Away today to the Cheltenham JFC – a ground that turned out to be nearly as big as the mighty Boss James. Last week’s run was sure to benefit the boys as they adjust to the bigger grounds.
It is a special day today for one of our boys – Ollie Elliot played his 50th game for the Rovers. He is the first in our team to do this, but won’t be the last with a number of milestone games on the horizon.
Congratulations Ollie – you’ve been an important member of all the teams you’ve played in. Ollie is one of the most determined boys to walk out on the park each week, and he has a rare ability to read the ball earlier than most, which when combined with his skill and running capacity makes him a very good player. Ollie was captain today, teamed up with Zac as our other captain. Well done boys.
After a couple of big wins we knew we would have a much bigger challenge on our hands today. Cheltenham were very competitive in the first quarter and we were only marginally ahead at quarter time (2 goals to 1). Harry W started on the wing today and in typical fashion was everywhere, getting his hands on the ball consistently and driving us forward. He started the most impressive piece of play for the quarter when he was the first in a series of handpasses and kicks that resulted in the first goal of the game. Harry W handpassed to Harry B, who handpassed to Charlton. Charlton kicked the ball forward to Thomas who gave a beautiful handpass to Harry B who kicked the goal.
It’s really pleasing to see our ability to link up and move the ball from the half back/centre areas into our forward line continuing to develop. This team play is getting better and more obvious each week. Not long after the boys were at it again with Harry B getting the ball to Ollie who passed it to Harry W who got the ball to Hugo in our forward line. Hugo took a really nice mark, then unselfishly looked to give the ball off when he could have taken a shot. We weren’t able to capitalise with a goal, but the teamwork was very impressive. Ollie played in the centre and was having a real captain’s game, leading by example, getting plenty of the ball and passing off to his team mates.
After conceding a goal, Giddy closed the quarter out with a text book tackle 20 metres out from our goal straight in front. He calmly went back and slotted it through the middle. This capped off a very good quarter for Giddy who continued from where he left off last week.
We reminded the boys about the importance of accountability and knowing where your opponent was during the quarter time break. The boys took this on board quite well and gave nothing away in in our most dominant quarter of the game. Thomas continued to shine and marked in the forward line before doing the disciplined thing and putting the ball into the “hotspot” at the top of the goal square. Giddy was able to rove the ball and then do an incredible snap back over his head for a goal.
Max moved to full forward and started taking marks and really making his presence felt, Will got plenty of the ball and tried his hardest to set up his team mates. Jake F was also looking good up on the forward line. Thomas and Zac were controlling the wings and linking our defensive work back through to our forwards. Oscar was having a really influential game – this quarter off half back – and Jake S was showing he has more tricks in his bag than just operating as a sneaky forward, also playing at half back and defending tightly and repelling the ball each time Cheltenham tried to attack.
Matty G was in the ruck and lots of the play, while Matty C, Tobey, Hugo, Bailey S, James and Robbie were all keeping things really tight down back. Max took a good mark at centre half forward, took a moment to assess his options and with really good vision, found Thomas who had floated down towards our forward pocket and was by himself. Max passed it to Thomas who then played on and took a sharp shot at goal and split the middle.
Not long after Charlton collected the ball at centre half forward, stepped inside his opponent with great deft and shared the ball via a perfect handpass to Will. Will was able to run on and kick our third goal for the quarter with a terrific shot on the run.
We lost the multi-talented Ollie Elliot at half time – Ollie has been picked in an under 13 hockey representative squad and had a training commitment he was obliged to attend. We will be missing Ollie over the next couple of weeks to this commitment but wish him well and look forward to his return. Congratulations on a first-class game as captain today in your milestone game Ollie.
Cheltenham fought back in the third quarter and outscored us, but our boys still had a number of highlights. Wes put on a beautiful shepherd, in fact there were many very good efforts in this department today, including Oscar who is making an effort in this area every week. We need all the boys to continue to do the one percenters and help their team mate – the boys are definitely on the right track here.
The scores could have been closer at three quarter time but for two goals saved on the goal line by Matt C and Max. These boys showed you never give up on the contest or assume the ball will simply roll through for a goal – while the ball is in play we need to keep chasing it down. Great endeavour boys – well done.
Zac was showing a world of class and run off the back flank during the third quarter – I have a vivid picture of him in my head sprinting from one side of the ground to the other to defend a quick break forward by Cheltenham. As he often does, Zac had read the ball better than his opponents, he overtook about three of them after being out of position and was first to the ball. He has a couple of team mates who had lost their man and should be especially grateful for Zac’s effort!
Stefan and Nikko shared the rucking duties and both competed fiercely. Nikko got himself under a rain maker in the middle of the ground, almost held a really good mark, but was able to recover, collect the ball and got a handpass off to a team mate. James continued to show his development and got into a lot of contests up around our half forward line – you’re doing a really good job James, keep it up! It is great to have Stefan back after a couple of weeks in Bali. He was valuable in the packs all over the ground.
Our only goal for the quarter came out of a piece of individual brilliance from Harry B. Harry took the ball from the outer wing and ran towards our goals. The space opened up in front of him and he was able to take 4 (that’s right 4!) bounces before finding himself in the forward pocket requiring a banana snap at goal which sailed straight through the middle. I loved Harry‘s celebration, which included a beautiful fist pump!
So it came down to the last quarter – we were up but Cheltenham had stolen some momentum. Pleasingly, as has been the case in recent weeks, the boys really attacked the footy, tackled hard and ran hard all through the last quarter. Our backline continued to show a lot of discipline and grit, giving nothing away to our opponents. Robbie continued to play tightly and lock his man down, Bailey M moved to the backline and really attacked the contest hard. Bailey laid a tackle on an opponent almost twice his size 15m out from Cheltenham’s goal, stopping him in his tracks and saving a goal. He also got his hands on the ball and fed handpasses out to team mates who were in better positions.
Jake Fix followed the lead from Matty C and Max in the third quarter and chased a ball that looked to be a certain goal. The Cheltenham players stopped, waiting for it to bounce through but Jake chased it all the way to the goal line, where it sat up for just a moment and provided him with the opportunity to prevent the goal. Once again, great example to all your team mates Jake.
Thomas continued a really good game in the last laying a great tackle and getting plenty of the ball. Giddy had another sterling game and took a screamer in the last. Matty C continued his good form up forward and was in plenty of contests, farming the ball out to team mates. And Tobey continues to shine at every opportunity – lots of run again from him, particularly in the last quarter when he was on the wing.
Our goals came from Harry B, who roved a ball off the pack and kicked truly and Giddy who sharked the ball out of the pack and snapped another nice goal. Jake S continued to influence the game in the last and almost created a goal from the forward flank – once Jake locks his radar in, opposition defences are going to be in a lot of bother!
There were a lot of four quarter efforts today and outside of the boys already mentioned, Oscar, Wes, Harry W and Charlton were fantastic all game. These boys are incredibly consistent and selfless. Bailey S in another I want to highlight – he goes about things quietly but does some really important things that go a little bit unnoticed. I really like his approach and attitude. Keep it going mate.
We’ve asked a lot of boys to play in new positions over the past couple of weeks as we’ve sought to mix things up and try a few things. I congratulate all the boys on their attitudes towards playing in positions unfamiliar to them and, at times, positions I know they would rather not be in! These experiences will prove invaluable later in the year and certainly form part of their individual development.
Well done boys, another really convincing win today – I don’t remember seeing any kicks on our wrong foot today though! – this is something I really want us to develop over the next month of football. We can definitely still improve, so let’s keep working hard at training!
See you all Thursday. Don’t forget to touch your football 100 times each day!
Damo, Chris and Rod
Hampton Rovers – Best Mates
