It was a perfect day for footy, the sun was shining, hardly a breeze but we were tormented by the possible lack of numbers. Word on the street was we could have as low as 14 so we knew we were going to be up against it. An hour before the game we were still unsure but the closer we got to the start the more our confidence grew with an unexpected full team thanks to Angus Cameron and Liam Higgins and the quality recruitment of some eager under 13s.
A slow start in the 1st quarter saw some quick goals from the opposition. Our backline were under pressure from the word go but were doing their best considering the opposition were boosted by the inclusion of multiple div 1 players. Mid way through the quarter saw Sam McCann deliver beautifully to Shelton Hegarty who scored a goal and our 1st major was on the board. The rest of the quarter was played mainly in our backline keeping our back line extremely busy and we went into the 1st break down 1.1-7 to 4.5-29.
We went into the second quarter optimistic, we were less than 4 goals down with plenty of footy to play. The opposition got off to a quick start again and the boys in the backline were under the pump from the word go. Jack Galloway took a colossal hit by a sizable No 35 opponent that made the whole sideline gasp but in true fashion he was straight up on his feet and back chasing the ball, awesome effort. Angus and Liam were showing plenty of run and Aiden Ray was having a great quarter with plenty of touches. Unfortunately the opposition were up for it and had control for most of the quarter. Noah Hunt took a nice mark in the forward line and converted our second goal for the game but unfortunately our only goal for the quarter.
We went into the main break down 2.3-15 to 7.6-48
We were down but not out. Unfortunately Angus and Liam had to leave at half time to get to the div 3 game but we were buoyed by the arrival of Taj Hotton, Gus Zufic, Josh Haines, Mitch and Harry Tuffley, our 2nd lot of under 13 cavalry. Taj got thrown straight into the middle and hit the ground running the rest of the boys rotated through the forward line and they all showed spirit. With the changeover and not a lot of time to settle the opposition took advantage and you could see the quality of their div 1 players taking the game by the scruff of the neck. Our back line again was under the pump, Sam F got cleaned up twice, Oscar T tried hard all day and the rest of the backline run off their feet, it was a tough quarter. We were kept goalless in this quarter but the key was to keep our heads up. At three quarter time we were down 2.3-15 to 14.1-96
We had one more quarter to go so our aim was to be competitive and give it one last shot. I asked the boys to give me 100% and leave it all out on the field. We had Hamish C and Oliver on the bench both injured and out for the game so we were up against it. The boys gave it their all, Caspar was struggling to run but still stood up in the backline. The centre was getting more of the ball giving our boys in the forward line more opportunity. Taj Hotton was everywhere scoring 2 goals and the rest of the forward line battled hard peppering the goals. Harry Tuffley got buried, run over by No 35 but got up and kept running looking like William Wallace with half his face covered in the mud (It was a Braveheart effort). It was their best quarter, they didn’t quite win it but they were close with a score of 2.4-16 against 03.03-21 a great effort against the odds.
Special thanks to all the under 13 players: Marco French-Medic, Dion Gavnoudias, Taj Hotton, Harry Tuffley, Mitch Tuffley, Gus Zufic, Josh Haines also our div 3 inclusions Angus Cameron and Liam Higgins.
