By Murray Silby

Sydney University has given NT Thunder a lesson in what it takes to be a top two NEAFL side at TIO Stadium in Darwin on Saturday night, winning their Round 10 match by 68 points, 15.20 (110) to 6.6 (42).

Thunder had started the round in fourth spot on the ladder two wins behind the two leaders, the Sydney Swans and Sydney University. This match was a chance for the Thunder players to test themselves against one of the NEAFL flag fancies, but the evidence at hand suggests they have a lot to work on in the second half of the season if they’re to push for a tilt at the premiership.

Entering the game without champion Cameron Ilett, captain Shannon Rioli and former AFL player Richard Tambling made the task even greater and it only got more difficult after the first bounce. In an energetic first term, it was the Students who dominated play, their pressure restricting any opportunities the home side had and forcing numerous turnovers through disposal errors or dropped marks.

As the Thunder players were putting handballs or kicks at the toes of their team-mates, rather than on their chests or in their hands, the University players were swooping in to take the clearances and benefitting from the space they were able to create through their cleaner skills and harder running. It took Thunder until the 22nd minute of the first quarter to score its one and only goal for the term through Braedon McLean.

Meanwhile, after an even first 10 minutes when scoring was hard to come by for both sides, Sydney University slipped into gear to manufacture a 10 minute period where it notched up four goals to Tom Ayton, Samuel Tagliabue, Xavier Richards and Lachlan Kilpatrick. McLean’s goal for the Thunder broke the run and neither team was able to score a major after that, although the Students had plenty of opportunities to make their 21-point quarter-time lead greater.
Of the five behinds they kicked in the opening term, Sydney University hit the post twice and also put one shot out of bounds on the full.

The inaccuracy continued for the visitors in the second quarter as they added 3.7 to extend their lead to 39 points at half time. Damien Bonney, in his 100th NEAFL game, joined the goal-kickers’ list after just 45 seconds of the term getting underway, but he would also add to the behinds tally later in the quarter.  Tim Barrett would chime in with University’s other two goals in the term, but three prior attempts resulted in behinds.

Nicholas Yarran was the sole goal kicker for Thunder in the second term, meaning despite their woes in front of goal, the Students had held their hosts to just two majors in a half of football. Thunder was finding it impossible to transition out of defence into attack with turnovers killing their attempts to put any sort of pressure on Sydney University. An excellent Michael Coombes chase and follow up bump in the opening minute of the third quarter reflected a greater intent on display by Thunder and when Michael Hagan popped up with the first two goals the margin had slimmed to 26 points.

Sydney University hit back though with the next three goals with Michael Manteit sneaking one through from the goal square, Tim Barrett adding his third shortly after and Ned Reinhard ending the Thunder challenge when his low shot at goal from 45 metres out eluded the finger tips of Ben Rioli. Reinhard’s goal meant that for the effort Thunder had made to try and get itself back in the game, the margin at three-quarter-time was the same 39 points it was at half-time.

The Students continued to turn the screws in the final term to rule out any hope of a Thunder comeback with Damien Bonney snapping the first of the last and former Sydney Swans AFL player Richards then going on a personal scoring spree with three last term goals for a total of four in the match. Michael Hagan kicked his third to be Thunder’s leading goal-kicker for the match, but that was the only joy for his side in the final quarter with the visitors holding their hosts to just a single goal in the final stanza, while adding 5.5 themselves.

A week ago Thunder full-forward Darren Ewing kicked six goals and his team 18, but this week his team only managed six between them and he was held goal-less. Meanwhile, the team-mate Ewing is in a race with to be the NEAFL’s leading goal-kicker, Adam Sambono, was also held goal-less. Sydney University coach Tom Morrison praised the two defenders who took on the job of stopping the pair. “They were critical for us today, Nathan Cooper on Darren Ewing did an outstanding job and Ryan Hebron on Sambono. In particular those two did really well,” Morrison said.

“They’re two guys that you’d have to be living in outer Mongolia to not know how well those two are going this year and it’s exciting to have, Ewing does it every year, he’s a great player and has been for a long time, but it’s exciting to have a young kid like Adam Sambono playing in the comp, so we wanted to send two of our better young defenders to the two dominant forwards and give them a task and I think they did that really well.” Morrison said he was happy to be making the trip back to Sydney with a victory under his belt.

“We’ve been on the end up here of some 100 + point hidings and we know that NT is a really strong football program, which we respect a lot so we prepared really strongly for this game,” he said. “It was a really important game. We like getting up here, we like getting some vitamin D and it’s important we come up here and we perform well and I think we did that tonight and so we’re really happy about that.”

Thunder coach Andrew Hodges was less pleased with the result of course, lamenting some missed opportunities early in the match. “I think we played poorly,” he said bluntly. “I think in the first quarter definitely we gave up some opportunities. I think their first three goals came from our skill errors and we had our opportunities. Went inside 50, probably could have scored. We didn’t, they went up the other end and scored on us quite easily.  “We even felt at three-quarter-time the scoreline was difficult, but we were sort of making an impact and within striking range to get a bit closer, but tonight our skill execution and our decision making was poor and that’s disappointing.”

Hodges said his team had missed the skill and leadership of Ilett, Shannon Rioli and Tambling. “Their leadership, and also our players get a big buzz playing around them,” he said.  “Cammy and Shannon, they do some pretty amazing things so to not have them tonight was difficult for our boys, but I think in the most part the young guys like Abe Ankers and Mikey Coombes really stepped up in that area.

“I think Nick Yarran probably played one of his best games for the football club. I thought he was really good so it was good to see those young guys step up in their absence. Yes, their leadership was missed but we had some younger guys really step.”

Thunder now enjoys a bye next weekend before travelling to play Canberra on the 17th of June.

RESULT
NT Thunder 1.2, 2.3, 5.6, 6.6 (42)
Sydney University 4.5, 7.12, 10.15, 15.20 (110)

GOALS
NT Thunder: Michael Hagan 3, Nicholas Yarran 2, Braedon McLean,.
Sydney University: Xavier Richards 4, Tim Barrett 3, Ned Reinhard, Damien Bonney 2, Tom Ayton, Samuel Tagliabue, Lachlan Kilpatrick, Michael Manteit.

BEST
NT Thunder: Nicholas Yarran, Ben Rioli, Abraham Ankers, Michael Coombes, Neil Vea Vea.
Sydney University: Thomas Young, Lewis Stevenson, Jack Hiscox, Damien Bonney, Lachlan Kilpatrick.