A sunny winters afternoon greeting us at Parkdale as we came up against Mordialloc Braeside JFC – Blue who defeated us by 31 points earlier this year at home.
Theeran & Baxter were our captains for the match. Due to some late pull outs, we yet again played with no bench so it was going to be a fight against a top 4 side.
In the first quarter, kicking with a slight wind and to the scoring end which had a downhill slop, Mordialloc controlled most of the quarter and kicked 4 goals. To our boys credit, we held our heads up and kicked 2 goals against the run of play from limited opportunities.
In the second quarter, Chris in his first game in ruck was using his body well and giving first use to our midfielders. Up forward, Fletcher and Campbell were working together, getting into space and taking marks and kicking goals. At half time we reduced the lead to just 4 points (41-37)
In the third quarter, we knew that Mordialloc had the scoring end so we decided to move Oliver and Jade behind the ball to help out Theeran and Baxter in defence, which minimised Mordialloc’s scoring to 3 goals and pinched one ourselves to be down by 21 points at the final term.
In the final quarter, we went all out attacked and kicked 3 goals 5 behinds and hit the lead inside the final minute of the game. Unlike most of the other games we wanted the siren to go. Yes we could of flood players back in defence but we backed our players in and unfortunately Mordialloc got a clearance out of the middle which resulted in a mark and goal. The siren sounded shortly after. That’s five defeats by less than a kick with a combined loss amount of 17 points. Considering the same team destroyed us by 31 points only 8 weeks ago, the improvement is clear to see.
Great performances this week came from midfielders in Oliver, Harry & Jade who all scored goals. Special mention to Harry with x3 goals and is just behind his brother on the goal kicking ladder. Fletcher and Campbell combination was fantastic up forward. Theeran and Baxter were keys in defence. Seb was super on the wing laying plenty of tackles. Tom lifted in the second half and scored his first goal of his career and so did Dan Smith. We found a back-up ruckman in Chris who did a wonderful job and little Sonny keeps on playing well above his weight and height.
Well done boys !!! This week we have Ashwood who we are 1-1 against this year. Let’s make it a positive score line at home this week.
Final Score
Hampton Rovers 10 6 66
Mordialloc Braeside JFC – Blue 10 10 70
Goals: Harry x3, Campbell x2, Tom, Dan Smith, Jade, Fletcher, Oliver x1
Captains for Round: Theeran & Baxter
Game Awards – To be given out at training
Outstanding Contribution: Chris W
Guts and Determination: Jade
Team Goals Award: Oliver R
Coaches Award: Campbell / Sonny
