Facing one of the top two teams so far we had planned during the week to make ourselves accountable as Fitzroy were coming off a scoring spree the week before. Early in the game our plans were coming to fruition as we won our fair share of the ball. An even first quarter gave us confidence although the skill level of Fitzroy was evident. Early in the 2nd quarter we again played well with Joe Urbano leading the way with his physical and hard work. However the gap in kicking skills opened up after we closed to within 10 points half way through the quarter. Fitzroy were hitting targets all over the ground as our pressure eased off and in particular they were very accurate in front of goal to score 7 in a row and take a 51 point lead into half time.
The pattern in the 2nd half was much the same. We would win a hard ball - they would pressure us - we would kick it back to them. However, we kept bouncing back to win the hard ball back in between their scoring. The 2nd half saw them have 15 scoring shots to our 9 so the gap between the 2 teams was not that big except for their superior efficiency. This was an indicator that the Sharks boys worked hard from siren to siren and showed great discipline to stick to the plan for 4 quarters. I felt sorry for our forwards who had a tough day but Tom Woodman was outstanding all day in a very courageous performance. Big Sammy Hoskins put in a huge performance in the ruck with Dan Tibaldi his usual dynamic self. The skipper, Daniel Massarotti sacrificed his game to do a job in defence on a very good player and led our boys magnificently. Others to shine were Dane Egerton who showed glimpses of some freakish things he is capable of and Chris Howgate who was impressive in the air, on the ground and with his skill level. Of course it is always worth a mention when Dipper puts one through the sticks!
It was a bit strange to be more pleased with a 97 point loss than I was with a 2 point loss last week - however this game showed that we are capable of so much more and there were many encouraging signs. Hopefully the week off will refresh us for a tilt at St. Bernard's after the break.
Cheers, Pete
Goal Kickers: T. Woodman 3, D. Tibaldi 2, N. Di Pietrantonio
Best Players: T. Woodman, D. Massarotti, D. Egerton, D. Tibaldi, J. Urbano, S. Hoskins
|
Q1
|
Q2
|
Q3
|
Q4
|
FITZROY |
4.5 |
11.9 |
15.11 |
21.14-140 |
MANNINGHAM SHARKS |
2.0 |
4.0 |
5.5 |
6.7-43 |
Last Modified on 24/01/2010 18:33