Round 9 and the “Bayside Problem” returned in earnest…school holidays and 12 players unavailable!
15 players available, then Per Bellarts joined us from Div 2 to make 16 then we were lucky enough to have 3 under 15 boys play a second game and fill our forward pockets.
East Brighton at Hurlingham was always going to be a tough challenge as they are a very good team, so we asked for a supreme EFFORT from everyone. If you bring EFFORT you will get results…every time.
1st quarter and the EFFORT was there for all to see…4 scoring shots each but we could only manage 1.3 to their 3.1…10 points down. We were tackling hard, switching the ball, rewarding the runner.
2nd quarter into the wind and the EFFORT was still there…2.1 into the wind but they got a couple of cheap ones late after some lapses of concentration to have 3 straight for the quarter and go into half time 15 points up. Terrific effort from everyone.
3rd quarter with the wind…wow…we upped the ante and very nearly blew them away. The second half of the quarter resulted in some of the best footy we’ve seen all year…the EFFORT was supreme and the STRUCTURE was supreme…we were listening to instructions and sticking to our game plan. We kicked 3.3 and should have had 6 or 7 goals to their 1.2 and we were only 2 points down at three quarter time!
Did we BELIEVE?…Did we TRULY BELIEVE? The eyes of the boys weren’t truly convincing but I tell you boys…I believed we were a chance!!
The Vampires had the wind in the last quarter and, perhaps we were tired, perhaps we had run our race, perhaps the more fancied Vampires responded to a 3 quarter time “bake” from their coach, but they went on to kick 8 goals for the quarter…a disappointing end to what had been such a terrific performance for three quarters. Sadly, we lost our structure in the last quarter…no huddle, no manning up at the centre bounces, loose opposition players everywhere, kicks to contests.
Don’t for one second think I am disappointed with today’s performance because for three quarters you guys were outstanding…undermanned in number and in height…but not in EFFORT. Sensational…all of you!
But for one quarter we lost our way with our structure and we must learn to be disciplined and stick to our game plan right up until the final siren.
Awards:
Michael Benvenuto, Ben Crothers and Castan Racunica – filled in from the under 15’s to play a second game for the day and all contributed…well done boys and thanks so much
Josh Le Grice – great to have you back at your dominant best
Jack Bell – terrific in the ruck, strong marking around the ground and 8 tackles
Special mentions: Lorenzo – 3 goals and 6 tackles…dangerous all day; Ben Marron – a sensational goal on the run from the boundary to bring us to within 2 points; Zac Watson – constant drive all day and filled the hole in the last quarter; Jackson Courtney – another 9 tackles and a terrific snap goal
There were plenty of others and if we have close to a full squad available one day I would give us a strong chance against anyone…AND I TRULY BELIEVE THAT!
