Round 16 Report
Triple Header vs Adelaide Uni away
ROCS were away to Adelaide University on a perfect day for football.
The C's bounced back from last week's narrow loss to defeat University 7.12 to 5.10. Sam Du Bois, in his 99th game for the club, was the dominant player on the ground. Trent Versace was excellent once again, and Carlton "Jesaulenko" Hollsten played one of his best games for ROCS. Big men Tom Carpinelli, Mick Aloisi and Marcus Quinn, all had fine games. The victory leaves Steve Edwards' team in second spot, and this week travels to nearby Payneham for the 10.15 a.m. game.
The B's played top side Uni in what promised to be an entertaining clash. The game lived up to its expectations, with ROCS making a late run before going down by the narrowest of margins 9.3 to 8.10. Coach Damien Polkinghorne would have been pleased with the team's effort, if not the result, and will be looking forward to playing Uni in the finals. Scott Gilbert (2 goals) continues to play well and was our best player. The determined Tom O'Malley was again very good, whilst Mitch Sutcliffe, Chris Ash and Zac Noonan were all very important contributors. Liam Holland kicked 3 goals, and Kieran Noell played his 50th game. The B's are now in third spot, but have secured the double-chance, and are away to Salisbury North this week.
The A's had to battle against an Adelaide Uni side desperate to stay alive in the finals race. ROCS trailed by 8 points at quarter time, but went in to the main break with the score 6.6 to 5.6. Despite opening up a 20 point lead at the last break, the last quarter was a torrid affair, with ROCS eventually running out winners 11.10 to 10.11. The win all-but secures the club's first minor round premiership in Division 1.
Captain Will O'Malley was outstanding, Braden Allen inspirational, Tullio De Matteis and Brendan Littler provided plenty of drive, whilst Ollie Wilkie and Craig Holm worked hard all day. Congratulations to Charlie O'Malley on playing his 150th club game. "Sticks" has been remarkably resilient in his time with the ROCS, rarely missing a game, and must be one of the club's youngest ever player to reach the milestone. The A's play Salisbury North this week, in the second last round of the season.
Many thanks again to Claude Beltrame for his action shots of Saturday's A grade game.
Click on link below
ROCS VS Uni Photos
Rino Cialini
Football Director
