Rebel Yell - 1/4/2008
by Jordan Roughead
2008 here we come - after months of building up the kilometres in our legs, punishing the weights and finally a little match practice the North Ballarat Rebels are primed and ready for an exciting TAC Cup season.
Already the addition to our coaching and fitness ranks of Shane Skontra, Justin McGrath, Sam Hutchinson and Alicia ? has been positive with each making major contributions to the program.
The long, hard pre-season paid dividends with players testing well at the inaugural AFL testing day at Footscray University on the March long weekend.
The testing day was followed by a team camp at Pax Hill where we focused on group bonding and developing a set of core values to guide us through the season.
The build up had been great with a series of intra club practice matches topped off by one against fellow TAC side Bendigo Pioneers and another against Geelong Falcons on Easter Sunday. After going down by a small margin to Geelong in the practice match we knew we would have a real fight on our hands to bring up our first win of the season in round one.
With the solid preparation behind us and great staff to support us, it was time for the real thing to begin. The excitement and anticipation at Thursday night's final training session was through the roof.
With the St Patrick's College students in Darwin for the week and key player Nick Suban in South Africa with the AIS, as well as injuries to some key players, we welcomed 15 fresh faces into the team for their first game.
Playing at Bendigo's Queen Elizabeth Oval was a fantastic opportunity for players to showcase their skills and make an early impression on the coaches. Two early goals from Ryan McKenzie gave us a real confidence boost however Geelong fought back and went into the first break with a three-point lead.
After a tight opening to the second quarter, the Falcons used the wind to its advantage and began to find space to pile on nine goals and head into the main break with an eight-goal lead.
The feeling in the rooms at half time was one of disappointment as expectations had been high, but we also knew that if we regrouped and played more accountable and positive football, we could get ourselves back into the game.
This led to a more spirited and aggressive side taking to the field in the third quarter, and with greatly improved skills we scored five unanswered goals, before two late goals to the Falcons turned the ascendancy late in the quarter.
We were forced to fight hard kicking against the wind in the final quarter, managing to hold the Falcons to four goals while kicking three ourselves, ensuring we won the second half and go into next week on a positive note.
Congratulations to our first gamers for their commitment and ability to bounce back after our poor second quarter. Josh Free, Lachie Hamilton, Josh Cowan, Chris Giampolo and Oliver Tate all played well in their debuts.
We now look forward to playing at our home ground AUSTAR arena against Bendigo in a triple-header with the North Ballarat Roosters on Saturday.
Last Modified on 08/02/2009 16:33