The season is finally upon us. After 4 months of pre-season and practice matches it is time to get stuck into the real thing.
Last weekends camp at Pax Hill Scout Camp gave us a fantastic opportunity to come together before our first round clash. This has been difficult due to the size of our region including Wimmera, Western and the new addition of Warnambool. This camp was a great success as we were able to set out our goals as a team for 2009 as well as forming new friendships with teammates from other regions. Training last week had a feeling of great enthusiasm with round 1 just around the corner and players all fighting for spots in the all important game. The team was selected on Thursday night with it consisting of 13 players in their first game for the Rebels as well as Head Coach, Glenn Wilkins, taking charge for his first game. We also welcome fitness and conditioning staff Will McGregor and Brad Anderson to the Rebels for 2009.
Round 1 took us to the Queen Elizabeth Oval in Bendigo where we faced off against reigning premiers, the Murray Bushrangers. This was to be fantastic challenge for us in our opening encounter and we were quietly confident in the lead up of coming away with four points.
In the pre match address, Wilkes emphasized the importance of backing our instincts, trusting our ability and taking the game on.
The Bushrangers dominated the opening quarter kicking the first 7 goals before Michael "Shadow" Suban slotted a nice set shot just before the break to restore some confidence heading into the change of ends.
The second quarter saw a shift in attitude as strong tackling from Warni boys Kevin "gutsy" Bourke and Liam Hoy set the tone for the rest of the quarter. Angus Grigg, also helped in the resurgence taking strong marks, setting up scoring opportunities as well as kicking one himself. Midfielders Josh Cowan and Dean Gavin won plenty of football in the middle of the ground and showed great skill by both hand and foot. This quarter saw a change of momentum as we went into the long break still 6 goals behind.The half time address was centered mainly on our work rate and willingness to work for each other as our sheppards and tackles were well below par. This shocked us into action in the second half as we were determined to make amends.
During the 3rd quarter we showed glimpses of polish and poise. This was by far our best quarter as we started to hit targets and control the corridor as we out scored our opponents 4 goals to 3. Marcus Darmody provided a handy option up forward and the nuggety Andrew Hooper won plenty of hard ball in the middle of the ground as well as slotting a handy goal on the run to further shift the momentum. The Bushrangers held a 33 point lead heading into the final term but onlookers could sense an upsetwas a possibility.
The final term started in a flourish with Josh Free providing plenty of rebound off half back and Marcus Darmody goaling early in the quarter. Kurt Aylett set up plenty of scoring opportunities through the middle of the ground but we were unable to take advantage of countless forward 50 thrusts. The Bushrangers took advantage of our skill errors and tired bodies as they regained momentum and kicked 6 late goals to put the game beyond doubt.
Football is a great game in that there is always next week and the season is still fresh. Next week provides us with a great opportunity to build on our glimpses of strong play as we head to Swan Hill to take on the Bendigo Pioneers. Our Goldfields rivals are also winless after the first round so let's hope it's a competitive and hard fought contest.
Last Modified on 06/04/2009 11:14