Flag beckons for Jackas
AJAX’S under-19s side has won through to the Section 3 grand final after a tremendous 18.18 (126) to 5.9 (39) walloping of minor premiers Northern Blues on the weekend.
AJAX’S under-19s side has won through to the Section 3 grand final after a tremendous 18.18 (126) to 5.9 (39) walloping of minor premiers Northern Blues on the weekend.
The only Jackas’ finals representatives put in a superb display against the flag fancies, who they lost to on three occasions earlier in the season.
Skipper Brandon Joel led the way with seven goals in a man-of-the-match performance, in what was an outstanding four-quarter effort from AJAX.
Under the guidance of club stalwart Adam Sacks, AJAX took advantage of the wind to race out to a 23-point lead at the first change.
The Jackas were then able to hold out their opposition in the second term, again winning the quarter despite kicking into the blustery breeze.
The game was blown apart after half-time, with the likes of Adam Lerner, Nick Lewis and Michael Rechtman stepping up to see their side pile on eight unanswered majors to stretch its lead to 85 points at three-quarter-time.
The final term was a stalemate with both teams slotting three goals each, with the Jackas booking a spot in this week’s mouth-watering grand final.
The Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) has rescheduled the game to Sunday to avoid a clash with Yom Kippur.
Meanwhile, seniors’ coach Leigh McQuillen said that he is keen for another attempt at promotion to A grade next year.
After a season of missed opportunities, McQuillen believes the team is good enough to feature in finals in
2014 and would love to be the one to take them to VAFA’s top division.
“I’m really happy overall with how the year panned out,” McQuillen told The AJN.
“I don’t think we underachieved, I think we can learn from our narrow losses this season and improve in certain areas, because we showed we are capable of being in the top four.”
With injuries and travel plaguing the Jackas in 2013, McQuillen said it was still a positive to record 10 wins and eight losses.
“Going into the finals, I thought to myself this could have easily been us,” he said.
“So we are a prospect next year, I would think first off we want to be playing finals, we want to make the top four and make some statements.”
AJAX will play Whitefriars at 9.15am Sunday, September 15 at Trevor Barker Oval, Melway: 76 F8.
ASHLEY SHENKER
Photo: Mark Feldy
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