By Shaun Reardon | AFLDD Media
A depleted Darling Downs Crows outfit took on the mighty Calamvale Leopards in a Mothers Day blockbuster at Rockville Oval on Sunday.
Not only were the Crows missing players the calibre of Sam Tasker, Harry Claydon, Tom Matthews, Ash Britton, Jackson Paynter, Lachie Davies and Tom Dearnaley, but they were also missing head coaching guru Scott Matthews, the Crows were up against it before a ball was kicked in anger.
Having those boys out gave coach Mick Gilmore the opportunity to get a game into our next generation of Crows superstars with Mitch Schaumann, Sam Hutson, Judah Jackson, Lachie Tory, Mitch Johnson, Connor Bate and Jaiden Fidge all being asked to play more important roles for the team this week, which they did admirably.
A total of 13 boys were backing up from a bruising rep game against the Wide Bay boys on Saturday and were no doubt carrying a few bruises.
That didn’t stop the Crows jumping out of the blocks early as Calan Wilson won a contested possession and pumped the footy inside the Crows attacking 50, Connor Bate looked after the rest as he swooped on the loose ball and snapped truly to give the Crows the first goal of the game.
Unfortunately the Calamvale boys then lifted and started to build a handy lead on the scoreboard, the battle around the ground however was fierce as the smaller Crows threw their bodies into contests with no fear, nobody could accuse them of not having a crack.
The second half was more of the same with the noticeably bigger Calamvale players running away with the game as they piled on the goals but still the Crows wouldn’t lie down.
The backline was under siege but Ethan Carmody was having none of it as he continuously repelled wave after wave of attack through his courageous attack on the footy. Storm Arnold and Gilbert Bell also more than held their own in defence as they gave Carmody the support he so desperately needed.
The Leopards only won the third quarter by 2 points, it was just reward for a fantastic effort by all 22 Crow boys.
Even though the Crows were down by 55 points at the final change not once did they give any indication of giving up or throwing in the towel.
Lead brilliantly all day by captain Tom Reardon and supported by his midfield partners in crime Tyler Gilmore and Calan Wilson (who probably set a World Record for most amount of smothers in a game) the Crows fought it out to the final siren going down by 72 points.
The final score was in no way a reflection of how hard fought the game actually was, unfortunately the old saying of “Big blokes don’t get smaller” as the game goes on was the difference here.
Final Scores
Darling Downs Crows 5-1-31 def by Calamvale Leopards 15-13-103
Goal kickers – Tom Coonan 2, Tyler Gilmore 1, Connor Bate 1, Tom Reardon 1
Best – Tom Reardon, Calan Wilson, Ethan Carmody, Cameron Ferguson, Storm Arnold, Gilbert Bell.
Last Modified on 20/05/2014 17:38
