Old Haileybury win the Premier B War of Attrition

Eliza Wright

Less than ideal conditions would be the understatement of the century to describe Saturdays hit out between University Blacks and Old Haileybury. Historically the wet and dreary conditions would favour the Uni Blacks with their hard defensive footy withstanding the harshest of conditions. Meanwhile, the flashy, speedy game style of Old Haileybury was looking unlikely to unfold in the mud.

Old Haileybury won the opening battle of the day with the coin toss going the way of the Bloods, but it was the hot favourites in Uni Blacks who had possession early. Co-Captain Jordan Quaile worked hard, with his head over the ball at every scrap. The rugby-style game saw the famous defensive efforts from Campbell Moorfield and Lachy Knight keep Old Haileybury’s attacking efforts at bay. However, they couldn’t force this momentum through the big sticks. Old Haileybury battled on and it was Jack Munro who took advantage of the mistakes of the Blackers, securing Old Haileybury the first goal of the day. From there they continued to chip away at the Blacks defence, nudging their side to 5 more behinds.

The second quarter began with a score of Old Haileybury 1.5-11 to a mere one point to Uni Blacks. Matt Dea continued to crash pack after pack to keep his team in the game as did Louis Vescio bringing the heat at stoppages. The work of Austin Bradtke and Lachlan Treverton in the middle was pivotal to the Bloods success, both delivering the ball beautifully to Josh Gasparini and Sam Loewe. With scores hard to come by, Uni Blacks continued to send it long, and finally, a goal to Nick Hey lifted their side.

The rain set in as the premiership quarter got underway. Uni Blacks came out swinging with Nick Caris putting them in the lead. The Blacks threatened to charge on, forcing Kye Turner and Brodie Steele to persevere down back. The odds continued to stack against the Bloods as an injury to Lachlan Treverton saw him out of action for the remainder of the game. But, as the Old Haileybury finals story goes, the Bloods were never going to give up the fight. A set shot 45 metres out from Brede Seccull proved exactly that, putting Old Haileybury back in front.

Despite the best efforts of Austin Steere and Fergus Pinnuck the Uni Blacks couldn’t wrestle their way back in front in the final quarter. Josh Steadman held down the fort all day for the Uni Blacks, earning himself the Ian Cordner Medal. Inch, by inch Noah and Will Gown nudged Old Haileybury to a 5-point lead. As the siren sounded for the last time for Premier B in 2022, the scoreboard read Uni Blacks 2.5-17 to Old Haileybury 2.10-22, seeing the Bloods take home the silverware. A heartbreaking moment for the Uni Blacks having been the team to beat all year, with the minor premiers so close yet so far to victory.

Old Haileybury Coach Daniel Ward was exceptionally proud of the Blood’s journey throughout the past few years, glad to get the reward for their hard efforts. With both sides heading to A-Grade, in 2023, the rivalry between the Bloods and the Blacks has just begun.

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In the reserves, De La Salle were victorious over the Uni Blacks with a final score of 2.9-21 to 7.9-51. De La controlled the fall of the ball all-day, working hard in the mud to wrestle their team to victory. Dimitri Fasoulis was awarded the best on ground for his exceptional work down forward and 2 goals.