The 6th of May saw the Sandy-Rovers boys back on our home turf at the Boss, our Round 4 opponents being Murrumbeena. A team who had been quite competitive against previous opposition and were looking for their second win of the season.
After the new team jumpers were handed out and a warm-up completed, Charlie Officer led the boys out in his 100th game against his old club and keen to do well.
The first term was a less than ideal start for us, as Murrumbeena built a steady 9 point lead. They looked to have the better of us in congestion stoppages and rebounding play.
The second quarter saw improvement for us, as the Sandy-Rovers boys bounced back from a disappointing first term to gain a handy 12 point lead heading in to the main break. Matt Carey unfortunately injured his elbow and was in the hands of the Colbrow trainer at ½ time. After some encouraging words in the rooms and devoured oranges, play was underway for the second half. Matt did not return to the ground in the 3rd term.
The third quarter started with Murrumbeena quickly booting one goal, one point to lower the margin by 7 points and were looking like having all the momentum. However an unfortunate incident with Beau Harrison and a ball impact halted play as he was knocked unconscious just 10 minutes into the quarter.
With player safety being the number one priority, Beau was attended to while both teams headed towards their benches to re-group. The rules in SMJFL state that if there is a break in play then the clock continues to run, if play does not commence before the final siren is blown then it will be concluded at the current score line. Due to this rule being in place and giving Beau enough time to be cared for properly, the final siren was sounded and the Rovers were given the victory by default, although it was the furthest thing from our minds.
This was absolutely not the way that we, or Murrumbeena wanted the match to finish, however our opposition were very understanding, considering the circumstances. Beau was taken by ambulance to hospital and cared for before being released later the same night. We hope that he can re-join the rest of the team back on the track once he has fully recovered in a couple of weeks.
Looking forward to round 5 next week and continued improvement for the lads.
Tom Marron
Assistant Coach
