Sunday 27th of May saw the U17 Sandy-Rovers back on home turf for round 7.
This week was a special one for 3 teammates as they celebrated milestones. Cam Morris captaining the team for his 150th game, while Cooper Goulding and Max Hewitt Vice-captained the side for their 100th games respectively.
After a hard fought effort in the previous week against Oakleigh, our boys were pretty keen to back up their performance against Cheltenham/Highett (CHOGS) who were holding a 1-1 record after round 6.
After many weeks of disappointing starts, we were able to grab hold of the game right from the get go, as the boys built a steady 18 point lead at quarter time while keeping the CHOGS scoreless. If it weren’t for inaccuracy in front of goal, the margin could have been much larger as we booted 2.6 kicking downwind.
The second term was a disappointing 20 minutes for the Sandy-Rovers as the CHOGS were allowed back into the match, due largely to a lack of pressure and composure by our lads. Ultimately resulting in the margin being reduced to a 4-point deficit.
Some inspiring words and a few oranges later, the second half started and much like last week, the third term was a much stronger one from the Sandy-Rovers boys, amassing a 4 goal quarter and building a 35-point lead heading into the final term.
The final quarter saw tensions rise as the Cheltenham/Highett players started to become restless and clearly irritated in their inability to use the downwind advantage effectively. This resulted in many ill-directed kicks and sloppy handballs, of which the Sandy-Rovers players were able to take advantage of and build the final margin to a respectable 44 points.
Some notable performances included Cooper Goulding who played another great shutdown role on one of the CHOGS better midfielders, as he held his opponent to virtually no disposals while also taking some roughness from the frustrated opposition. Jack Grenda played an amazing game, patrolling the back line all day and filling the vacant spots of our Captain Marcus White and reliable back-man, Liam Kenny who were rostered off this week. Very well done Jack!
Per Bellarts was able to manufacture 3 goals of his own while taking some important contested marks as well, and finally Ben Marron who also grabbed 2 goals for himself and racked up many contested and uncontested possessions with pace through the midfield.
With 3 wins now under our belt since the reshuffle of the divisions we look forward to the biggest challenge of our season so far as we face Bentleigh at home again next Sunday. It would be great to see as many faces as possible at ‘The Boss’ to support the lads.
Tom Marron
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