Woods clip the Pies

What a weekend it was for the Blackwood Football Club. Courtesy of a 29 point win over the Hahndorf Magpies, the A Grade have moved the into top position on the ladder after Round 8 of the Hills Football League.

Both sides entered in the clash knowing this match would be the test of how they were tracking in season 2017. Blackwood made one change to their line up from the previous week with ruckman Jan Warbout replacing Denam Moore whilst Hahndorf were forced to make several changes with Trent Male, Ben Salt, Josh Scharenberg and Josh Young, coming into the side in the place of Sam Hill, Dylan Matsen, Daniel Roberts and Luke Roberts.

Best on Ground Michael Minuzzo looks to move the ball forward

Nick Homburg gets a handball away under immense pressure

Blackwood started in the first quarter kicking down the hill making the early forward play. Some bad skill errors resulted in them being unable to get a major on the board. The half back line of Blackwood lead by Captain Kurt Thompson and Brad Jones repelled any attacking moves which Hahndorf made. It took until the eighth minute of the match for crafty forward Ryan Dijksman to bob up and kick the first major. Dijksman was looking dangerous up front for the Woods kicking two behind in the next two minutes as Blackwood peppered the forward 50 on numerous occasions. The defence of the Magpies held strong until former West Adelaide players Nick Homburg and Ryan Anderson kicked two majors as red time approached.

Blackwood took an 18 point lead into the first break and Hahndorf coach Craig Smith was not happy. It was understandable why as this was only Hahndorf’s second time trailing at quarter time in the past 16 matches. As a result he got stuck into the Magpies players suggesting they had not done anything they talked about before the match, that they were too slow to set up in their defensive structures and they were missing too many tackles.

Defender Matt Waldron takes a strong contested mark

Vice Captain James Catford looks to break clear of an opponent

Hahndorf responded in the second quarter with key players Jaensch, Hourigan and Matt Roberts gaining key possessions around the ground. The quarter saw the side from Hahndorf start to defend better putting greater pressure on the Blackwood players when they had the ball. Blackwood dropped in intensity and allowed Hahndorf to kick three goals to one for the quarter and bring the margin back to five points at half time.

Both sides refreshed in the change rooms with some colourful language coming from the mouths of the visiting Magpies as they left the ground. It had been over 1,000 days since Blackwood had beaten Hahndorf and they were looking to show they are a real contender in 2017. This aspiration was shown at the start of the third quarter as the Woods came out all guns blazing. Blackwood got early goals through Dijksman, Michael Minuzzo and Adam Ridley to leave the Magpies supporters wondering if their team was still in the rooms. The large home crowd became vocal as they were witnessing a great quarter from their side. Additional goals to Dijksman and Scott Bricknell in the 19th and 21st minutes saw the Woods extend their lead to seven goals. 2016 senior colt premiership player Ben Salt who was making his A Grade debut for Hahndorf popped up to take a nice contested mark against Kurt Thompson deep in the quarter and give his side a glimmer of hope with the goal.

President Jason Burns shows his delight with the result

The large crowd in attendance watches on

When the three quarter time siren blew the home side lead by 36 points and was full of confidence as the sides huddled together for a final time. Hahndorf coach Craig Smith once again barked at his players questioning their work rate and whether they were working for their trademark of ‘team first’. He suggested ‘it’s easy to be team first when you’ve won 18 games in a row but when it gets tough we do more finger pointing than team first’. The players seemed to take this on board as they came out the better team at the start of the last quarter. After giving him team mates a spray at half time, Matt Jaensch started to get loose and gain valuable touches for his side kicking the ball long to key forward Darcy Hourigan on multiple occasions. Hahndorf battled hard for the quarter kicking two goals to one and made it 17 straight last quarters they have won since Round 11 of 2016. Ultimately Blackwood was too good on the day running out 29 point winners when the final siren sounded and recording their first victory over Hahndorf since Round 11 of 2014.

The better players for the victorious Woods would have been hard to pick as it was an even contribution from the side. Best on ground was Michael Minuzzo who has stepped up his game to a new level this season after putting in a strong pre-season, Homburg, Bricknell, Dijksman who looked dangerous up forward kicking four goals and the ever reliable Kurt Thompson.

The ball spills from the grasp of Daniel Benson

Adam Ridley competes for a mark

Overall summary

This was a game that had the makings of two sides that will be there at the pointy end of the season. Blackwood played some exceptional football throughout the match. They limited the forward supply of the Hahndorf side that rely on Hourigan, David Hankin and Luke Roberts as they have kicked 56% of all goals for Hahndorf since 2016.

Hahndorf seemed to miss the games of Dylan Matsen and the Roberts brothers who had gone on an ill-timed overseas holiday. Along with Hankin having a quiet game through being nullified by the Blackwood defenders, the Magpies were limited in their attacking options. They seemed to look for Darcy Hourigan on most occasions and thus made it easy for the Blackwood players to predict where the ball was going and cause turnovers.

Blackwood has lifted their game in season 2017, being statistically the third biggest improver in 2017. They have gained significant improvement from their middle tier of players and now has the ability to beat the best in the competition. The season is set up well coming into the middle part of the season where the conditions become wet and the grounds heavy.

Other results

B Grade: Blackwood defeated Hahndorf by 2 points

C Grade: Blackwood defeated Uraidla Districts by 146 points

Senior Colts: Blackwood defeated by Hahndorf by 17 points

Junior Colts: Blackwood defeated Hahndorf by 77 points

Mini Colts: Blackwood defeated by Hahndorf by 36 points

Under 14s SANFL: Blackwood defeated by Brighton 38 points

Under 12s SANFL: Blackwood defeated by Glenunga 18 points

Under 18 Girls: Blackwood defeated by Mt Lofty by 36 points

Under 16 Girls: Result not uploaded at time of publication

Under 14 Girls: Blackwood defeated by SMOSH West Lakes by 3 points

Axemens / Ladies Luncheon

The weekend also saw the club host an Axemen / Ladies Luncheon. The day was a great success with over 120 people in attendance. Their were many highlights throughout the day including the pops-stalls, and guest speaker, Adelaide Crows AFLW co-captain Chelsea Randall who discussed her life and what it was like to play AFLW for the Adelaide Crows.

A special thankyou must go to everyone who helped organise the day including the Axemen and all those behind the scenes. It was a great success and everyone who attended thoroughly enjoyed it.