Sydney University Australian National Football Club’s final two premiership contenders went down fighting in their respective grand finals at the Blacktown International Sportspark on Saturday.
The Men’s Division One side went down 56-47 to North Shore Bombers in a very tight tussle, while the Men’s Under 19.5 Division One side lost 91-40 against North Shore Bombers. The Men’s Under 19-5 Division Two side lost their grand final 59-52 to Camden Cats the previous weekend, while the Women’s Third Division side made it through to the preliminary final where they lost 47-22 to North Shore Bombers.
The Men’s Division One decider was a goal-for-goal affair with the scores locked at 8-8 at the first break and the Bombers leading 22-17 at the main break. They went into the final term with a 36-31 lead and kicked three goals to two to claim the title. Benjamin High landed three goals for the winners, while Will Stratford and Matthew Powys scored doubles for the Students with the other goals coming from Joel Willis and Nathan Battaglia. Marcus Valastro, Jack Pullinger, Anton Denmark, Nathan Battaglia, and Oliver Bourke performed solidly at the university.
After finishing third on the ladder behind Camden Cats and North Shore Bombers, the Men’s Division One side accounted for North Shore Bombers 59-48 in their qualifying final 1 and backed that up with a 52-24 result over Camden Cats in their qualifying final 2 matches to move through to the grand final.
North Shore Bombers Under 19.5 Division One side was the team to beat throughout the 2024 season, going through 17 rounds undefeated to finish 16 points clear of Sydney University to claim the minor premiership.
They dominated the grand final kicking 13 goals to five to claim the title. After leading 16-15 at the first break and 24-23 at halftime, the Bombers dominated the third and fourth terms kicking 10 goals to two, with Max Tooohey landing four. Sydney University’s goals came from Archie Christie-Day, Toby Ryan, Daemon Lakatos, Thomas Hitchens, and Kobe Banks.
The University’s Men’s Under 19 Divison 2 went down 59-52 in their grand final at Blacktown the previous Saturday after giving the Camden Cats a mighty fright in the process.
