South Barwon kicked off its next phase of pre season by playing our first practice game against VAFA Premier Club Old Brighton at Anakie yesterday. The emphasis was on giving all players an opportunity and as a result we played 28 players at senior level and 30 players in the 12 o’clock game.
In a positive for South Barwon, 9 recruits donned the Swans jumper for the first time in our senior squad:
Lachlan Weidemann No 24
Patrick Kelly No 27
Thomas Bartlett No 28
Teer Reech No 32
Blair Huggins No 37
Ethan Borys No 44
Dustin Burns No 45
Xavier Lewis No 57
Aaron Vickery No 58.
In the senior game Old Brighton jumped out of the blocks in the first quarter and dominated possession and had dangerous forwards. Old Brighton were very slick with their ball movement as the Swans struggled to get our hands on the ball. Old Brighton kicked 4 goals to open up a 25 point lead.
In the second quarter Ben Kellett took control in the ruck and his dominance resulted in midfielders like Doyle Madigan, Patrick Kelly, Sam James and Todd White getting their hands on the ball. Rowan Gough was prominent up forward and he hit the scoreboard along with Ben Kellett and Lachlan Noble. At halftime Old Brighton led 6.5 to 3.4.
The third quarter saw both sides trade goals as the high intensity game continued to be played at a high standard. Recruits Blair Huggins, Dustin Burns, Ethan Borys and Lachlan Weidemann all had good moments whilst Aaron Vickery showed he could be solid support to Ben Kellett. Jake Peters was prominent up back and Zac Urquhart and Lachlan Noble both kicked goals in the third quarter as Old Brighton led 9.9 to 5.6 at the last break.
In the final quarter the heat was obviously impacting both sides as the sides both kicked two goals each with captain Matt Caldow and Jonty Broughton both kicking majors for the Swans. In the end Old Brighton ran out 28 point victors with the final scores being 11.11 (77) to South Barwon 7.7 (49).
In the 12 o’clock game, South Barwon recovered from a sluggish start to overrun Old Brighton in the last quarter to win by 16 points - South Barwon 10.12 (72) to Old Brighton 9.2 (56).Players to impress included Max Mawson, Lewis Page, Daniel Richardson, Haydn Smith, Will Sexton, Oscar Hill and Robert Paradzayi.
Next Saturday March 23rd South Barwon plays GFNL premiers Leopold in a practice game at Anakie with the seniors at 2.00pm and a 12 noon game.