who are learning the game, and again I am very proud of how the team continued to battle despite the odds against us.
Mark Carroll (Coach)
Best: Mikaela Quinlan, Jasmine Blow, Katherine O'Hara, Ellie Davis, Emma Dunn, Georgia Wood
Goal Kickers:
Division 3 Men's Match Report with thanks to Eylex Pty Ltd
Men’s Division 3 v Camden Cats (PH 4.5.29 Loss to Cats 5.12.42)
Round 4 saw our first home game against Macquarie University in Fraser Nixon’s 200th game for the club.
A game against an opposition we hadn’t played for a few years saw an even contest for the first 15 minutes. We were able to kick 2 late goals in the 1st quarter and took a 2-goal lead into the quarter time break. From here on in we were able to take control proceeding with our physically at the contest the stand out. We were able to win every quarter, eventually running out winners 13.7 to 5.6. The only downside was a nasty head clash for Fraser Nixon in the last quarter that saw his day come to an end in what will result in some time on the sideline, we wish him a speedy recovery.
Better players were Ryan De Vries and Jed Corbett back from Div 1 whose class and composure stood out, Nick Glancy and Kieran Wright down back who repelled many an opposition attack, Jarrod French whose class around the contest stood out whilst his partner in crime Rowan Love was a clear standout after doing a brilliant job down back on the oppositions most dangerous player.
Once again, a good team performance across the board that now sees us 3 & 0. An away game against Camden Cats, also undefeated, will be a good test next weekend.
Sebastian Parker (Coach)
Best: J. Durkin, N. Glancy, J. Lucas, L. White, S. Rice, S. Chapman
Goal Kickers: J. Durkin, S. Chapman, K. Watton, T. Manfre.
Under 19.5’s Division 2 vs Camden BATS
Unfortunately, this was a forfeit due to school football commitments and Injuries.
Division 5 Men's Match Report with thanks to Conveyancing at Pittwater
Men’s Division 5 v East Coast Eagles (PH 3.3.21 Loss to ECE 12.7.79)
On Saturday, the Div 5 men faced a formidable East Coast team, although the scoreline failed to capture the intensity of the match. Despite East Coast's early breakaway goals, the first quarter remained tightly contested. Our Div 5 players exhibited resilience and determination, engaging in a physical brand of football. Unfortunately, Flynn Hume, who was performing exceptionally, sustained a high hit and had to be sidelined for the remainder of the game.
Despite trailing by 21 points at quarter time, our team refused to back down. Josh Mott showcased his dominance with two goals, supported by Jack Crampton, who returned to Penno after six years and scored his first goal of the season. Despite two late goals to East Coast, Penno won the quarter, narrowing the halftime deficit to 15 points.
In the third quarter, the intensity persisted from the first half, with East Coast applying pressure while our boys remained resolute. Inspirational moments of the quarter included Matt Arciuli's courageous goal-saving block with his face and Cal Toohey's impressive three tackles in 15 seconds, earning him a free kick. Despite East Coast adding two goals, we concluded the quarter trailing by 30 points.
The final quarter witnessed a widening gap in the scoreline as our fitness with a sub rotation down dwindled, allowing the seasoned East Coast players to capitalize with multiple goals, ultimately securing victory with a score of 79-21.
Special recognition goes to Luke Garment, who, in only his second game, demonstrated remarkable adaptability by stepping into the ruck during the final quarter and executing a beautiful over-the-shoulder tap to win possession. Additionally, Geordie Dooley deserves praise for his versatility and selflessness, willingly playing in various positions throughout the game, including the demanding role of ruck, showcasing his dedication to the team's success.
Lastly, a special thanks goes out to Master’s captain Nathan Rayment, who undertook the role of umpire for the first time and excelled in his duties, contributing to the smooth running of the game.
Patrick Hull (Assistant Coach)
Best: M. Arciuli, A. Rashleigh, C. Toohey, A. Wagner, S. Parnell, L. Garment
Goal Kickers: J. Mott 2, J. Crampton 1.
What’s on This week
Warren “Pops” Quintrell Shield: The clash between East Coast Eagles and Pennant Hills is always a fight for the Warren “Pops” Quintrell Shield.
Club Thursday: This week we head back to WPHSC for a Demons meal deal
