With yet another nice, sunny Saturday in Bendigo now almost seeming monotonous, the Maiden Gully oval looked a picture after rain earlier in the week. The Warhawks took the field with 13 players, while Footscray arrived with 14 to start.
The game started with a jump and a horrifically quick goal to Footscray. The Warhawks quickly realised that their usual dominance in the centre was going to be severely tested and middies needed to head off a rampaging Footscray centre-man.
Both sides had good possession in their forward lines, and while good Footscray stick work tended to give them more time with the ball, some stellar saves by Gino Iuliano in goals and solid Bendigo defence kept Footscray from scoring again for the quarter. Bendigo however, capitalised on turnovers twice, with an opening goal to Alex Orr from a good passage of play, and another from a nice catch under pressure and an assist by Jordan O’Meara, who helped Ian Lock slot his first for the day, making it 2-1 at the first break.
The second quarter was a wrestle with both sides missing shots under pressure and again, the Bendigo defence held and Gino was able to stop most of what Footscray threw straight, except for one. At the other end, the Bendigo forwards looked dangerous often, but were unable to find the back of the goal net for the term. At half time, the score stood at two all.
The opening few minutes of the third stanza were alarming, with Footscray jumping out of the blocks with three quick goals, before the Warhawks regained composure and clawed back possession. However, they were frustratingly unable to score for the quarter, under heavy pressure from a spirited Footscray defence, while Footscray slotted two more for the quarter to be 7-2 up and now had their tails up for a big last quarter.
The Footscray cheer squad behind goal found their voice in the last and urged their team on. The Footscray forwards obliged with five more goals, however, their party was somewhat soured by a characteristically dour Bendigo response, spearheaded by Ian Lock and Alex Orr, who netted three and one respectively to almost match the Footscray effort and quieten the fans at the other end somewhat. The game ended with Footscray winners 12 to 6.
Again, a mention should be made of the number of assists that were given. For six Warhawk goals, five of them show as assisted on the scoresheet; by Ty Griffin, John Webb, Jordan O’Meara, Russell Crofts and Ian Lock. This is a great result.
Votes were awarded to Alex Orr (3 Club and 2 Association) for involvement in pretty much everything, again; two club votes went to Ian Lock for another multiple-goal effort, on a day when he’d justifiably considered not playing (thanks, Ian).
One club vote was awarded to Gino Iuliano who made some remarkable stops and disappointed some cocky Footscray forwards many times in the course of the day, as well as struggling to keep his cool with a Footscray cheer squad stood behind giving him goal-keeping advice. No easy matter.
Thanks to Lester Young for reffing for us (I should mention again, that having a bloke who’s willing to ref most games effectively buys us an extra player. As my Dad once observed: “Lester should never have to buy himself a drink after a game …”).
Thanks also to Mark Reader for coming to the game while he’s injured, to coach and help with bench substitutions. Cheers, Wookie.
Also, thanks to Tracey and Ross O’Meara for providing us with cut oranges and also to Tracey for scoring for us. Also thanks to Angus Webb, who turned up ready with boots and gear in case we were short of players. As my Dad also used to say, “They also serve, who stand and wait…”
Anyhow, I think we are making progress, but by God, we could use more players (hint, hint). I’m looking to get up for training this Thursday, but we really do need more than half a dozen guys there to make it useful, and y’know, it’s a long drive from Lancefield...
Gino says that Angus Angiolella will be at Tuesday training to help with coaching. Try to make that, as he has a lot to offer in advice and he brings great energy to a session.
And if you can’t get to training, honestly, find a wall and hammer a ball against it. You’ll be amazed at what 20 minutes of that does for your stick-work.
We’ve got Chadstone at home next week. We’ve suffered badly at their hands in recent years, but with both their Divvy 1 and 2 teams facing Willy sides next weekend, I’d like to think that we can make their long trip home from Bendigo a quietly despondent one.
Now, before I go, Gino tells me that our campaign to make women’s lacrosse a Bendigo sport is moving ahead nicely. We had good numbers of mainly junior age girls at pre-season training with lots of enthusiasm and promise shown. Now some of those players are gaining match experience by helping to bolster numbers and add a regional flavour to an MCC Division 1 women’s team. Four Bendigo Warhawk girls played last weekend and helped MCC to a 10-8 victory over Williamstown, with one of them, Morgan O’Meara scoring a goal. Well done! Here’s to the growth of lacrosse in the sticks!
John Webb
Senior player
Last Modified on 07/05/2018 12:00