Early in the season St Kevins put in one the great comebacks of all time to defeat us at The Badlands and the scars were left deep in the Bloodsâ psyche. The result made âThe Pulseâ section of the Herald-Sun and former Port Adelaide player, Josh Mahoney was hailed a hero. Today was payback time. The Oracle, BOO(brother of Oracle) and the Throng journeyed to leafy suburb of Kooyong to view perhaps the most difficult playing surface for the year. Both teams were pumped and Magee got the boys off the good start and with Paddy on top in the ruck and Frogger tag free the Bloods were playing well. Sammy got another and Benny and Magee got us to 4 for the quarter. The Skobbers only ventured forward several times but got full value for their effort and their total was three for the quarter. Stef looked cooked for the day with a case of concussion from a bout of friendly fire and Tommy was back as if he had never been away.
St Kevins came out firing in the second quarter and piled on several quick goals. Macca was playing well on the highly valued skipper and Vossy was clearing the backline well with his long kicking. Despite our efforts we were outscored 3 goals to 5. Benny was proving a handful and Magee was marking well and kicking accurately. Down by 3 points at the break the Bloods would have to dig deep if they were going effectively end St Kevinâs season.
The third quarter was a tough 25 minutes with several skirmishes breaking out. While T.Brown was being tagged heavily, version D. Brown bounced a clever ball through the middle. Benny marked a tough contested ball and goaled and Paddy sacrificed his natural game by going down back to add some ballast the defence. Laz was proving elusive and he made some loose checking pay by scoring another. Harro was rucking well and the Hyphen was enjoying a spell in the middle, where his strong skills were having an affect. Vossy was everywhere and his efforts had the Bloodsâ faithful confident of big last quarter. St Kevins outscored us 6 goals to 4 for the quarter and their running players were proving a handful. Veteran Garvey had moved to full forward and it was âgame onâ.
Despite all this the players strode confidently to the huddle at ¾ time and Vossy was vocal and told the Bloods what had to be done in the final stanza. Coach Shannas added more to the script and the Throng waited to see what would unfold. Stef was back on after a headache and lined up at full forward. Frogger looked done for the day and tired and injured players were seen on both sides. What unfolded was just fabulous. The boys in defence didnât give an inch â Hammerâs punch out of bound almost cleared the sound barrier on the freeway, Paddy was meaner than a NAB share investor and Macca, Chis and Morro were running and rebounding from dash from defence. Vossy was everywhere and his mark and goal from 35 metres was a true highlight. Super team play had seen Stef centre a great ball after taking a ripper mark in the middle lane of the freeway. The Hyphen was dominating the outer wing and Benny was standing tall just when we needed it most. The Skobbers refused to lay down but several super tackles on their skipper Dowd zapped their spirit and run. Laz, who had been a good player all day, landed a beauty from the boundary and when the buzzer finally sounded we found ourselves victors by 12 points. Our miserly backline had conceded only 2 points for the quarter. What a match and what a win! The boys were exhausted but really proud of their achievements. Many players had contributed to the win and the frosties tasted all the better when the news came that Marcellin had been defeated. We head back to Bayside for our next match â to Trevor Barker Oval, a ground that has provided many good memories over the years.
Last Modified on 08/04/2009 00:16