It was as cold as a mother in laws kiss as a howling wind greeted arch rival Oakleigh Districts at Newcomen Rd. We lost the toss and were forced to kick into the wind for the first quarter. Oakleigh’s attack on the ball was far superior to ours as was their willingness to put their noses over the ball. We were on the back foot from the beginning as our backline struggled against a surge of entries. We were fortunate that the visitors wasted a few first quarter opportunities, as many of their eight behinds in the first term could have been goals.
Below: David Ford tackled
Quarter time provided some respite and a chance to organise ourselves better. We finally hit the scoreboard after a strong mark to Clint Brooks. Leighton Ross made the Oaks pay for a dropped mark moments later with a clever snap and it appeared we finally had some momentum. It would be short lived as we then conceded two valuable goals into the wind. Trailing by 20 points at half time was not a bad result for what we had served up.
Below: Leighton Ross
The wind strengthened after half time and our backline was once again under the pump. We conceded four goals which wasn’t a bad effort given the conditions. We also pulled one back through some clever work from Aidan Jolly leaving us a slim chance finishing with the wind. The wind appeared to die along with our desperation. The final quarter was not one we could be proud of, as we were held goal-less and reduced to spectators as the visitors ran away with the points.
Below: Adam Norman
We were left to rue a poor start, an inability to follow direction and a lack of willingness to match Oakleigh’s desire. The difference between our best and worst is far too great and individuals need to address this.
Gav provided some life and chances up forward. Jackson Bolch performed admirably on a very good player, Danny Wilson as always was manful in the ruck and Brooksy presented all match on a day not great for forwards. We had far too many non contributors and we must rectify that this week.
The reserves had a tight low scoring battle all day, eventually going down by a goal. Paul Norman and Sean Francis battled hard along with Brad Wilson. Paul Riley, playing in his fifth decade at the club finished with two goals.
Last Modified on 29/06/2014 11:15