Four goals from Ryan Anderson propelled the Woods to a nine-point victory over the Mt Lofty Devils in Round 1 of the Mortgage Choice Hills Football League.
Speaking after the match, Anderson spoke about the tough conditions which players had to deal with throughout the match. “It was a real dog fight out their today. Mt Lofty put up a spirited challenge but in the end we got the points.”
Blackwood faced Mt Lofty for the first time in an opening round since 2015. Before the match both sides observed a minute silence for the tragic passing of Mt Lofty women’s player Ellen Maple. Blackwood named 14 players from its drought breaking 2017 Grand Final side with three players making their A Grade debuts: River Moore, Ben Papps and Mitch Smith. For the Devils, they had two debutants with the Pope brothers shifting across from Mt Barker to bolster the midfield and forward line.
Kicking down the hill in the opening quarter, the home side registered the first behind of the match through Ryan Dijksman after he hit the post for a quick snap. Anderson brought the first goal after 7 minutes through a long set shot conversion. Ben Zampa got the reply for the visitors after 12 minutes. Both sides were feeling their way into match with the ball rebounding between forward 50s for the first period of the quarter. The strong wind blowing across the ground was playing havoc with the skills of the players often missing targets. Dijksman got the second goal on the board for Blackwood converting truly after 16 minutes. When the quarter time siren blew, the home side lead by 11 points.
Blackwood coach Damien Salievic urged his players to take better care of the ball at the first break. “We won the clearances and inside 50s, but we need to take better care of the ball and make advantage of our clearance work.”
The Devils made the perfect start in the second quarter getting a goal inside the opening 30 seconds. Kicking with the aid of the breeze, which was now pushing down the hill, the Devils were making all the play. Led by Kurt Thompson and Scott Bricknell, Blackwood was able to thwart the forward attacks of the visitors. In the sixth minute, the Devils hit the lead with another straight kick. Blackwood got the immediate reply with Anderson kicking his second major after crumbing a contest deep in the forward 50.
When Devils skipper Sam Miles kicked a goal in the 19th minute the Devils regained the lead going into the half time break. Blackwood vice-captain and 100 gamer Phil Hopton left the ground at the very end of the second quarter after colliding heads with hard nut Daniel Benson and cutting his lip.
Leading by a slender two points at the main break, the Devils were matching it with the reigning premiers. Revved up by coach Salievic in the rooms, Blackwood got the first goal of the third quarter after three minutes. It came through Anderson once again. He was proving to be difficult player to handle for the Devils. Both sides then struggled to kick straight for the next period of the game. Mt Lofty player Phil Bate was having an impact on the match with his dashing speed. He was awarded dubious free kick 15 metres out from goal. Unable to covert truly from the un-missable zone, it allowed the Woods to move the ball down the ground with speed. With precision kicking, Blackwood was able to find James Catford deep in the pocket. Using the breeze he was able to kick straight to give the Woods the lead back. When Anderson kicked his fourth goal of the match, the Woods lead by nine points at the final break.
Mt Lofty got off to a quick start in the final term after four minutes. The match was a close contest for the crowd in attendance. When Michael Minuzzo and Dijksman kicked goals for the home side, the Woods looked like they were going to take the two points. Devils recruit Michael Pope then came into the game kicking a goal at the 18th minute bringing the margin back to three points. Were the Devils about to upset the reigning premiers? Making the play, the Woods pushed forward looking to score one more goal. Roving the boundary throw in, Minuzzo weaved his way through traffic, kicking a quick snap to kick his second of the quarter and give the Woods a nine point lead. Mt Lofty then pressed forward but it was simply too late as the final siren sounded.
Coach Salievic said after the match, “Well done to the three players on their debuts, it’s great to see local players playing A-Grade football. Whilst it was a scrappy game, it was good to put the two points in the bank. We can play better football for longer periods but we’ll take the victory in Round 1. We must now recover and build momentum into next week against Echunga.”
Final Scoreboard
Blackwood 2.5 3.6 6.8 9.9 (63)
Mt Lofty 1.0 4.2 5.5 8.6 (54)
GOALS – Anderson 4, Dijksman 2, Minuzzo 2, Catford 1
BEST – Anderson, Thompson, Woods, Bricknell, Minuzzo
Other results
B Grade – Blackwood 7.3 (45) drew with Mt Lofty 6.9 (45)
Under 18s – Blackwood 5.6 (36) defeated by Mt Lofty 5.8 (38)
Under 16s – Blackwood 4.5 (29) defeated Mt Lofty 1.4 (10)
Under 14s – Blackwood 5.5 (35) defeated Mt Lofty 4.4 (28)
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