It was a chilly morning at Boss James where the Hampton Rovers came up against a most anticipated opponent, the Beaumaris Sharks. At the first bounce Beaumaris let their intentions be known, as their attack on the football was ferocious. Beaumaris managed to get the ball into their forward line a few times early in the quarter, but a strong defence from Nate, Will M, Angus H, Reid, Kai and Harry, managed to keep them goalless up to this point. Showcasing some spectacular marks from Nate, great tackles by Angus H., coupled with Will M. and Harry’s precise kicking linked our backs to our mids, who got the ball into our forward line resulting in Charlie scoring the first goal. At the end of the quarter, the Rovers were down by 2 points.
The second quarter started the same as the first, with Beaumaris’ fierce attack on the ball equally matched by the Rovers. It made for a very physical and congested quarter of footy. Beaumaris used the ball better with long penetrating kicks into their forward line, allowing them to outscore the Rovers. Through the boy’s pressure and persistence, with Toby, Ethan, Jack and Zane busting through tackles, and Jacob displaying his trademark pace and ball skills, the Rovers were able to score 1 goal in the quarter, kicked by Nic who came up from under 8’s as we were short on numbers. Thanks, and well-done Nic.
In the third quarter, after being shell shocked by their opponents attack on the ball in the first half, the Rovers started to lift and play some great football. The Rovers started to thrive on the pressure applied, peppering the goals on 6 occasions, with Will Jones and Ziggy slotting through 1 goal each.
This set the tone for a fantastic, scintillating last quarter with the Rovers going into the last term with a one-point advantage.
In the 4th quarter, the football was reminiscent of a flying ping pong ball during a match up between China and South Korea! Jack and Johnny were throwing themselves at the ball, Angus H. took a fantastic mark in the centre, Toby, Ethan and Charlie were defending for their life. Nate, Will, Kai and Reid kept pushing the ball forward. Angus A. was breaking packs, Ziggy marked passed to Jones, Jones Goal! The see-saw battle saw both sides scoring 5 behinds in the quarter because of the intense pressure being applied. Then Beaumaris kicked a goal bringing the scores back to a point the difference in favour of the Rovers. In the dying seconds the ball took flight off a Beauy boot, at the same time the alarm went off in Jonesy’s pocket, signalling the end of the game. But not to be, the ball took eternity to reach its target, which was a player in a Sharks jumper. Then the siren sounded and he kicked the goal.
What a game it was! Thanks boys, for a wonderful team effort.
Best Players: Will Jones, Angus H., Harry, Nate, Will McKeon.
Goals: Will Jones 2, Charlie 1, Nick 1, Ziggy 1.
ROGER OKALYI
ASSISTANT COACH
UNDER 9 MAROON
