Seniors
Putting aside the unprecedented hype surrounding the mid season sacking of Old Xavs 2013 Premiership Co-coach Dom Berry, this was a very important encounter against a team in a similar position to us on the ladder. A very winnable game, which makes the end result even more disappointing. We were spectators for most of the first quarter and allowed them to stroll out to a 5 goal quarter time lead. It must be said that they kicked them from everywhere in this period – they simply could not miss. But we allowed them a look at the goals and they were good enough to make us pay. We played better in the second quarter but could not really make inroads. We worked hard to cut the lead but would then allow some soft goals though errors and turnovers. We enjoyed a good period in the 3rd and with 3 consecutive goals edged to within 11 points. We had a chance to draw closer but Xavs steadied and when they got one back against the run of play they led by 3 goals at the last change. Unfortunately the heavens opened and the deluge that followed snuffed out any chance of a comeback. They adapted to the changing conditions much better and kicked the only 2 goals of the last quarter.
Despite Ant Forato getting first hands on the ball we were beaten all day around the clearances which meant our defence was constantly under pressure. Mick Stizza was fantastic in his best game at senior level. Tom Humphrey continued his outstanding season completely eclipsing the competitions leading goal kicker. Charlie Haley was very dangerous and our only wining forward. Matt Fieldsend, Jake Gotch & Sam Williams as usual showed great leadership to keep us in the game.
But on the whole we had too many players who had little or no impact. A real lack of firepower up forward continues to plague the team. A much better team performance is required next week when we take on third placed Old Trinity at Bulleen.
De La Salle 8.5.53
Old Xavs 13.5.83
Goal Kickers: C. Haley 3, E. Clinch , D. Close , H. Haley , J. Oakley , S. Williams
Best Players: M. Stizza, T. Humphrey, M. Fieldsend, J. Gotch, C. Haley, S. Williams
Reserves
Scoreboard probably does not really reflect the effort and in general play we were very competitive. But we allowed the opposition to score far to easily and really battled to hit the scoreboard ourself. Jordan Bull, Luke Williams and Aron Kneebone good 4 quarter contributors.
De La Salle 6.8.44
Old Xavs 17.13.115
Goal Kickers: R. McDonough 2, S. Hogan , L. Williams , A. Kneebone , P. Proy
Best Players: J. Bull, L. Williams, A. Kneebone, N. Hyland, D. Millwood, L. Godhino
19 Blues
It was a big game for the Blues against Scotch at home, with 5th place up for grabs and a possible push towards the final four. It was great to have Aaron Wheatley back in the team, following several weeks out with ribs. We looked good on paper with 4 talls down forward, with Aaron, Darcy Craig, James Howard and Dean Krelle. All looked set for a great game.
Both teams came out firing. We had early gaols from Darcy and Aaron. While Sef McGraw also chipped in with a nice one. From defence Hamish Ramsay and Jamie O’Sullivan were giving plenty of drive and Nic Halliday looked strong in the ruck. At the first break scores were 3 goals apiece and the game seemed evenly balanced.
2nd quarter was fierce with Matt Dumbleton and Dave Commins flexing their muscle in the middle and Jack Gava taking some strong marks down back. Hamish Curtis and Jake McGaw got on the board with a goal each, but Scotch found a little extra scoring 4 to be on top by a couple at halftime.
Our third quarter started slowly and we did not seem to have the urgency that we had showed in the first half. Scotch got a couple of goals and we struggled to get the ball inside 50 with only 5 entries to Scotch 13. Nic Halliday & Sef McGraw worked tirelessly to try and lift the team, but in the end we failed to put a score on the board.
The Players came together at 3 quarter time and committed to a better effort. We had 10 inside 50s to 9 for the quarter, but unfortunately the heavy rain came and despite all the hard work, we could not bridge the gap. Scotch running out winners by 5 goals.
De La Salle 6.10.46
Old Scotch 11.18.84
Goal Kickers: A. Wheatley 2, S. McGraw , D. Craig , H. Curtis , J. McGAW
Best Players: N. Halliday, M. Dumbleton, S. McGraw, H. Ramsay, J. Gava, J. Howard
19 Golds
After the siren sounded it saw the Golds in front by 5 points in a terrific contest against the 2nd placed Oakleigh which we hope will have helped to revive the Golds season.
There are many things that coaches can do and yet the reality is it requires that players turn up switched on ready to play, and it was immediate to the parents and coaches that the players were ready to go. Perhaps it was because of the previous game against Oakleigh where the players were disappointed, or perhaps it was just one of those things where the players just simply decided they just wanted to win.
The game was played in real footy weather - weak and watery sun, overcast and dark shadows and then there was rain, and plenty of it, and then the lights were switched on.
In the first The mids lead by Dylan Cowan, Liam Feather, Ollie Milner, Dan Anastasio, Matt Mullaly, Jack McLoughlin and Ash Munday were probably winning the battle of the mids and with Anthony De Luca and Jacko Wheeler up forward as marking targets we were causing enough problems and we were able to get early scores on the board. At the break I think it would be fair to say that we were good value for our lead and quite possibly could have been further ahead such was the start we had made.
We changed things up a bit at the break and it allowed our opponents to get a foothold back in the game. Their mids worked a bit harder, and their backs tightened up and when they pushed forward their tall marking forward was causing a few problems as he was able to exert a bit of pressure on 16 year old Chris Akritidis and get him in a one-on-one and use his strength to take strong marks and get Oakleigh a handy half time lead.
At the break we had a quick chat and reminded the players of the need to play hard contested one-on-one footy and the need to be able to match the strength and physicality of Oakleigh. We needed to respect the opposition, but we also needed to recognise that our 1st quarter showed we were able to match them and that it was going to require that level of effort if we were to get the result we wanted.
The 3rd was a quarter neither side would have been completely happy with - Oakleigh were on top for the first half of the quarter and then De La finished much stronger to give them a real belief that they could win the game.
The last was a terrific - all players were challenged and it would be terrible to single people out, as each and every player worked and ran themselves to each and every contest, they stood next to their opponent and worked as a collective to help each other. At stoppages they all found an opponent and worked to win that individual contest, at stoppages they worked to tie their opponents up, push the ball forward and win the stoppages and kick the goals we needed to get the result we wanted.
The last saw Liam McClusky get a free for a high tackle, and from 40 kick a terrific long goal, we probably went to sleep a bit and they replied, but immediately switched back on and from that quick clearance saw Tom Hyland kick truly. From that point it became it contest of wills - who was going to break first and we kept pushing and forcing the ball forward and when Ollie Milner was nearly decapitated the umpires correctly called a free, he went back and in the middle of all the turmoil kicked a goal to give us a 6 point lead. From the bounce Oakleigh pushed the ball forward, and Chris Akritidis (under the watchful eye of his dad barking instructions) got a timely fist and kept his opponent under wraps and we cleared. The ball kept coming back in, Joel Stewart marked twice, cleared with scrubby kicks, De Luca got a fist in when required, and we breathed as time was ticking away. A quick snap by an Oakleigh player was initially ruled as out of bounds on the full, but somehow bizarrely was given as a behind and it was 5 points and they were coming. We kicked long to try and clear the defensive area and in the resultant stoppage we pushed it out of bounds. From the boundary throw in one of their players tried to burst through, was tackled by 3 players, pushed to the ground and the umpires correctly awarded a free against him as he had tried to take all his opponents on. We tried to work out who had the free, the ball was on the half back line and the siren sounded.
What can you say when your efforts have been rewarded - to be honest it was a terrific win and one which both sides would have been happy to win and celebrate, and on this occasion it was De La. There was plenty of noise in the rooms and the sounds of Cheers Cheers was sung with real emotion (none of that AFL tv rubbish) it was loud and it was great!
Are we back on track? I hope so, but next week we play top side Ormond in another massive game, at home at 11.40 and we all look forward to another concerted effort and let's see where that leads.
De La Salle 8.13.61
Oakleigh 7.14.58
Goal Kickers: T. Hyland 2, A. De Luca 2, O. Milner , J. Stewart , L. McCluskey, D. Anastasio
Best Players: D. Cowan, J. Stewart, D. Anastasio, M. Mullaly, O. Milner, T. Hyland
Last Modified on 16/06/2014 18:47
