Saturday the 2nd of September 2017 sees the Blackwood Football Club play in the Hills Football League Division One Qualifying Final. The match up at the Able Storage Oval in Mt Barker sees the Woods play the Uraidla Districts Demons.
The match up sees the sides who finished second and third on the ladder in a highly anticipated clash and will be broadcast live on 88.9 FM Hills Radio or live stream via the Hills Radio website. We preview the highlight anticipated match below.
Previous encounters
From the two occasions these two sides have met in season 2017 both matches have been well worth the entrance money. In Round 7, the Woods hit the lead in the 3rd quarter holding a 17 point advantage at the final break. As the wet weather closed in, so did Uraidla with Blackwood coughing up the 17 point advantage to see a draw recorded when the final siren sounded. Read the full match summary here. Whilst in the Round 16 encounter an accurate shooting Uraidla accounted for the Woods by 44 points at U-Install-It Kitchens Oval. Read the full match summary here.
Looking further into history, thee sides have met on 28 separate occasions since the start of 2016 with Blackwood winning ten matches, Uraidla winning seventeen matches and one draw. Whilst the record at Uraidla Oval isn’t flash, when the sides have met at U-Install-It Kitchens Oval, Blackwood has won on five occasions since 2006. Of the 4 occasions they have met in finals since 2006, Blackwood has won one match and Uraidla Districts three matches. The most recent time these sides met in a final was back in 2011 on the infamous Grand Final day..
Phil Hopton takes a mark in front of defender Darren Loffler
Ryan Anderson kicked two goals against Uraidla back in Round 7
Season 2017 statistics
Attack
Blackwood are the second best scoring side in the competition to date averaging 90 points per game. This compares to Uraidla Districts who average 83 points per match in 2017.
Opening half of season compared to second half: Blackwood averaged 101 points for (Round 1 to 9) and 79 points for (Rounds 10 to 18). Uraidla Districts averaged 81 points for (Round 1 to 9) and 85 points for (Rounds 10 to 18).
Defence
Blackwood have the second best defence in competition in 2017 conceding on average 57 points per game. When compared with Uraidla Districts, they are conceding on average 62 points per game in 2017.
Opening half of season compared to second half: Blackwood averaged 61 points against (Rounds 1 to 9) and 53 points against in Rounds 10 to 18. Uraidla Districts averaged 64 points against (Rounds 1 to 9) and 59 points against in Rounds 10 to 18.
Differential
In terms of differential Blackwood are +33 in 2017 whilst Uraidla Districts are +21. This ranks both sides 2nd and 3rd in the competition. This statistic means that on paper, Blackwood starts the game with an +12 point lead on the Demons.
Opening half of season compared to second half: Blackwood averaged a differential of +40 (Rounds 1 to 9) and +26 in Rounds 10 to 18. Uraidla Districts averaged a differential of +17 (Rounds 1 to 9) and +26 in Rounds 10 to 18.
Quarters won
Blackwood has won 64% of quarters played in 2017, whilst Uraidla has won 56% of quarters played.
Opening half of season compared to second half: Blackwood won 66% of quarters in Rounds 1 to 9 and 63% Rounds 10 to 18. Uraidla Districts won 56% of quarters in Rounds 1 to 9 and 56% Rounds 10 to 18.
Scoring shots and shooting accuracy
Blackwood average 25 shots on goal per game kicking at 50.7%. This compares with Uraidla who average 22 shots at 56.0%
Opening half of season compared to second half: Blackwood averaged 24 shots at 53.2% (Rounds 1 to 9) and 21 shots at 47.8% in Rounds 10 to 18. Uraidla Districts averaged 21 shots at 49.5% (Rounds 1 to 9) and 18 shots at 63.6% in Rounds 10 to 18.
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Woods accuracy (Rounds 1 to 9)
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Woods accuracy (Rounds 10 to 18)
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Uraidla accuracy (Rounds 1 to 9)
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Uraidla accuracy (Rounds 10 to 18)
Statistics against Top 5 sides
Below is a table which summarises the statistics which both sides have against fellow top 5 sides.
| Against top 5 sides |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Winning % | 50% (Also has two draws) | 63% |
| Points for | 76 | 75 |
| Points against | 62 | 66 |
| Differential | +13 | +9 |
| Quarters won | 53% | 53% |
| Best quarter | 3rd (6 from 8) | 2nd (6 from 8) |
| Shots on goal | 22 | 19 |
| Accuracy | 49.1% | 60.8% |
Games won
Blackwood has won 50% of matches against top five sides. Uraidla Districts has won 63% of matches
Attack, Defence and Differential
Blackwood: 76 points for, 62 points against, Differential: +13
Uraidla Districts: 75 points for, 66 points against, Differential: +9
Compared to the whole of 2017: Blackwood has a differential of -20 on differential, Uraidla has a differential of -13 on differential.
Quarters won
Blackwood: Has won 53% of quarters played against top 5 sides. The 3rd quarter is their best quarter winning six from eight.
Uraidla Districts: Has won 53% of quarters played against top 5 sides. The 2nd quarter is their best quarter winning six from eight.
Compared to the whole of 2017: Blackwood have won 64% of quarters, Uraidla have won 56% of quarters.
Shooting accuracy
Blackwood: Averages 22 shots on goal kicking at 49.1%.
Uraidla Districts: Averages 19 shots on goal kicking at 60.8%
Fact: Uraidla Districts are the only top five side who kicks at greater than 50% in front of goal against their fellow top five sides. Blackwood ranks second at 49.1% whilst Mt Barker are the worst kicking at 43.8%.
Jess Watchman competes for a mark against Uraidla defender Paul Richards
Nick Homburg switches the ball inside
The key players to watch for Uraidla
Riley Hayes (#3): Was recruited to Uraidla for the 2017 campaign and has immediately impacted the competition kicking fifteen goals and being named in the best players in eight matches. He has only featured in the better players on two occasions after Round 9.
Michael Tudor-Tsourtos (#4): The left-footer is a key player for the Demons. They look to get the ball into his hands when moving the ball out of the back half. Whilst only featuring in the best players on four occasions this season, he is a critical player to stop.
Travis Oakley (#5): The big forward is a critical piece of infrastructure in the Uraidla Districts set up. He is a key target for them moving the ball into the forward 50 metre arc having kicked 250 goals from 116 matches since the start of 2012. In 2017 he has kicked 33 goals failing to register a goal in only one of sixteen matches..
Matt Down (#6): The experienced mobile ruckman is a barometer for the Demons. When he gains plenty of touches around the ground, the Demons are usually playing well. After Round 9, he has featured in the best players in three of seven matches.
Tom Kluvanek (#7): The swing-man has kicked 31 goals in 2017 (his highest tally since 2010) and been named in the best players on six occasions. From his last four games he has averaged three goals per match.
Nick Amato (#15): Has been in the best players in 88% of the sixteen matches he has played. He is also the leading goal kicker for the Demons with forty-four majors including eight hauls of three goals. In the Round 16 encounter between the sides he kicked seven goals and was named best player.
Nathan Remnant (#21): Of the sixteen matches, he has featured on eleven occasions (second highest for a Uraidla player). In recent matches he has been in red-hot form featuring in the best players three of the past four games. From the two games against Blackwood he was named first and third best.
Michael Minuzzo gets a kick away as a Uraidla player closes in
Dainel Benson uses his left boot to get the ball away from the contest
Final Thought
Blackwood must shut down Uraidla Districts in the opening quarter. Uraidla Districts have won their last five opening quarters by an average of 28 points.
See you at the football #honourthecolours
