East Malvern 11.9-75 def Rovers 3.5-23
Goals: Grima (2), Rankin (1)
Summary
Perfect weather and the best of East Malvern (EM) grounds suggested there could be no excuses, and having endured an extended wait courtesy of a Round 1 bye the lads were chaffing at the bit to kick off season 2018. The Rovers dominated early clearance work and held possession up forward without capitalising on the scoreboard. Upon a turnover EM went forward for the first time and scored the opening goal of the game, but to the Rovers credit a quick answer resulted and it appeared to be game on. The Rovers continued to dominate possession but missed some opportunities, and with 2 more EM forward entries resulting in goals, the coaches were left scratching their heads at the quarter time huddle after a spirited effort.
The worse was yet to come as EM wrestled control of the general play in the 2nd Q, and continued their domination up forward. With each goal the Rovers seemed to climb further inside their shell and the halftime siren couldn’t come quick enough. The 3rd quarter saw the return of the effort we expect, capped off with back to back goals from some positive forward entries. But EM soon thereafter snuffed out any hint of a comeback, and went on to stamp their authority on the game in the last quarter making a strong statement early in the 2018 season.
Highlights
Lucas R getting the scoreboard ticking over with a clever snap over the shoulder after a clean gather
Kai and Elliot working hard at ground level across the whole ground for 4 quarters
Jules putting in a trademark Lohan display across HB, showing poise under pressure
Jake Gr presenting well up forward displaying clever body positioning to win several forward contests capped off with a couple of goals
Arch willing his team to get back into the contest, putting in a Captains game in memory of his special Uncle
Things we did well
set up and structure around the stoppage and use of quick handball to get the ball out to a player in space
some good deep forward entries setting up several scoring opportunities
Room for Improvement’s (RFIs)
to avoid playing to the oppositions strengths (in this case marking talls) and not kick down the line
be quicker to react to the reason why the opposition are dominating (one for the coaches and players), and read the play accordingly
more pressure required on the turnover, and we need to transition quicker from attacking to harassing and defending
backline needs to work together to help each other, along with midfielders helping push back into defence
better capitalise on the scoreboard with the good work up the ground
