April 21, 2013
Australian Rules returned to the South Burnett at the weekend, with the first home game for the freshly minted South Burnett Saints being played at Lyle Vidler Oval in Kingaroy on Saturday afternoon.
It’s been almost a decade since AFL has been played competitively in the region.
The match against the Goondiwindi Hawks was the Saints’ third official outing in the AFL Darling Downs competition.
The Saints got off to a heavenly start in the series, defeating the Lockyer Valley Demons by a healthy margin and proving they could be competitive. But their second match, against Coolaroo last week, brought them crashing back to earth.
So their match-up against last year’s wooden spooners, Goondiwindi, was being eagerly anticipated on Saturday as the Saints had a real chance of success.
The match-up attracted a good crowd to Lyle Vidler Oval, with cars parked around the ground and spectators, obviously eager for some Aussie Rules action, lining the fence.
The Saints got off to a good start although it was obvious the Hawks were no longer easybeats.
South Burnett was behind at the end of the first quarter, 2.4 (16) to 6.5 (41), but had matched the Hawks goal-for-goal in the opening stages.
Their second quarter was much stronger, with the Saints outpointing the Hawks, landing three goals and five behinds to Goondiwindi’s three goals and one behind.
Unfortunately for the South Burnett side, Goondiwindi continued to draw away as the match progressed.
At the end of the third quarter, the Hawks led 15.14 (104) to 7.11 (53).
The final score was Goondiwindi 19.19 (133) to South Burnett 10.13 (73).
Next Saturday, the Saints will take on the Warwick Redbacks at Roddies Oval in Warwick.
Warwick were grand finalists in 2011 but finished fifth in the 2012 competition. They’ve ticked up three wins from three rounds so far this year, including a thumping of the other 2013 competition newcomer, Chinchilla, this week.
The Saints’ next home game in Kingaroy will be the special Domestic Violence Awareness round played against South Toowoomba on May 4.
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The Saints also fielded four junior teams against Goondiwindi on Saturday: U8s, U10s, U12s and U14s.
Both the U12s and U14s notched up good victories.
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UPDATE April 22, 2013: The Saints’ Auskick participants have been invited to play during the half-time break of the Brisbane Lions / Melbourne Demons game at The Gabba in Brisbane on Sunday afternoon.
Darling Downs AFL Competition Ladder At End Of Round 3
