Well, I may as well start out by saying WE HAD A WIN!!!
On Saturday, the Warhawks assembled at Angliss Reserve in Footscray, with some dirty clouds overhead and a wet, slippery surface to warm up on. However, turning up to this club is always a great catch up. People stick around the Footscray club forever and walking in, me and the older guys in our club got a few familiar “G’days”. While I may have to occasionally help a jaded memory out with my name or a “I used to play for Uni”, Gino however, is known by everyone. Everyone.
We had good numbers to start, with 15, while Footscray had 11. We ran an eye over their line-up; much like ours, really. A mix of old and new, fast and slow, experienced and new-to-the-game, but no ex-Australians to contend with this week. We reluctantly stuck in our new mouthguards and so it began.
In the first quarter the Warhawks jumped Footscray, applying early pressure on the forward line and setting up good player and ball movement and getting lots of shots early. Mark “Wookie’ Reader got another of his “run from the backline and bang it home” goals, Mason Matheson scored a nice goal to finish off a good forward team effort and John Webb gathered a fumbled save from off the deck in front of goal and popped it in, giving us a three to nil start at the first break.
The second quarter saw Footscray possess the ball a bit more, but the Warhawk defence proved intimidating (Wookie, Ty, Dion and Jarrod are pretty big lads) and the ball tended to move around the attack, but with little penetration and some dropped passes. Any shots from set play were long and were well seen and dealt with by Gino Iuliano in goals. However, the Footscray middies were fast to capitalise on a couple of Bendigo errors in attack, scoring two goals from fast breaks in the quarter. Bendigo’s scoring slowed and the structured play could only be maintained spasmodically. The only goal for the quarter came from a recovered dropped pass, flick-passed by John Webb behind goal to Alex Orr, who beautifully fed Ty Griffin, perched on the crease, who deftly placed it into a top corner. At half time, the score was 4-2
The third term was better for the Warhawks, with the scoring opportunities increasing, though the forward system we practice was still not really standing up under pressure. It also took us a while to wake up to the fact that the Footscray goalie was good in the air and that low shots were a better option. However, Alex Orr scored one great goal from a long and punishing run from outside on the left; Ian Lock beat the goalie, with a sharp shot as he drove round from behind goal on the left, after other forwards pulled their defenders clear; and John Webb found space on the right and send a hard, low shot around the legs of defenders past a screened goalie. At the other end, the Footscray forwards were finding the Warhawk backs more than a handful, and could only manage one goal. At the last break, we stood at 7-3.
In the final quarter the Warhawks kept up the forward pressure and there were plenty of shots, but it was only Alex Orr who could beat the goalie, which he did twice. As a heavy shower set in, Footscray could only add one more goal, despite some hard running and fighting. The final whistle blew with the score 9 – 4 and a great win for the Bendigo club.
Votes were awarded as follows. Mark “Wookie” Reader got 3 Association and 3 club votes for a great effort in controlling defence and also clearing to the forward area, which was MUCH improved on last week. Alex Orr was awarded 2 club votes and a single association vote for his usual “total warfare” attitude to this sport, and a single club vote went to Russ Crofts, whose solid performance in the centre caught the eye of refs.
I should note a phenomenon that was evidently new to a few of the younger guys: opposition teams don’t like being beaten and tough clubs like Footscray tend to express their displeasure through rough play. We had begun to cop some rough stuff, and it was good to see that Bendigo tended to keep their heads (well, mostly). Get used to it guys, we have winnable games ahead: MCC at Bendigo next week, and Melbourne Uni at Uni the week after.
John Webb
Last Modified on 27/04/2015 10:58