1st Grade – Belconnen Magpies beat Queanbeyan 52 to 37
In the wettest day of the year, Belconnen came up against Queanbeyan at Dairy Farmers Park. With the ground practically under water we knew how important this game was to our season. We got off to a good start kicking the first goal and dominating all the play but unfortunately couldn’t put on score board pressure. Belconnen dominated play for the majority of the game but due to the conditions it was very hard for both teams to score. After half time Queanbeyan came out firing kicking two very quick goals but to Belconnen’s credit they fought back to be take a one point lead into the 3 quarter time break. The last quarter was going to be an arm wrestle. Belconnen had plenty of players that were able to step up in the last quarter to ensure Belconnen took home the 4 points. The backline were too good, captain Lexie Bennett, hard man Scott Henning and assistant coach Rhyce McAlister played a vital part in the win. Underwood and Love were stand outs in the last quarter making sure Belconnen got first use of the ball and down forward Chris York was sensational giving a contest every time he went near the ball, his clean hands were very impressive in the wet conditions. With the game so close forwards Josh Jennings and Andrew Ainger missed crucial goals which could have sealed the game, but both players went on to make up for the mistake kicking a goal each to seal the game. The win was a fantastic group effort, everyone played their roles in a hard fought victory. Coach Brendan Read told the players, these are the wins you remember, when you have to work so hard to achieve success.
2nd Grade – Belconnen Magpies beat Queanbeyan 61 to 46
In what has been described “as the worst conditions ever” the Reserves took on an experienced Queanbeyan outfit on Sunday. With constant rain during the whole game the message had to be simple and was, “if you could get your hands on the ball, get it going our way”. In the first quarter Queanbeyan converted the limited chances on offer while we squandered our opportunities at goals and at the break we were down 2-3 to 0-6. Early in the second quarter we kicked a couple of goals through good ball use and movement and put ourselves back in the contest. Steve Meikle showed the way by keeping his feet at the contest and breaking away with leg speed driving the ball into our forward 50 on numerous occasions. Due to selfishness and a lack of discipline 3 free kicks were given away inside our back half which resulted in 3 Queanbeyan goals giving them the upper hand into the main break leading 5-6 to 2-7. As the conditions didn’t help our forwards Craig Eckersley was thrown into the ruck in third quarter which seemed to give our younger brigade a bit self belief and they started to put their bodies on the line and win the contests. We regained control of the play and managed to kick 6 goals 2 which would have pleased anyone on a dry day. The backline worked hard and repelled any attack the opposition threw at us keeping them scoreless. At the last change we were up 8-9 to 5-6. The lead was not big enough to go defensive so the boys were asked to keep attacking and get the ball forward. They continued to control the play through hard work and constant pressure keeping the ball in our half of the ground. Although we failed a major score in the last quarter we managed to hold onto the lead at the final siren. A well deserved victory for a gusty performance showing plenty of character and experience. Best players were Steve Meikle, Mal Douglas, Brendan Dess and Anthony Whittard. Daniel Posch finished with 5 goals which is a massive effort on day where they were very hard to come by.
3rd Grade – Belconnen Magpies beat Woden 66 to 25
The Pies hosted the Woden Blues at Jamo Oval on Sunday keen to atone for last week’s appalling effort against old rivals ANU. With conditions wet and windy at Lake Jamison it was going to be a war of attrition in a game requiring bodies being put on the line. The Pies cause was not helped by a late withdrawl on Sunday morning, and with Ian less than 100% we effectively only had 20 blokes. The Pies got off to a better start than the Blues and straighter kicking meant that we held a 10 point lead at quarter time. The skills of some players resembled that of dry weather footy as Belconnen made many advances into the forward line in the first half, unfortunately only 1 goal was scored in the second quarter as the Pies retained their 10 point lead going into the main break. Whilst the margin was less than 2 goals, the Pies held the ascendency throughout the first half and never really looked like losing the early lead that they had established. McDevitt, Calvert, Braybrook and Coate rotated through the middle and constantly cleared the footy from Toddy and Haighy’s ruckwork, whilst Tayls was gathering possession after possession across half forward. Cam was playing a tight defensive role down back along side Powers, and Brendo was also tight deep in the back line.
In the third quarter even more pressure was applied to Woden, and despite missing some easy shots the scoreboard pressure continued to mount, and 2 goals 4 behinds to one goal really set the Pies up to take the game away from Woden. Spanner played a stellar game at full back, (which unfortunately for him means that he might be put down there more often!) as the blues were held goalless in the last quarter. Without any players available on the bench to rotate the midfield through they continued to run and chase at every contest, and the forward line pressure resulted in many errors by the Woden backline, with costly turn overs allowing the Pies to add another 3 goals in the last. We now have a crucial game against Eastlake on Sunday at Jamo, and are looking forward to having our best 22 on the paddock for this must win game.
4th Grade – Belconnen Magpies beat Cooma 98 to 28
It was a big day for 4th Grade last Sunday as club stalwart Andrew McIntosh played his 250th senior game for the Belconnen Magpies, one of just a few to achieve this feat for the Pies. In addition to this Jeremy Walker was playing his 100th club game so if any extra motivation was required to get a win agaisnt Cooma at Jamison, the boys wouldn't have to look very far. We took a pretty strong side into the game which was played in miserable conditions with wind and rain constant features throughout the day. Despite the terrible conditions we managed to get off to a reasonable start kicking 5 goals to 2 in the first quarter. Harry Rowe was in everything in the first quarter in his first game in the 4s for the year and Rory Markham was revelling in the wet conditions, dominating through the middle.
Despite this and a three goal lead at quarter time, Puddles still felt that Cooma were being harder at the footy than us and asked the boys to lift and play smarter wet weather footy in the 2nd quarter. The effort was certainly there in the 2nd quarter but Cooma lifted as well to their credit and their efforts,along with some poor kicking saw us kick 2 goals 9 for the quarter to squander the chance of a big half time lead. The half time break and a chance to dry out served us well as, with Ego getting a heap of it in the 5 metre circle he patrolled in the middle of the ground, we kicked 4 goals to 1 in the 3rd quarter to gradually pull away from Cooma, who really had a dip all day. Another big reason for the improvement was Mitch whose mobility in the ruck was really causing Cooma problems as their big men struggled to go with him around the ground. The last quarter was a real slog as the conditions failed to let up and the ground continued to get heavier. Despite this, Sammy Campbell provided one of the highlights of the day to kick a great goal from the boundary line. This was in addition to a clever snap goal he kicked in the first quarter as part of his best game for the season. Ben Sainsbury also impressed in only his 2nd game for the club and showed that he is going to be a good contributor in the future as well. Best players for the day were Ego, Rory, Mitch and Macca in his 250th (congratulations mate) and HR, Horse, Sammy C and Talla all kicked 2 goals.
Under 18’s – Game postponed due to weather
Women’s Team lost to Tuggeranong 26 to 40
We played Tuggeranong on a wet day at Jamison Oval. We only had 18 players and were playing last year's premiers. We got off to a brilliant start kicking the first 2 goals of the game. One to Hannah Wallett and one to Kate Chapman. Chappo's goal was impressive as she marked well and kicked from a long way out. Our forward line was working well and our mid field group dominated possessions. Our wingers Sophie O'Dea and Emma McCaskill made great contributions. Tuggeranong dominated the 2nd and 3rd quarters. They were more desperate for the ball and ran harder when the ball was turned over. Only great defence kept them from kicking a bigger score. Allison White, Kate Gillespie and Liz Howell all attacked the ball with vigour. Kate in her first game with the team was outstanding. The full back line did well also with Heather Anderson, Amy Jason-Jones and Jess Gilmour all getting disposals. The last quarter was much better. We outscored Tuggeranong 2 goals to 1. We ran the game out which was terrific given our numbers. Elise O'Dea set up numerous opportunities for goal and kicked a goal. Clare Gough worked tirelessly. Karina Bailie and Nicole Wood were very hard over the ball. This was a game we could have won but we lacked belief. Hopefully, after seeing how we finished the game we will work harder over the entire game next time.
Last Modified on 02/06/2010 09:53
