Under 8 Yellow (Coach: Josh McConnell)
Round 5 saw the U8 Yellow take on a very strong Croydon team. Our Captain for today's game was Noah Quinlan. He led the boys well from the first bounce and scored the Tigers first goal from 10m out. All the boys played great games in the wet conditions, with second quarter a high light. In the second quarter the run, carry and team play was outstanding which saw about 15 goals kicked from many players. Our Two Brothers award went to Jett Love today due to his non stop effort getting to the ball first and giving his teammates first use. Noah QUINLAN was our other Two Brothers award winner. He always gives 100% effort and today was the same. He played a great team game from all over the ground. Lorenz KLINGER-HORSBURG played one his best games this week after missing last week’s game. He took a great mark in the forward line finished with a great goal and was awarded the Panalens Cafe award this week. Dan Grace has played a few great games this year and today he ran exceptionally well with the ball from all positions of he ground. He kicked some great goals and was awarded the Mitcham Medal this week. Next week we take on a strong East Ringwood Blue at 10:30.
Under 8 Black (Coach: Jeff Kane)
Today the Tigers took a pretty talented team from North Ringwood and played the best game to date. Cooper was our Captain, and played a terrific role all day. Lewis started in the middle in the first quarter and it was clear that he was going to have a day out. Tarran was keen to get into the action early and took the ball from deep in North Ringwood’s defence to deep into our forward line. Morgan started well and wasn’t going to let his twin brother do it all himself, there was lots of great contested ball with the Tigers running and running for some great shots on goal. Well done to Roy today who kicked his first goal for the yellow and black and there will be plenty more to come this year for him. Archer has become a bit of a sweeper stamping the centre half back position for himself in the team; his teammates have nick named him the Black Widow! Drew today awarded the Mitcham Medal our best player and Tarran, who played hard all day and took some really great marks in defence, won this. He and Archer seem to love playing as defenders and he is becoming a handy swing player into attack. Archer was awarded a medal by the opposition coach, well done also to him. Awards were also given to Joshua who has a great kick on him and is becoming a very clever footballer. Lewis played a wonderful game and put us on the front foot early in the first quarter and as such was also a winner of an award today. Tarran and Morgan both played well with some big sweeping kicks out of defence and were both given awards for their efforts. Harley, Harrison and Archer were also among our best and all boys received best player awards. Well done boys, the song is getting much, much louder as you all are becoming very talented Mitcham footballers and a close-knit team.
Under 9 Yellow (Coach: Mark Butler)
After last week's lightning premiership success the boys took on a very talented Wantirna South team at Whitehorse Reserve in a high quality game. The boys got jumped early but fought back with an awesome second quarter where we kicked five goals to none. The game turned into a real arm wrestle with plenty of strong contested efforts along with great running and skills from both sides. The medal went to Caden Sleap who had a great contested game and brought his mates into the game with some creative handball. Stephen Stansfield had another strong game regularly getting first hands on the ball and was awarded the Panelens award. Heath's silky skills were on display again today and was a worthy winner of the Two Brother award. Dylan Spencer Yates lead from the front and worked tirelessly in the ruck early and took home the Buffet Hut award.
Goals: Heath Fox 3, Tyson Darmody 2, James Wilson 2, Mason Porter 2
Under 9 Black (Coach: Peter Ajani)
Mitcham black played a very skilled Ringwood North on a cold wet Mother's Day. All the boys came out to handle the conditions and everybody rotated around all the positions. Captain for the day was Charlie who was courageous as ever. A great last quarter saw Matt end up with three goals and all the boys playing the best quarter of footy for the year, well done boys. Will was awesome for all four quarter and there were a number of boys playing really good games.
Under 10 (Coach: Bard Aujard)
Mother’s Day saw the Under 10’s venture out to Knox to take on the Falcons, it was a well fought out game with some ferocious tackling and some excellent wet weather skills shown by both teams. Seb Poynter proved to be a tackling machine taking out the one of the awards with Evan taking out the other proving to be an excellent target up forward Goals to Aiden, Tynan, Jacoby and Hamish 2.
Under 11 (Coach: Sandi Marini)
Today we met Vermont at Walker Park. This was an important game for the boys as all rival club games are. We played our hearts out for 4 quarters with the footy gods for some reason not smiling on us. Xavier showed strength in tight and Sam was brilliant down back. George got us away with 3 goals as the Tiges went down fighting. The boys weren't happy with the result, that tells me they can’t wait to play Vermont again.
Best Players: Xavier, Jok, Sam, Hudson, Liam,George, Luke, Oscar.
Final Score: Vermont 7.3.45 d Mitcham 3.1.19
Under 12 (Coach: Jason Philactides)
Today was tough as a coach. I know the boys have it in them and it is disappointing to watch the boys struggle and not use the great skills I know they have in them. I want the boys to regain their confidence and get where we were in rounds 1 and 2. I know the boys have great footy skills and each boy brings a unique ability to our team. When we bring it all together as a team, we can be strong and win. Nick S, Loal and Luca were brilliant all day. They never stopped trying. They never gave up in the contest and it was a pleasure to watch them play. Jasper W has been an outstanding addition to our team this year. While he didn't get many opportunities to get his hands on the footy today. However, every opportunity when the ball was in his vicinity, he created a contest and got the ball out to his teammates through sheer determination to win the footy. Today Mason was calm and controlled when he had the footy in his hand. In addition to this, his second and third efforts to win the contested footy against the opposition was fantastic. Hopefully next week sees the boys regroup and want to return to where we started this season.
Final Score: Upper FG 12.12.84 d Mitcham 0.1.1
Under 12 Girls (Coach: Ruby Schneider)
Today the girls played their first home game at Walker Park against Mt Evelyn and for the game it was a bit of a struggle for the girls. Although the ball was down in Mt Evelyn’s forward line for most of the game, the girls still fought on, especially our debutants, Evie and Phoebe. It was a wet day Steph’s ruck work was still outstanding. Amber was on fire in the last quarter with fantastic pressure, strong tackling and plenty of kicks, along with Biana’s consistent effort and pressure. Captain for the day was Riley who showed outstanding leadership skills both on and off the ground.
Final Score: Mt Evelyn 8.13.61 d Mitcham 0.0.0
Under 13 (Coach: Mark Ross)
The U13's Mothers day clash was against the third placed Mooroolbark on another wet Sunday afternoon. Having played this team in a practice match and losing by 10 goals we knew we were in for a tough game. The Tigers played their best first quarter of football for the season kicking 4 goals to one to open up a handy first quarter break. The opposition fought back to narrow the gap at half time to trail by a couple of points. The second half went all the Tigers way kicking 4 goals to nothing to take out the game. Today the boys played with great passion, endeavour and determination. Well-done boys! Goal kickers were Dom-5 and Jamie-3 with the encouragement awards going to Joel for a great defensive game across half back and Jamie who was on the bottom of the packs all day and kicking valuable goals.
Final Score: Mitcham 8.12-60 v Mooroolbark 3.8-26
Under 14 (Coach: Shane Dickson)
The U14 team played Boronia for the second week in a row & whilst the scoreboard would indicate a one sided affair the boys showed plenty of character & fight. Pressure on the ball carrier was significantly better than prior weeks, but the boys have plenty to work on at training. Matt Goodieson and Josh Melville were solid in the backline, Noah was hard at the ball & Ryan Lynch and Matt Makao were able to slot through a goal each.
Award Winners: Josh Melville & Kurtis Saker
Best Players: Matthew Goodieson, Ryan Lynch, Josh Melville, Kurtis Saker & Noah Hoare
Goals: Ryan Lynch & Matthew Makao.
Final Score: Boronia 15.13.103 d Mitcham 2.0.12
Under 15 Girls (Coach: Luke Smith)
It’s not a hard game football, especially wet weather football - forget defensive triangles, fat side extractions and incomprehensibly complex strategy. In the wet you see ball, get ball, kick ball toward our goals and that was the theme of the day. We challenged the girls to commit to picking the ball up off the deck when the heat was on and as a group we rose to the challenge. St Simons is a wide long ground and despite the rain, held up very well. The game unearthed some real wet weather specialists and in an ingenious coaching move, Chris moved Cat to the wing and we saw a total domination by our smallest player; her tenacious determination was truly a sight to behold. Another revelation was Emma - her kick outs from defence were super impressive and according to a veteran football watcher, she kicked one ball over 60 meters. The Tiges ran out winners by 4 odd goals and the game was played in great spirit. Goal kickers were Alice 1, Tiana 1, Lexy 1 and Alana 1. Best players were Cat, Emma, Tiana, Alana, Lexy and Alice. A special shout out to the good folks at Mecca Maxima and Mac for the invention of waterproof makeup ensuring the reputation of “best looking Mitcham football club team of all time” remains totally intact!
Final Score: Mitcham 4.9.33 d St. Simons 0.2.2
Under 17 (Coach: Cam Horsey)
Today we travelled down to Heathmont to take on the Jets in a game that could potentially put us above them and second on the ladder. The boys were up and about before the game and I had a good feeling about the way we would approach the challenge. The ground was nice and wet from the overnight rain and the boys knew that whoever used the ball better in these conditions would take home the points. We started well, with a strong attack on the ball and the backline mopping up any scrappy kicks Heathmont were able to get from around the packs. Unfortunately we were a bit wayward with our shots on goal and were only able to get one major with 6 shots. We knew that Heathmont wouldn’t lie down and would bring it in the second quarter, which they did. The game became a bit of a scrap with Heathmont pegging back the lead with a couple of lucky shots, but they took their chances when they had them. At half time the boys came in and the coaches rallied the boys to come out in the second half and try to get back some the spark they showed in the first quarter and although we couldn’t get a firm grip of the game, the signs were there. In the last we really stepped on the gas and ran home comfortable winners. The boys just clicked together, from deep in the backline where Spitter was unstoppable to the mids with Jimmy N and Tayles running wild to the forwards who all worked hard to trap the ball with Hoppo slotting a few. It was a good solid win in the end in the conditions but we can’t keep allowing teams to get back in the game when we are controlling it. Mentions must go to some solid performers although the team worked as a solid unit: Jimmy N, Tayles, Maxxy, Stinger, Timmy, Spitter, Hoppo, Horse, Jaydos and Jules.
Final Score: Mitcham 6.13.49 d Heathmont 3.2.20
Last Modified on 04/12/2019 13:54