MU19D1 PENNO Vs UNSW

MU19D1 -R11 27 Jun 2026 Sat - 16:20 pm - Henson Park
G B Score PENNO 9 6 60 UNSW 9 3 57					G B QT ST 4 3 27 27 0 0 0 0					G B QT ST 2 2 14 41 4 0 24 24					G B QT ST 1 1 7 48 3 0 18 42					G B QT ST 2 0 12 60 2 3 15 57
Best Players Noah Dunn Joshua Chapple Henry Andrews William Arrowsmith Cooper Smith Eamon Macauley
Goal Scorers Jacob Lackas - 4 Hugo Abe - 1 Hunter Gaunt - 1 Liam Pass - 1

After last weeks convincing win against North Shore at home (first time in 3 years) our team trained well and were going into this important clash with confidence. This was to be a great battle between 5th and 3rd. Not a lot separating the top 5 teams in this competition. We beat UNSW the last two times we faced each other, but hadnt beaten them at Henson Park in at least 3 years. They were ahead of us on the ladder for this important night game at Henson Park. Our structures had been adjusted last week with great results, and whilst we were lacking some of our talls in defence this week, we believed we had the talent to continue our positive momentum. We had to start hard and fast and get a lead early.

Q1 - The perfect start. They came at us right from the outset putting pressure on our defenders, but we were up for the challenge holding firm with our disciplined defenders in Leo, Henry and Bill. Eamon combined with Hugo and Jacob for our first goal. Then we followed up with two more quick goals from hard work by Jack E in defence, and Liams great contested ball work on centre wing to get it forward. Eamon, Chapple, and Dunn were super strong early, and Jacob Lackas good form from last week was continuing to give us fire power up forward. 10 uncontested marks for the quarter was a big differential, inside 50s 9, 2 effective tackles and centre clearances were even. A great start up 27 to 0.

Q2 - The contest was very even and UNSW manged a couple of lucky contests to bounce their way to get 2 easy goals. Nothing we did wrong. Dunn and Chapple were strong in the middle. Eamon kicked a great goal form the work of Chapple in the middle with his tackle pressure and kick forward. They had a few big burley players and 25 was starting to have an influence kicking 3 goals. Henry was doing a great job keeping their dangerous forward no 14 quiet. The difference was this quarter we had no uncontested marks, so it was an even battle and for their lucky bounces they beat us this qtr. Half time 41 points to 24. We were in a good position, but could not feel comfortable.

Q3 - Reset and back to work, and UNSW kept coming at us. We were allowing them to get first use of the ball and giving them too much free room and they took advantage. We needed more players to shut their corridor runs and stop them getting goal side on breaks, and a few silly turnovers rather than holding posession hut us. 3rd qtr they kicked 3 goals to our 1 goal 1. Only 6 points up with one quarter remaining.

Q4 - We had to control the game at our pace and get more players behind the ball. So we exercised our lockdown rule and set our structures to hold them out. It was a seasawing affair with goals being scored at both ends. They scored first, then Jacob Lackas got one, then they got another, then Hunter took a great mark and kicked a goal. 3 points up with 5 mins on the clock. Control of the ball was required and physical strength and close marking at stoppages. Noah Dunn was hard at the contest and Will had done a mountain of work all day in the ruck. Eamon went back and our back six held strong under fierce pressure. Cooper kept his composure when it counted but with minutes left they swung out of defence and to the open side to get the ball forward again. Stoppage after stoppage saw the clock wind down for a victory that went right to the wire.

We fought tooth and nail, the final score saw us just hold on, ending at Penno 9.6 (60) to UNSW 9.3 (57).

Match Standouts:
- Noah Dunn was a standout with his relentless pursuit and outstanding ball control, earning him the top spot among the best players.
- Joshua Chapple and Henry Andrews also put up stellar performances, showcasing their athletic prowess and strategic playmaking. Henry held their dominant forward goal less for the match with his grunt work and pressure.
- On the goal-scoring front, Jacob Lackas led the charge with 4 impressive goals, while Hugo Abe, Hunter Gaunt, Eamon MCCauley and Liam Pass each contributed crucial goals to our total.

Special mention and thanks go to Hunter Gaunt and Nick Price who played in last nights victory against North Shore in U19 Div 2, then backed up to play Div 1 the very next day and performed extremely well. Thankyou fellas!

This was a sweet victory. Beating two powerhouse teams in two weeks means this team is starting to shape well for the run home. With 7 games remaining only 2 points separates the top 5 teams - amazing! So proud of this team for their tenacity and confidence in each other and our game plan week to week. Let's now focus on every contest for the remaining home and away rounds as we attempt to climb high on the ladder in the run to finals. Horns Up Demon fans!