By Murray Silby
On a hot and humid Darwin Saturday night, Aspley has won a scrappy, mistake-riddled Round 17 NEAFL match over NT Thunder by 27 points, 9.16 (70) to 6.7 (43).
In a dour and low-scoring first half of footy, neither side managed to grab the ascendancy at TIO Stadium.
Aspley took a one-point lead into the quarter-time break thanks to a behind after the siren from a set shot by Hornets’ captain Ben Warren.
The miss was somewhat indicative of the first term in that the Hornets failed to take advantage of several opportunities presented from Thunder turnovers as the hosts attempted to clear from defence.
Thunder’s in-form rover Abraham Ankers got the home side off to a good start with his slick snap for goal after just a couple minutes.
The Hornets kicked the next two though through captain Ben Warren and key forward Jono Freeman.
A successful Sam Talbot snap and Darren Ewing set shot within a minute of each other handed Thunder the lead after 12 minutes, but Freeman wrestled it back in the 24th minute with a lucky kick that seemed intended to be a pass, but bounced over Jack Monigatti’s stretched out arms to roll through for a goal.
In an inglorious end to the term, both teams could only manage a series of behinds with Warren’s being one of them.
The start of the second quarter was notable for the four behinds and two out-of-bounds on the full that got play underway.
As the quarter seemed to be heading towards a conclusion that might see neither side able to kick a goal, Michael Mummery popped up for a snapped goal at the 17-minute mark, following some great play by Shannon Rioli and Richard Tambling further up the field.
Ankers kicked his second after 21 minutes before James Nelis marked and goaled late in the term.
Thunder went to the long break with a seven-point lead, but was largely unable to take advantage of the opportunities that came its way, while it was Aspley which looked better able to score from the quick transition.
The start of the third term was similar to the second with it taking until the 21-minute-mark for the first goal to be kicked and that went to the Hornets’ Warren.
It had taken the visitors four attempts and four behinds to score it though, and the hosts’ best chance was shut down with a goal-saving tackle by Gavin Grose on Joe Anderson.
Warren’s major launched a late flurry of goals for the Hornets with James Nelis, Connor Stackleberg and Billy Beardsell following the lead.
That dominance of the final 10 minutes sent the visitors into the final change with a 22-point advantage and seemingly in control of the game.
Ankers’ light feet allowed him to turn the opposition inside out and kick truly in the sixth minute of the fourth quarter to give Thunder a chance, but Stackleberg’s second after 10 minutes cancelled it out.
They were the only two goals of the term with Thunder unable to mount its hoped-for comeback and Aspley prevented from blowing its hosts away by their ongoing tenacity.
Thunder coach Andrew Hodges said the humid and damp conditions contributed to some of the handling errors that hampered the game as a spectacle, but said the key factor was Aspley’s decision making when it had the ball.
“It’s never easy playing in the tropics,” he said. “It was fairly slippery that footy and for some parts we applied pressure to the opposition.
“In that first half we created opportunities for ourselves, but we just couldn’t sustain that for long enough and Aspley stayed in the contest for longer than we did.
“Obviously you don’t like losing any game of footy and we thought at stages of the night we had the opportunity to turn the game our way and potentially get the win and it didn’t turn out that way obviously.
“Aspley finished out the game a bit stronger than we did so for most parts of the game the effort was really good, but once again, those small lapses hurt us tonight in terms of allowing opposition teams to kick goals off the back of some of our mistakes and decision errors.”
Hodges has made a point of giving some of the younger talent in his squad greater opportunities as the season moves to its conclusion and he liked what he saw against a quality side in Aspley.
“All of them played their role,” he said. “It was a great learning experience for them. Obviously, when we have those lapses in quarters it’s not ideal, but if we’re going to take a positive out of tonight’s game it’s that it gives us an opportunity to educate those young guys in how do we stop that momentum when sides press against us.
“I thought Dom Forbes in his first game down back was really good. Michael Mummery showed why he’s such a classy player. When he had the ball in hand he made some really good decisions and hit his targets and Isaak Wyatt and Beau Schwarze played their roles.
“We had Coen Hutt and Matt Green out with concussion this week. If those guys were available they would have played as well so we’ve got some really good young talent around the club and over the next three to four weeks we’ll continue to do what we’ve done for the last four or five and that’s give opportunities to young talented guys.
“These guys worked their asses off and trained hard with the squad and tonight they gave their all.”
Vice-captain Ankers was also full of praise for 17-year-old Forbes, a team-mate at Federal in the CAFL.
“He played sensationally and it’s great reward for effort,” Ankers said. “For him to come up and play like he did against a quality outfit like Aspley, I’m really proud of him. He’s a good mate so it’s awesome to play alongside him.
“I know he’s got a great future ahead of him. He’s got a great work ethic and he’s a great bloke, which means a lot more than footy, but it’ll take him a long way in life and in football.”
Forbes said playing alongside his friend and mentor Ankers, among others, was a dream come true.
“We train together every day. He’s like my brother, the younger one though,” he joked.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do when I was young was play for Thunder and represent the Territory and where I’m from, and play with guys like Cammy Ilett and Richard Tambling and Abe Ankers and yeah, it’s pretty good eh?”
The win places Aspley in fourth spot on the ladder with nine wins, equal with Sydney and Southport above it, and Sydney University below it.
Those four clubs are one win behind Canberra and one ahead of Brisbane and all are locked in a fierce battle for supremacy as the season nears its climax.
SCORES
NT THUNDER: 3.2, 5.6, 5.6, 6.7 (43)
ASPLEY: 3.3, 4.5, 8.10, 9.16 (70)
GOALS: NT Thunder – Abraham Ankers 3, Darren Ewing, Michael Mummery, Sam Talbot.
Aspley – Jono Freeman, James Nelis, Connor Stackleberg, Ben Warren 2, Billy Beardsell.
BEST: NT Thunder – Abraham Ankers, Joe Anderson, Sam Smith, Shannon Rioli, Jarrod Stokes, Tom Davies.
Aspley – Jake Spencer, Reece Toy, Andrew Swallow, Matthew Payne, Gavin Grose, William Gowers.x`