Woods prevail at Heathfield

The Blackwood Football Club has continued its unbeaten start to the 2017 Hills Football League season with a 28 point victory over the Mt Lofty Devils at Arkaba Oval last Saturday afternoon. Entering the clash, both sides sat at opposite ends of the ladder with the Woods in first position whilst Mt Lofty were languishing in eighth position.

Blackwood made one change with Denam Moore replacing Jake Atkinson whilst Mt Lofty made five changes from their previous line up with Gonzales, Ingram, Lawson, Mann and Welsby replacing Bennett, Mallyon, O’Brien, Pater and Thomson. The five changes which Mt Lofty made to their line-up took their total players used across the first eight games of the season to 35, the most of any side in the competition. This compares to Blackwood who have used 27 players, the least of any side in the competition to date.

Matt Waldron protects the space as Kurt Thompson goes back with the flight

Denam Moore gets a handball away as he comes under pressure from an opponent

Arkaba Oval presented in great condition for the match as started Blackwood kicking down the slop towards the cricket nets end of the venue in the first quarter. Mt Lofty made the early centre break and got the first score on the board inside the opening two minutes. Unfortunately it was only a minor score. Blackwood then kicked into action moving the ball down the hill and locking it in their forward line with a strong defensive press. Mt Lofty looked to play a chip and hold possession game of football to starve Blackwood of the ball. It failed to work as the Woods brought up the first major of the match through Phil Hopton from the top of the goal square. Another goal to Hopton and vice-captain James Catford at the 9 minute mark saw the Woods jump away to an early three goal lead. Mt Lofty fought back in the middle of the term with goals to Mark Neilsen and Angus Winwood to head into the first break trailing by 15 points.

Both huddles regrouped at the break with Blackwood splitting into their retrospective line groups whilst Mt Lofty stayed in one group with Sam Miles and their head coach giving instructions. The opening part of the second quarter was a scrappy affair with neither side able to gain any sort of ascendancy. Crafty forward Ryan Dijksman bobbed up in the eighth minute and kicked a nice long range goal from the forward pocket. He bobbed up again in the tenth minute to kick his second major from the same spot. Blackwood were starting to look in control of the match with some dominate supply from their midfield. However once again Mt Lofty fought back again in the latter stages of the quarter with goals through Ben Gordon and Tom Welsby pulling the margin back to 20 points at the main break.

The supporters in attendance looked for some refreshments during the main break as the temperature began to decrease at the venue. This didn’t impact the travelling Woods as they came out hot at the start of the third quarter. Early goals to Hopton, Dijksman and Adam Ridley saw the Woods in complete control of the match. The defence lead by Scott Bricknell, Kurt Thompson and Matt Waldron repealed any attacking moves which Mt Lofty made up the hill. Additional goals to Ryan Anderson, Ridley and Nick Homburg saw the margin extend even further with the game all but over at three quarter time.

Brad Jones gets his fingertips to the ball as Kurt Thompson comes to lend a hand

Ryan Dijksman makes sure he’s not dropping this mark

Blackwood coach Damian Salievic urged his players to be ruthless in the last quarter whilst Mt Lofty were simply encouraged to win the quarter and show some pride. Blackwood got the first goal of the final quarter through Scott Bricknell after immense pressure was put on across the half forward line to see Mt Lofty cough up the ball. The travelling Woods players appeared to switch off after this goal as Mt Lofty got on a run of five straight goals. The run was led by key players Miles, Neilsen and Burch who had 13 disposals in the last quarter. When Mt Lofty kicked their six goal on the trot at the 24 minute mark, the home supporters had a faint glimmer of hope there would be enough time left in the game to steal a win. This was not the case as Blackwood finally won the ball out of the centre and moved it forward to big man Daniel Bennetts, who kicked his third major of the match. When the final siren sounded Blackwood won the scrappy game by 28 points, their seventh win of the season and seventh in a row against Mt Lofty.

The better players for the victorious Woods were Ryan Anderson who continued his outstanding form, Daniel Bennetts who booted three goals, Kurt Thompson who gained numerous intercepting possessions across half back, Daniel Benson and Matt Waldron who wore forward Ben Gordon like a glove.

Overall, this wasn’t a high spectacle game to view, with both sides playing scrappy football throughout the match. The Woods were able to control most of the match with their quality players contributing enough around the ground. They were certainly nowhere near their best in this match as discussed by coach Damian Salievic in the rooms after the game. He was happy with the win but suggested their needs to be much more improvement out of the side if they want to go anywhere in the second half of the season. For Mt Lofty, they are a side which competes hard around the contest. Whilst they might lack some depth and a second key forward, they get the most out of the players on the park. They will be a challenging side to play in the second half of the season and have the potential to cause an upset or two if sides aren’t careful.