Under 9 Gold (Dailey - White)
Match Report
U9 Gold (Dailey) Round 11 Cheltenham Green at Walter Galt, 11th July, 2010
We were back on home turf this week, on a mild Sunday morning with a howling Northerly wind.
We were looking to make amends for our last outing against Glen Waverley, with the main message to be first to the footy, play on and help out your team-mates at every contest.
The toss was going to be important today and our captains Angus and Tom came up with the goods.
1st Quarter
We were keen to get out and score early with a strong breeze at our backs. Cheltenham were hard at the footy, and their tactic of trying to rip the footy from our hands was a good one and they scored first. We didn’t give it up easily and there were a lot of stoppages early and play was pretty congested.
Late in the quarter Ethan sparked into action, and he was unstoppable out of the centre and across half forward. He was rewarded with a free kick and lined up from about 30 metres out. The angle was too much however, he followed up from the restart, and kicked probably the goal of the year for us from the wrong side of the ground on a very tight angle. A great goal!
1/4 Time Mordi-Brae 1 – 2 – 8, Cheltenham 1 – 2 – 8
2nd Quarter
We knew we had to defend hard into the wind, keep possession and play wide. It was obvious early that our effort and endeavour was better than in the first quarter, and we began to win the clearances.
Finn was starting to dominate in the centre, and as usual was under most packs. His ability to be under 2 or 3 players one minute, then dodging and weaving for a clearance the next is fantastic.
Angus began to win the ruck contests, well supported by Aaron. Harry and Zac started to win the ball to give us the possession we needed. Along with a great effort from our backs – Shelby, Lachlan and Declan, we held Cheltenham to a goal with the breeze.
Zac was rewarded with a free kick about 25 out into the wind, and true to our message played on, dodged a couple of opponents and snapped from the square for a very important goal.
1/2 Time Mordi-Brae 2 – 2 – 14, Cheltenham 2 – 4 – 16
3rd Quarter
We talked about the importance of this quarter, and the need to post a good score with the wind to give us something to defend in the run home. We were starting to dominate possession late in the 2nd quarter, and we needed to carry this through and onto the scoreboard.
The response was fantastic, and as we dominated out of the centre, Finn was rewarded with a great goal and his first for the club. Harry was getting more of the ball as the game went on, and Mitchell’s run and goal was a real highlight.
James was moved to CHB and immediately the old James was back! I’ve missed his bullocking runs in recent weeks, and at one point he had 3 opponents hanging off him as he drove from half back and kicked us forward.
Charlie showed great courage to put himself on the line and received a whack across the head for his troubles. Not what you want on your Birthday. To his credit, he got straight back up and was into it again. We took him off just in case, Jackson ran on and within 30 seconds had the ball, danced around two opponents and nailed a great drop punt goal.
Our back line of Jasper, Ned, Will, Shelby, James and Tom held firm, and at 3/4 time we managed a 3 goal lead – but was that enough?
3/4 time Mordi-Brae 5 – 4 – 34, Cheltenham 2 – 5 - 17
Final Quarter
This quarter was about trying to keep possession and building on the hard work we did in the 3rd quarter.
We moved Aaron to full forward, and almost immediately he had a chance and just missed scoring a running goal. James continued where he left off in the 3rd quarter, and looking like a Wallaby 2nd rower, tucked the ball and ran hard. Finn continued his in and under effort, and we held firm until Cheltenham managed to break our lines and kick 2 quick goals. A straight kick the difference with about 5 minutes to go.
Our back line was under siege for most of the last half of the quarter, and our crowd became strangely silent the closer the scores became. Michael, Jacob, Andrew, Charlie, Gus and Mitchell did their best to keep out the onslaught, and with about 3 minutes to go, Cheltenham’s stand out player (no 14) broke clear and kicked for goal. It was on target and I was ready to accept a tied game when out of nowhere on the last line Jacob managed to block the ball and a behind resulted. A play of the day if ever there was one!
5 points the difference, 2 minutes to go. I never knew that a 12 minute quarter could seemingly last an hour.
Our boys were desperate now – they knew there wasn’t much time left , and both teams were throwing everything at it. Ned and Kelly (I have been waiting all year to write that) moved down from the wings to get in and help, and almost instinctively, the boys knew to load up the back line.
I looked across the field at our resident time-keeper Brett Kerr (Lachie’s Dad), willing him to ring the bell, but he kept the torture up for another minute or so until it finally rang and we had our second victory for the season. WELL DONE BOYS!!!
Awards
Finn Reinehr and Ethan Prince – McDonald’s Springvale awards to both for outstanding games. These guys have made the centre their own, and can easily slot into any position and be effective.
James Gold – Grill’d Awesome Effort Award for his sheer determination to get the ball and keep it to give us drive of the half back line was fantastic.
Jacob Matthews-Ritchie – Maros Play of the Day for the “Save of the Day” to stop a certain goal late in the game when it was on the line.
Noah Moreto and Aaron Johnson – Noah for his chasing and physical efforts, I’ve coached Noah through Auskick (along with a few of the other boys) and it’s great to see how much he has a crack and enjoys his footy. Aaron for his effort in the ruck and some timely possession when needed.
Goal Kickers
Ethan Prince – 1
Zac Burrowes – 1
Finn Reinehr – 1 (first for the club, and long overdue)
Mitch Flavre – 1
Jackson Dailey – 1
A quick apology for not announcing the award winners at the Match Report Sunday evening – that bell is pretty off-putting! Thanks for all who attended, and I hope the kids enjoyed singing the song at the end.
Next week each coach has more time to reflect on the journey this year, and I am really looking forward to that. From where we were at our first training to now has been a huge leap, and to still see the boys so keen to play is fantastic.
It's the local Derby next Sunday, as the senior team, we are wearing our normal home strip - normal jumper, red shorts. Hope to see you all at training Friday for the build up to our last home and away game.