Sydney Uni recorded a crushing 61-0 victory over the Bondi Raiders on Saturday afternoon, the biggest winning margin in the 25 year history of the rivalry.  The result surpassed the previous high score by the Lions over the Raiders, a 56-0 win in the 2004 regular season, and improved the Lions all-time win/loss record against Bondi to an even 0.700 (28-12).  

Indeed, the only thing which stopped the Lions offence in the game was the clock.  The Lions scored a touchdown on every possession except for the last possession in each half as time ran out.  The Lions did not punt. 

On the other side of the ball, the Raiders were restricted to 17 total yards - and 15 of those were from penalties.  The Raiders made only 2 first downs all game. 

In such a complete team performance there were bound to be strong individual contributions.  Dan Kelen lead from the front in a controlled display, throwing for the first three touchdowns in the match, including the opening score to Mathew Freeman on 4th and 14 from the 19 yard line, and finished with 209 yards and 4 touchdowns.  Kelen involved all of his receivers, with Mathew Freeman, Tristan Cauhepe, Liam Erby, James Gifford, Mac Shine and Thomas Frazer all holding receptions.  Freeman had 6 catches, including scoring on the opening drive with a toe-tapping effort at the endzone pylon on fourth down, while Cauhepe snared two touchdown receptions of his own.  The receivers brought down 231 passing yards on the day and complemented Kelen's accuracy with their precise routes.   

The ground game was also on track.  Matt Croasdaile and Liam Erby again shared the load, with Croasdaile rushing for 153 yards and 3 touchdowns and Erby rushing for 130 yards and 2 touchdowns.  So well matched are the backfield tandem that, at the end of the game, Croasdaile and Erby had both rushed for exactly 614 yards on the season.  

All of this offensive firepower had to start somewhere.  David Kong, David Thode, David Allen, Piotr Milewksi, Ben Dodd, Andrew Matthews and Aaron Carbury were the engine which drove the offence 521 total yards in a powerhouse display.  The line did not give up any sacks and out-muscled and out-hustled the Raiders' defence all over the field.

One of the many pleasing aspects of the performance by the offence was that the level of play did not suffer as the starters were rested.  Andrew Frawley was into the game before the third quarter had ended and lead the Lions on two scoring drives before being stranded on the Raiders' 11 yard line as the Lions ran out the clock on the final possession.   To complete the good news, the offence did not turn the ball over once during the game. 

The defence also turned in a dominating display. The Raiders were not allowed to establish their running game and were unable to pass their way out of trouble. 

The front seven established control early. Veteran defensive tackle, Fady Aoun, was particularly strong in the first quarter, dominating the centre of the line and getting in on a couple of tackles for loss.  But all of the defensive linemen were playing their part.  Defensive co-ordinator, Ryan Wonser, was able to rotate Chady Aoun, Tau Saipaia, Troy Carrick, Musa Ovalle, Chris Fung and Jock Purtle onto the defensive line without any drop off in penetration or effort.  

The Raiders' first possession ended with a Nick Baldwin sack for a big loss.  It was a pattern that was to repeat itself all afternoon.  Nick Baldwin, Tau Saipaia, Ian Triganza and Joe Lim would combine to take down the Bondi quarterback for 4 sacks.  With the lost yardage on sacks included, the Lions defence threw the Raiders for a loss of 41 yards on the 12 plays attempted on the ground.  The Raiders had only 4 rushing plays which went for positive yardage. 

The results were only marginally better through the air.  The Raiders completed only 4 passes of 18 attempts, while throwing 3 interceptions - one each to Kiernan Dorney, Leigh Louey-Gung and Anthony Sinton.  Cornerback David Bourke had a couple of passes slip through his fingers; one of which ended up as a Raiders' completion after he had muffed the interception chance!

Holding together this outstanding defensive performance was the Lions outstanding group of linebackers.  Joe Lim shut down the run between the tackles and smashed the pocket from middle linebacker.  On the outside, Nick Baldwin, Ian Triganza, Tristan Rosen, Justin Woo and Kieran Deale snapped up big plays as the Raiders' quarterback was flushed out of the pocket.  Greg Wernecke at Rover and Leigh Louey-Gung at King were everywhere - supporting on the run and breaking up the pass.  Wernecke lead the tackle count with 8 tackles, one for loss. 

All of this great team play added up to one thing - or 61 things - a record winning margin over the Raiders.