Jackas fight off fearless Grammarians
The AJAX Football Club clinched its sixth win of the season in tough conditions against Caulfield Grammarians at Glenhuntly Oval on the weekend, winning 14.11 (95) to 8.11 (59).
The AJAX Football Club clinched its sixth win of the season in tough conditions against Caulfield Grammarians at Glenhuntly Oval on the weekend, winning 14.11 (95) to 8.11 (59).
The home side was able to match it with the Jackas for the first three terms, but a five-goal-to-none final stanza saw the visitors run away with the win.
Caulfield came out all guns blazing in the opening quarter, stunning AJAX with the first four goals of the game.
The hosts also put run-with players on Eugene Routman and Ezra Poyas, which was an effective strategy early in the match, limiting the influence of the gun midfielders.
Jake Lew’s accurate set shot late in the first quarter reduced the margin to 21 points at the first break, but the Jackas had a serious challenge ahead of them.
The away side was the cleaner of the two teams with the slippery ball in the second quarter and was able to give full forward David Fayman better opportunities to continue his impressive form.
He booted three goals for the term and Routman ran forward to kick a major himself, while AJAX’s defence kept Grammarians to only 13 points for the quarter to reel in the deficit to seven at half-time.
The Jackas’ experienced midfielders lifted in the second half to get on top in the clearances, with the bigger bodies proving to be the difference between the sides in a game that was ultimately determined by the contested-possessions count.
Caulfield also found it difficult to make an impact on the scoreboard with Ben Kalmus working tirelessly in defence and Jarrod White running back to take some telling marks.
But holding just a five-point lead at the final break, coach Leigh McQuillen urged his players to give an enormous effort in the fourth quarter ahead of the upcoming bye.
The Jackas responded to the call and slammed on five majors without conceding at the other end to notch up the 36-point victory.
The Reserves winning streak of four games came to an end against Caulfield Grammarians as they were defeated 10.15 (75) to 6.8 (44), with experienced campaigners Sam Chester and Luke Peters the best for the Jackas.
The Thirds couldn’t back up last week’s victory, getting smashed by a strong University Blues team to the tune of 124 points, while the Under- 19s missed out on the four points in their crucial game against Williamstown CYNS, going down 17.8 (110) to 11.9 (75).
AJAX plays St Kevins at 11.40am (Reserves) and 2pm (Seniors) on Saturday, June 15 at T H King Oval (Melway: 59 K9)
Joel Benjamin
Photo: David Winograd
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