North L?ton vs South L?

THE WEEK THAT WAS | Review of last weeks games
It took just one game for Glenorchy to show how lucrative its investment in Jason Akermanis
has been and that to win a third straight TSL flag will be so much tougher for Clarence.
Finally, after a huge build up full of hype and
excitement, Glenorchy and Clarence kicked off
the 2011 TSL season under lights and it did not
fail to deliver.
Glenorchy, resplendent with Brownlow Medallist and
three-time AFL premiership player Akermanis in its
new look line up as well as former Devonport duo
Ben Reynolds and Rhys Mott plus New Norfolk’s
Shaun Collis, were going to be tested from the outset
against the Roos.
A TSL and KGV Oval record crowd for a football match
of 8480 turned up, packing the venue and creating
an exciting atmosphere not seen in decades.
A team filled with new recruits is supposed to take
time to gel, but the Magpies were outstanding from
the start. The Roos were taken completely by surprise
by how well Glenorchy teamed from the outset.
With Jake Cox swinging across the midfield and
pushing forward, and Nathan Matthews sweeping
everything up in defence to start numerous attacking
forays, the Pies had all the momentum.
Up forward, Collis prospered in his first TSL game for
Glenorchy, booting a team-high four goals through
his clever play, while Reynolds was a key focal point
across half forward and pushing deeper with three
majors, while Cox also chipped in with three telling
goals from the midfield.
Tellingly, Glenorchy won every quarter, leading by 11
points at quarter time, and building it to 17 at the
half, 27 at three-quarter time and finally inflicting just
the Roos second defeat in two seasons, this time by
a convincing 36 points.
But all eyes were on Akermanis.
No doubt he struggled at first, as he was the first to
admit post-match.
His first statistic in his TSL debut was a free kick
against for a push in the back.
But the longer the game went, the better Akermanis
became, roaming the forward line with the
occasional run in the middle of the ground as he
found his feet after not playing a competitive game
since July the previous year.
A crunching hip and shoulder on Clarence captain
Nick Paine got him into the game in the second term,
and it was not long after that he kicked his first goal
after swooping on a loose ball and slotting the goal
from 20m.
He ended up with 23 touches for the night and 1.2,
finishing the match with a trademark handstand to
delight the crowd.
The night was an outstanding success for the TSL
and Glenorchy, with Akermanis returning today when
the Magpies take on the Tigers at the TCA Ground.
The Torch
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