With Portland turning on some unseasonably great weather for April, it was with excitement that the Steelheads broke into their metro teams in preparation for round 1. In typical Portland fashion, the weather diverted back to cold and rainy, however it did nothing to dampen the spirits and turn out for the beginning of the PAFL season on ANZAC weekend.
Brewers vs. Loggers
The early match saw the reigning premier Brewers take on the Loggers, looking to move up the ladder after a disappointing two years. But without Coach Mooney due to family commitments, it was always going to be tough and unfortunately for the log-men, it was status-quo as the Brewers came flying out of the blocks. The most impressive thing about the Brewers was the lack of reliance on stalwart Coventry, who took a back seat to Seth and Ramzy, who both took control and pumped the ball inside 50 on numerous occasions. That, along with the handy addition of New Yorker Jarett and the first official Brewers game from Jess, put the game to bed early. The loggers showed glimpses of a fight, with Coxy and Coily battling hard in the middle, and Kyle Easton providing a good target up forward. But, with lethario Vinny still hobbled by an ankle injury, they were always up against the wall. In the end, it was a domination from the Brewers, who look hard to beat again this year.
SCORE
BREWERS 11 9 75
LOGGERS 2 0 12
GOALS
Brewers: Coventry 5, J. Snider 3, R. Hattar 1, Weinstock 1, Wright 1
Loggers: Easton 1, Borenstein 1
INJURIES None
UMPIRES Begg, Aguiari
Ospreys vs. Cascades
The second match was clearly the better of the round, with 2 very evenly matched teams in the 2015 runner-up Ospreys and new look Cascades. The boys in blue have had a big turnover of players due to injuries, age and relocations, but they still produced a handy squad. Led by Dave Quinn, they are going to be there abouts this year. The Cascades jumped out of the blocks with quick movement and dominating the center clearances, thanks to Seb and Matty Worden sharking everything big Mike was tapping. They immediately put 4 goals on the board, in what seemed to be a repeat of the first game. But the birds stabilized and with a few match-up changes, got a couple back. Even still, the Ospreys found themselves 5 goals down going into the main break. Whatever coach Okely said at half time worked and the Ospreys came out firing in the second half in what was a mirror image of the first. The coach moving himself to the backline was a master-stroke, and with Pete winning his share of taps and Tim “the toolman” Taylor getting his hand on the ball through the middle, the Ospreys hit the lead with a few minutes to go. It was a tense final 90 seconds with the ball deep in the Cascades forward line, but the maroon team held on for a 1 point win.
SCORE
CASCADES 8 2 50
OSPREYS 8 3 51
GOALS
Cascades: Quinn 3, Aguiari 2, McGeachin 1, Borenstein 1, Somebody Else 1*
Ospreys: Stewart 6, Wirth 1, Somebody Else 1*
*Will correct later when I can see the scoresheet
INJURIES Smithers – Hamstring
UMPIRES Begg, J. Snider
Next week sees the losers of Round 1 crossing over to take on the winners of round 1 – Cascades v Brewers and Ospreys v Loggers. The season looks set up for a cracker, so get down to Clinton Park on a Sunday afternoon for some quality Aussie Rules football.
