A great Round 1 of the SAFL was played at Hoa Lu on the 8th of May. Despite growing Covid concerns the outdoor fixture was able to proceed and player numbers were sufficient for 4 full 15 minute quarters. The Vipers and Bears teamed up and grabbed a share of the ladder lead downing the Tigers and Crocs in a high scoring affair 17.7.109 to 16.6.102. Thanks to the sponsors, umps (Tim Pickert), scorer (Garry), Photographer/organizer Matty B for putting on a great days play and to all the players. A great start setting the tone for what can hopefully be a long and competitive season!
Highlights
The ultimate ring in – Nic unassumedly put his hand up to play while in town for work from Singapore and unassumedly tore the game to shreds. From the first quarter scoring 2 goals in the pocket the Vipers ring in simply couldn’t miss. Kicking goals from long range, impossible angles and laying some crunching tackles in open play he ended the game with 8 and definitely proved to be the difference between the teams. (Little) Vinh Le wasted little time post game announcing he was getting revenge in Round 2 – luckily for Nic the Vipers and Tigers are likely to play side by side in Round 2!
Hung’s first goal – Hung has been training from the beginning of the 2021 season and in his first chance to put the learnings into a real game situation came up big time. Scoring what was to be the match winner for the Vipers/Bears it’s incredible to see what hard work and consistent effort can achieve. Well done Hung!
Gen Z ignore Mother’s Day – This was always one of the match ups of the day. Ela Walsh at 17 and the peak of her powers in almost any sport taking on mum Katie. Given it was Mother’s Day weekend you could be forgiven for thinking Ela may go easy but she decided to put mum to the sword kicking back to back first quarter goals in a head to head match up then going up and down the field collecting marks and influential possessions at will, still frequently over and around mum. A sad day for anyone battling the inevetability of father time but very exciting for the Lady Swans stocks when international games resume!
Ela holds mum back from a contest. Very little Mother’s Day respect was shown on the day. Ela, we hope you bought in an incredible breakfast in bed and turned things around on Sunday!
The comeback – Too little too late! The Tigers/Crocs missed chances throughout the 2nd and 3rd quarters and with their opponents capitilizing on every single opportunity were falling behind in the game. Heading into the last with a 30+ point deficit they were able to stem the wastefulness with Wayne McMahon finding range and ending up with 5 goals and Luke T shifting forward with 2 of his own. The only issue… the Vipers/Bears kept the scoreboard ticking over meaning the frantic last quarter didn’t quite get the job done.
Andy G kept the Tigers/Crocs in it throughout the game never missing a chance to hit the scoreboard. Finishing with 3 goals and huge impact on clearances throughout.
3-2-1
3 – Nic – As mentioned above 8 goals and physical presence all over the ground. While Nic is in town the Vipers are going to be the team to beat!
2 – Billy – Tried to put the Tigers/Crocs on his back in the last quarter and overcome a sizable deficit with 3 late goals and several centre clearances but couldn’t quite get the job done.
1 – Ela Walsh – 3 goals, big marks, plenty of transition run up and down the field. Ela was the standout girl on the field for 4 quarters! Ela is an incredibly talented athlete across all sports. Great to see her bringing the talent to the Swans in 2021 consistently.
Special Mention – Conor – The Terminator did a bit of everything playing lock down and rebound defender then coming up the field and helping the Tigers/Crocs stem the damage in the latter stages of the game. Hit the scoreboard and looked dangerous whenever near the ball. Conor is learning so fast that he’s going to be a stand out of the League through the coming rounds.
The Ladder
Goal Kickers
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