Review - Last Weekend

The white knuckle ride for Uni Blues supporters continued on Saturday. With a spot in the finals at risk, Blues senior team found themselves 54 points in arrears against Old Scotch during the second quarter. Meanwhile, Collegians had skipped clear of Xavier and by half-time the "live ladder" had an ugly look about it for the students with Blues dislodged from fourth spot by the boys from the Harry Trott. It may not have been the easy way to progress to the finals but JK's men engineered a remarkable 98 point turnaround at Camberwell sparked by another Ace Lowcock "screamer" and led by Mark Paterson, Mick Lewis and Matt Torney. Charles Shaw and George De Crespigny kicked four goals each in one of the more memorable Blues games of recent years.

The Blues Twos made lighter work of matters in the early game. Their Scotch opponents needed a win to guarantee their spot in the finals but were denied by a ruthless Uni outfit. Stainforth, Vickers-Willis and Pryde slotted three goals each. Al Lyon was tireless and Tim Muhlebach continues to turn in performances reminiscent of his 2004 breakout season for the club. Results elsewhere meant Scotch's reserves will live to fight another day but on current form they will have some concerns about facing Blues in September.

Uni Blues' Under 19s kickstarted their finals campaign in winning fashion, becoming the third Blues team to roll Old Scotch for the weekend when they triumphed on Sunday in the First Semi Final. The ten point margin means the undergraduates are one win from a Grand Final berth. Hugh Vickers-Willis has been in sublime touch throughout August and was terrific again, ably assisted by the likes of Angus Nice, Ben McClure and Llewyn Butler.
For a complete wrap of scores, best players and goal kickers, simply click here

Preview - This Weekend

Finals, finals, finals. Exciting times with Blues having three teams contesting three different finals at different venues. We'll take things in chronological order this week:

Uni Blues Reserves v Old Xaverians
Second Semi-Final, Elsternwick Park, Saturday, 11:30 am

Dr Gunga's men may have secured the minor premiership but they will be very keen to book their spot in the Grand Final by knocking over Xav's tomorrow. There has been a cigarette paper between the two teams in their encounters this season. Blues prevailed by a solitary point at Toorak Park in Round four but could not overcome a slow start when the teams later met at Uni Oval, losing by 14 points. Saturday's fixture looks set to be another close tussle.

Uni Blues Under 19s v De La Salle
Preliminary Final, Central Reserve (cnr Springvale & Waverley Roads, Glen Waverley), Saturday, 2:15 pm
Stirring times for the Unders as they move into the second week of the finals series. Scotch came at them late last weekend but they answered the challenge to hang on. Another gritty effort will be required tomorrow at Mazenod's home ground when they meet the competition's minor premier, De La Salle. Results from the home-and-away season suggest that this will be a tough assignment for Matt Embling's men but winning form is good form and the Junior Blues will be leaving nothing in the tank.

Uni Blues Seniors v St Bedes Mentone
First Semi-Final, Elsternwick Park, Sunday, 2:00pm

St Bedes fell short in their Round 18 showdown for second spot when they were dismantled by De La Salle to the tune of 87 points. The outcome is a cut-throat appointment at Sportscover Arena with the cream of Uni Oval. The Tigers of Brindisi Street have proved a tricky opponent for JK's charges over the 2009 journey with one VAFA pundit suggesting that Blues "can't work the locks against their Bayside foes". Rest assured that Headcoach Kanis and his team of safe-cracking assistants will have done plenty of homework since last Saturday and all roads now lead to Elsternwick to see how it all unfolds.

Go Blues!

Events

It was great to see Blues' players and supporters gather at John and Sue North's home after the Scotch game on Saturday. A big thanks to John, Sue and Luke for their generous hospitality.

The 2009 Uni Blues Presentation Dinner will take place Friday, 23 October 2009 at Lincoln of Toorak (http://www.lincolnoftoorak.com.au/). Further details will follow but all Blues' players, supporters and parents should mark the date in their diaries now.

Blue Bloods - Past Players - Blues in the News
A name that has continually popped up in this season's "Where Are They Now?" dispatches is Aaron "Duxy" Davis. This week, we track down the man himself: here

Not quite the reading material of choice for most of the club's playing group but Blues' Assistant Coach and former Hawthorn star, Nick "Dutchy" Holland, made a splash in this week's Law Institute Journal. Now a practising solicitor during the working week, Dutchy opined that "lawyers work more hours than footballers but the intensity is the same".

Notes & Announcements

A Message from Batch Executive, a major sponsor of Uni Blues in 2009

Dear friends of the Uni Blues,

Thank you to all of you who voted in the 2009 Seek Annual Recruitment Awards. We, at batch executive, are proud to announce that we are a Finalist in the Executive Recruiter category for 2009. This is a great honour for us and we could not have done this without your support.

We will keep you updated as to how we progress in the finals later this month. More importantly, all the very best to the Blues teams that are competing in the 2009 VAFA Finals Series!

Thanks again and go Blues!

Simon and Jasmine
batch executive