This week saw us travel to the wonderful surroundings of Albert Park (otherwise known as the F1 track). The council extracted their $2.60 parking fee off all who decided to pay and we were grabbing a piece of grass for the pre-game due to the minimalist change room facilities. Rovers Junior President Jason Nicholl dropped by to watch, the league rep gave their pep talk and we got down to business.
Captains for the day were Jimmy and Matty. Trav had the boys looking good in the warm up. The first quarter was an up and down the ground with neither side able to get deep into forward territory. Wes was having a belter and was on fire, racking up the stats. Jake was providing plenty of run through the middle using his voice well. This was helped by solid defence by Jimmy, who thrives in the dour/nuggety defenders spot. Max got it to Mikey late in the term for a big goal giving the sole score for the term.
The second and third quarters didn’t see us worry the scorers too much, however it did provide some wonderful highlights whilst trying to keep in touch with the South Melbourne outfit. It saw the boys show some real courage with their marking skills. Max and Kian both took a screamer. Nate arrived, signed in and got straight down to work with a kick and a handball within 30 seconds !
It’s great watching a brother combination and Huddy lifted his output in what was another great performance. Matt showed us some silky-smooth, Saturday night live moves with a superb blind turn. Giddy lifted a cog in the second half and became a great stop for the opposition forward moves. Ben H was warming up after copping an awkward stop mark. Ryan got busy in the middle working well with Mitchy, who again put on a marking masterclass. At the end of the 3rd quarter we were a goal down but could sense something was about explode.
Chris L and I discussed how we had been a bit flat, a few boys had been quiet and needed to lift. A whisper in the ear here, a pat on the back there and the focus shifted to the positive. Charlie pushed to the contest to keep it forward. Kaden hunted opponents in the middle. Jack was throwing himself into everything to clear from defence. Huddy and Giddy drove the ball out of the middle to create scoring opportunities. Ben W decided it was “package” time and kicked 3. Will Muller had his best quarter in 6 weeks and Wes weaved through traffic to thread the big sticks. Harry got involved and helped the forward pressure. Max got on the end of one and sealed the game.
We got there in the end and the boys showed they’re good enough to close out a game in a tight contest.
We’re back at home against Brighton Beach this week.
Go Hampton Rovers – best mates!
Cheers
Wayno
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