The morning started with a fresh north westerly breeze pushing to the eastern end of the ground. Reid was captain for the game and went to toss the coin to start proceedings, we lost the toss but won the decision as the Dingoes elected to kick into the breeze in the first. The first quarter saw us use the breeze to gain a small advantage. The dry but somewhat breezy conditions played to our strengths, allowing the boys to play in front and use the space to our advantage through run and carry and kicking long into the forward half. The quarter was a hard encounter seeing both teams going in hard for the ball and tackling ferociously. The first ended with us holding Dingley scoreless to our one goal, slotted by Angus H, and a smattering of points, a good solid start.
The second began and seemed to track very similar to the first. We were trying to defend and push the ball forward but lacked the same space that was granted to us in the first. Dingley got their hands on the ball first but found themselves being pressured on the kick so they were unable to take advantage and only managed to find the back of the sticks once. The second half of the game saw the boys being first to the pill and playing the way we train by calling their team mates into space and commanding a run and carry style of play. The boys played an outstanding second half. The play opened up and allowed the boys to move the ball with confidence and outstanding teamwork throughout the ground. The midfield took advantage of their speed and found themselves feeding the forwards with a constant supply of long balls entering the area which allowed the likes of Nate, Will Mc and Riley to capitalise on the solid contributions being made further up the ground by their team mates. (Apologies if I have missed any goal kickers out as the goal stats were a little thin). The overall contributions from all the team in the third were fantastic. The backs held up well only allowing the Dingoes a solitary point in the quarter, applying some great tackles and playing in front.
So it’s the start of the last and we have a commanding lead….. the last message I gave to the boys before they ran out of the huddle for the last was, “you have 12 minutes left of the game, let’s make sure we leave everything out there and finish with nothing left in the tank……” I couldn’t be any prouder of the boys (your boys) the way they attacked the last with determination and pure attack on the footy. We were kicking into the breeze in the last, so Dingley had the wind at their backs. The bounce saw the mids of Angus A, Jonesy, Jacob, John and Jack under pressure from the outset. They found the going tough in the first few minutes with Dingley hitting the score board early on. The backs of Kai, Angus H, Ethan, Charlie and Reid found themselves in the thick of the action early on. As the final quarter gathered momentum the boys worked out how best to move the ball into the wind. Their use of short sharp handballs and lowering their eyes up the ground looking for a close option to kick to paid dividends. We gained ground and managed to pepper our forward line through the use of handball and some great kicking. Toby, Will Mc and Riley made the most of their opportunities to slam home four majors to Dingley’s two as the quarter came to a close.
Awards: Will Mc, Nate J, Riley W and Angus A
Special mentions to: Jacob N, Monty B, Charlie T, Kai C and Toby G.
A fantastic team effort from the boys this week by all 15 players. They showed that their best football will be hard to beat this year. A big thank you to Kate Hatton, Chris Tanner, Adrian Artico, Cameron Hawkins, Penny Green and Peter Jongen for their help this week. It is a pleasure for Roger and myself to lead this talented group of boys into the 2018 season, thank you.
IAN JONES
COACH
UNDER 9 MAROON
