Under 14's Match Report by David Nolan
After a long break the Lions returned to the field this week against Campbelltown/Wollondilly at a very windy Memorial Oval. After winning the toss and kicking with the wind the Lions started well in difficult conditions.
The first quarter was a tough contest with each team kicking a goal and the scores even at quarter time. There was some tough work required in the backline and Nathan Milgate held his nerve and repelled several attacking manoeuvres and saved several goals. Ben Foxall provided some tough support making several tackles. The second quarter was a better one for the Lions on the scoreboard with the effort from Jeremy Rix picking up kicks around the ground starting to pay dividends. Pat Pope was involved in everything and played an exceptional game capped off with a goal. Blake Langer came to life in the second quarter improving his attack on the football and was rewarded with several important possessions. Wil Arnold played his first game for the Lions today and looked at home on the wing.
The third quarter was a tough one for the Lions with Campbelltown/Wollondilly outplaying the Lions and adding 3 goals while holding the Lions scoreless. However to their credit the Lions put in a huge effort in the last quarter and were rewarded on the scoreboard adding 4 goals for the quarter. Jeremy Hardy made some important tackles in the backline and was assisted by Hugh Arnold. Chris Nolan was in great form this week running with the football several times today and scoring a goal with a banana kick on the run. Julian Borg had another busy game making several important tackles late in the game. Beau Dingemans did a lot of work at full forward and his efforts resulted in several goals to the Lions in the last quarter. Adrian Boelhouwer played an excellent game and finished the day with 3 goals. The last quarter saw Ben Edwards step up to the plate and kick 2 very important goals to seal the win for the Lions.
It was a close game all day and with the Lions 1 goal down going into the last quarter it would require a huge effort from the Lions and that is exactly what happened and the young Lions went home with a well earned win.
Awards: Ben Edwards, Nathan Milgate, Adrian Boelhouwer
Goals: Adrian Boelhouwer 3, Ben Edwards 2, Pat Pope 1, Chris Nolan 1,
This weekends game: Emu Plains/Glenmore Park vs Camden Blue
Date: 2nd May 2009
Game Time: 1.10pm (be there 12.30pm)
Where: Dukes Oval Emu Plains
Under 16's Match Report by Paul Hocking
Under 16's Report Round 3 26th April 2009 v Norwest Jets
Windy Bensons Lane was the venue for this Under 16 clash against the newly formed Norwest Jets. We had 23 players to their straight 18, and three of theirs were backing up from the Under 14 saints match in the previous game so all things seem to be heading for a Lions victory for this game. Winning the toss and running with the wind away from the setting sun, seemed to reinforce that idea but someone forgot to tell the Lions players as things started going down hill from this point on.
The Jets easily won the opening centre contest and ran straight down the middle to put the ball deep into attack. After some swift hand-passing it was Jets 6 nil. The Lions then settled into the game picking up lose ball and sending it deep into attack with kicks that often went 50+ meters with the help of the wind. We managed four good goals in the remainder of the quarter to lead 27 points to 8 but running into the wind would prove a different story.
Again our centre players were not winning the contest and in the second quarter, this cost the Lions dearly. Luckily the Jets were not as accurate with their snaps at goal with 5 six pointers out of their 12 shots. It was 6 goals 9 - 45 points for the Jets to the Lions 4 goals 4 -2 8 points at half time. The signs werent looking good with some injuries and players walking through the centre as opposed to the Jets running.
The third quarter saw a number of Lions players trying but it seemed that they couldn't gel as a unit. The hunger for the ball at times wasn't as strong as the jets as they constantly put pressure on our players with the ball. The Lions had 9 shots on goal but only 2 made it through the big sticks, while the Jets almost scored 3 times but were stopped often by our defences "rushed behinds". It wasn't looking good as we were one point down after using up all our chances with the wind.
Typically, the lions found some spirit for the first few minutes of the last quarter as we one the first contest at the centre and looked set to go deep into attack. Unfortunately, we did not get the rub of the green" from the match officials and several times a penalty went against us at key times. The Jets scored to stretch their lead to 7 and that seemed to signal the end of the Lions effort for the afternoon. With home ground support the Jets scored at will and finished the game 12 goals 17 behinds - 89 points to the Lions 6 goals 11 behinds - 47 points.
They say that a team trains how they play and for the Lions this seemed true as coaches Rix and Stevens were not happy with their attendance and focus last Wednesday and they seemed to have taken that into today's game. Many times the oppositions just had more "mongrel" for the ball than the Lions as we seemed to be more interested in "playing the man" against our smaller opponents. One opposition player who honestly looked like he was drafted from the Under 10's had more disposals (including 3 goals) than half our side. Hopefully it was a good wake up call for our talented Lions. To their credit, the Lions players looked to the future by gathering as a team without their coaches for a bit of soul searching straight after the final whistle. Later they unanimously voted Tom Noble to captain the side for the rest of the season and clapped the efforts of Rick Ooms who got the Krispy Kreme Award after kicking 2 goals and setting up a few others. Other players to get a mention for good games were Nick Adams, Alex Wade, Tom Noble, Jackson Swarbrick and Shaun Stevens. We now look forward to a better effort at training and at next Saturday's game against the Razorbacks at Dukes Oval.
Last Modified on 07/03/2010 08:29