12/7/09
Traralgon Under 12s travelled to Sale to take on Sale in the final of the V/Line Gippsland Interleague Championships that commenced on the 7 & 8 July 2009. Having lost their previous encounter, the Traralgon boys were hoping to reverse the result and come away with a win.
Arriving at Sale and finding the ground wet and slippery from recent rains was not an encouraging sign for the boys, as all played in the TDJFL on Saturday, whereas the Sale Junior League did not play, which would provide them with fresh legs in the tough conditions.
Coach Andrew Livingstone told the boys pre-game to attack the ball and be first in to keep it moving forward and they would reap the benefits on the scoreboard. The game opened up at a fast pace as both teams looked to attack, with some excellent skills shown by the kids with the greasy ball. Both backlines withstood much pressure, with Traralgon's Mitchell Membrey and Damian Yates repelling many attacks by Sale, with the support of their team mates. Mid way through the quarter, due to some excellent forward pressure, the ball was kicked out and snapped up by Tate Marsh who slotted a lovely goal for Traralgon to open up the scoring. Sale hit back late in the term, and at quarter time, Traralgon lead 1-1-7 to 1-0-6.
The second quarter, neither team was able to gain any advantage, as both back lines were playing tight, close checking footy and were on top of the forwards every time the ball ventured into the respective forward lines. Sale managed to snare a goal with some good team and hold a slender half time lead of 6 points.
Andrew reinforced the same instructions from the start of the game, as if they continued to work hard, the rewards would come and the game was now there for the taking. The third quarter was another even contest, as the ball went forward, but neither team was able to capitalise on the efforts of the onballers until Traralgon's Billy Atlle ran on to a loose ball and kicked the only goal of the quarter thanks to some good work by Ricky Cochrane, and at the last change, Traralgon held a 1 point lead.
The Traralgon boys came into the huddle at three quarter time with confidence, and even though the lead was only a point, the feeling in the huddle was that the game was theirs if they wanted it. Andrew asked the boys for one final effort for 15 minutes, as the coaching staff knew that they were good enough to do the right things and come home strong.
The start of the last quarter was once again a torrid affair as the boys from both teams threw themselves into the contest trying to win the ball and push forward. With about 10 minutes remaining, Brent Atkins came off the bench into the goal square and took a great pack mark and goal, finishing off the good work up the ground by Jack White, Tate Marsh and Jackson McMahon. It was not long after this that Traralgon once again had the ball in their forward line and Nick Miller took an easy mark due to the great teamwork of the boys in the middle of the ground and kicked another goal, giving the Traralgon team a lead of 13 points with about 6 minutes to go. To Sales credit, they continued to get the footy and moved the ball forward, and with about 3 minutes to go, kicked a behind, then a goal on the run to reduce the margin to only 6 points. After a centre square infringement, Sale was handed the opportunity to send the ball forward, which they did, but unfortunately, only managed a behind, to trail by 5 points. The last couple of minutes was all in Traralgons backline as Sale searched for the elusive goal. If not for the efforts in the closing stages by players such as Travis Patton, Jarrod Henderson and the rest of the backline and onballers, Sale might have scored, but did not, and the Traralgon boys WON the game, reversing the 44 to 15 defeat the boys suffered in the preliminary games.
It was a fantastic effort by all 24 of the boys involved, as they never gave up and kept coming and coming all game and deserved the WIN. They were well coached by Andrew Livingstone and Ian Davison, along with assistance from other parents, coaches from the TDJFL.
Well done to all involved, and congratulations to all of the boys who were part of the Team in 2009. TDJFL President Geoff Cooper congratulated the team after their win, and said it was a great reward for their hard work and dedication to the sport, along with proving that the TDJFL has some good players coming through, as the TDJFL 2008 Under 12 team also took out the title.
(If anyone would like a copy of the photos that appear, please send an email to whitehouse21@bigpond.com and state which ones)
Last Modified on 13/07/2009 22:16
