UHSVU Zoo Keepers

Round 16 – 3rd Mens Team
11:40 am Vs Masala (Home)

🦍 Zookeepers Round 15 Recap 🦍

​The Zookeepers kept the momentum rolling this weekend with another commanding performance! The boys hit the track against Chadstone and put together a fantastic team effort.

We walked away with a very comfortable 35-point victory, finishing up 10.12 (72) to Chadstone's 5.7 (37).

​We kept things tight early, holding a 9 to 2 lead at the first break. A solid second quarter saw us extend that buffer to 31 to 16 by halftime. The boys truly blew the game open in the third, piling on the pressure to carry a commanding 62 to 24 lead into the final change, before cruising home in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

​It was a brilliant display of sharing the footy inside 50, with eight different goal kickers getting in on the action. St John Seeger-Snowden and Louis Martin led the charge with two goals each. They were seamlessly supported by Rayan Hajj, Thomas Rocke, Andrew Hrvatin, Dashiell Del din, Jackson Ferguson, and Nick Padden, who all chipped in with a goal apiece to keep the scoreboard ticking.

In a game that was full of stand out performances, top honors went to Mark Doherty for a stellar best-on-ground performance. He was brilliantly backed up by Nick Padden, Louis Martin, Rayan Hajj, Jack Walter, and Shalin Bigwood, who all put in massive shifts to secure the four points.

This win keeps us comfortably locked in at the number one spot on the ladder, currently sitting on 48 points with a massive match ratio of 85.71.

Next week is the final round of the home and away season, where we will turn our attention to our clash against Masala Thirds Men's 2.

Following that, it's officially finals time! We will be hosting the first final at home at Brens Oval, where we will face off against the winner of next week's massive second versus third matchup between Melbourne High and Therry Penola. Let's keep the foot firmly on the gas!

Round 15 Vs Chadstone
11:40 Away

🦍 Zookeepers Round 14 Recap 🦍

​The Zookeepers brought the heat in Round 14, marching past Swinburne University with a clinical 42 to 19 victory. With this win, the boys have officially locked in the top spot on the ladder heading into finals, sitting pretty on 44 points and an 84.61 match ratio!

​It was a slow start for the Zookeepers on a sunny 10-degree morning, trailing 6 to 8 at the first change. However, a massive second-quarter push saw us wrestle back control, turning an early deficit into a 25 to 16 lead by halftime.

From there, it was a defensive masterclass. We kept Swinburne to just three points in the entire second half, grinding out a solid 23-point win.

​There was cause for a massive double celebration up forward this week. Not only did St John Seeger-Snowden, The Bin Chook, officially kick his 100th goal for the Zookeepers, but he also ran out for his milestone 150th game for UHS-VU! A huge congratulations to the Chook on an incredible, dual-milestone performance.

He was joined on the scoreboard by Jayden Minney, who snagged two goals, along with singles from skippers Corey Johnstone, Jackson Ferguson, and Rayan Hajj to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

​Wook and Beibs had some tough decisions, naming Jack Walter as best on ground for a massive effort. He was brilliantly supported by Leon Trinh, Indiana Florent-Saill, Brenton Cross, Sean Michael, and Jayden Minney, who all put in stellar shifts to help secure the result.

​With the minor premiership officially in the bag, it's all about fine-tuning the game plan over these last two weeks before the real business begins. Let's keep the foot on the gas!

Round 14
9:20am Vs Swinburne (Home)
Sinny's 150th Milestone Game!

🦤Milestone Alert🫈

St John "The Bin Chook" Seeger-Snowden Hits 150!

​This Saturday against Swinburne, St John "The Bin Chook" Seeger-Snowden (aka Sinny) will lace up the boots to play his massive 150th game for the club!

​Since starting his journey in the Under 18s, Sinny has built an incredibly consistent and impressive career across all three grades.

Here is the tale of the tape leading into this weekend's milestone:

​Under 18s: 14 Games, 3 Goals

​Reserves: 30 Games, 35 Goals, 2 Times in Best

​Thirds (The Zookeepers): 105 Games, 99 Goals, 15 Times in Best

​Career Total: 149 Games, 137 Goals, 17 Times in Best

​While 150 club games is a massive achievement in its own right, there is even more on the line this weekend. As the undisputed games record holder for the Zookeepers, The Bin Chook heads into Saturday sitting tantalising on 99 Zookeeper goals.

​To date, no Zookeeper has ever broken the 100-goal barrier. All eyes will be on Sinny this weekend to see if he can kick a bag (Out the back of the pack, no doubt), write himself into the history books, and become the first Zookeeper to ever reach a century of goals.

​Get down to the game to support an absolute club stalwart, celebrate the 150, and hopefully witness some Zookeeper history!

🦍 Zookeepers Round 13 Recap 🦍

​What a way to make a statement! Despite the damp conditions and a light rain shower overhead, the boys put on an absolute clinic against Eley Park, storming away to a massive 92-point victory with a final score of 16.16 (112) to 3.2 (20).

​The defense set the standard early, holding the Sharks completely scoreless in the first quarter and conceding just two behinds by the main break. After a competitive third term where Eley Park managed to finally find the big sticks, the Zookeepers completely blew the game open. We put on a breathtaking final-term rampage, piling on 10 goals and shutting the opposition out entirely in the last quarter to cap off a dominant performance.

​It was a party up forward with goals shared all around the park. Lachlan Habel led the charge with a brilliant 4-goal haul, while Rayan Hajj was absolutely electric, stepping up to slot 2 great goals of his own. St John Seeger-Snowden, Louis Martin, and Felix Gelman white also snagged a double each. Anthony Milicevic, Jack Margariti, skipper Corey Johnstone, and Basil Adamou all chipped in with a goal apiece to keep the scoreboard ticking over non-stop.

​The match committee had plenty of stellar individual performances to pick from, naming Lachlan Habel as best on ground after his masterclass up forward. A massive special mention goes to the big man Dustyn Tomas, who made his ruck debut and put on an absolute demolition performance, rightfully earning his spot in the best players. He was joined in the votes by Louis Martin, Jarrod McDonald, Brenton Cross, and Dashiell Del din, who all played pivotal roles in orchestrating the blowout.

​This huge percentage-boosting win extends our lead at the top of the Thirds Division 7 ladder, putting us on 40 points with an 83.33 match ratio and boosting our percentage up to 154.61%.

With a two-game buffer over second-placed MHSOB and exactly three games left until finals, the boys are sitting pretty. Let's hit the track hard this week and keep building this momentum for the business end of the season!

Round 13
11:40am vs Eley Park (Away)

🦧 Zookeepers Round 12 Recap 🦍

​Fresh off the bye week, the boys returned to the turf for a massive clash against our arch rivals, MHSOB. Under a beautiful, sunny 14°C winter sky, it proved to be exactly the kind of gritty encounter we expected, but the Zookeepers dug deep to secure a thrilling 7-point victory, finishing 46 to 39, a 200+ turn around from last season.

​We got off to a strong start in the opening half, jumping out to a 15 to 8 lead in the first term before stringing together an excellent second quarter to stretch the margin to 36 to 20 by halftime.

MHSOB threw everything they had at us in a tense third quarter, clawing their way right back into the contest to leave us leading by just five points at the final change. With the game squarely on the line in the last term, our defensive grind went through the roof, holding them to a mere two points while we locked down the ball to protect our lead until the final siren. Leading the way in the back line was Toby Kruisheer and Shalin Bigwood, with some nice solid one on one efforts from the old work horse, Brenton Cross.

​Finding avenues to goal in such a tight tussle was crucial, and the Bin Chook himself,St John Seeger-Snowden led the charge up forward with two majors, showing there is nothing wrong with picking up scraps. He was beautifully supported by single goals from Basil Adamou, Jayden Minney, Rayan Hajj, and Noah Seiderman, providing the vital scoreboard spark needed to stay ahead.

​The match committee had plenty of standouts to choose from after a high-pressure morning, naming Shalin Bigwood and Tom Cave at the top of our best players list. Toby Kruisheer, Jarrod McDonald, Lachlan Habel, and Lachie Pethica also earned well-deserved recognition for their relentless work rates across all four quarters.

It was a massive team performance that keeps our momentum rolling beautifully into the back half of the season and as it sits, we have locked in Finals, now 2 games clear on top!

Round 12
9:20am Vs Melbourne High
1 vs 2
Doesn't get any bigger than this during the regular season.