The Queens Birthday weekend saw the OFCFNC head across to the Wandin FNC for a day of tough matches in all grades and so it proved to be. The biting cold and extremely heavy ground conditions were also another obstacle for both clubs to overcome.
In Netball, our C Graders, sitting in 3rd spot, took on the undefeated Wandin girls and after a slowish start, were able to draw level at halftime. The old saying goes that the third quarter is the "premiership"
quarter, and so it proved with our girls inching their way to a slender lead. In the last quarter, they managed to edge away with some smart and skillful play to win 25-20. Caz Fuerst was again outstanding ! This consolidates 3rd spot and if results go our way this week, they may even climb into 2nd. Well done girls and good luck this week.
In B Grade, the girls got off to a slow start and were right behind the 8 ball. As the game wore on, the workrate of the girls improved and the scoring began to build. The goalers finished with a solid game but the damage had been done early, we went down against a terrific team, 24-62.
In A Grade, the opposition again was of a high standard. The Wandin girls were superior to us in most areas including size, toughness and were just far more desperate. As in the previous match, we started slowly and were never able to seriously challenge for the match. Our 2nd quarter was our best with Mel Thomas providing a great target having started on the bench, but otherwise it was all Wandin for the remainder. Olinda going down 25-58.
In footy news, the U18s started the day in real bother with only 14 players available. With a number of sickies and injured players, it was a great effort to field a side, including one or two who played injured as well. The boys attitude though was outstanding as they hit the ground running and jumped out to nearly a 9 goal lead at the 1st break. From there on it was all one way traffic as the boys worked really hard and were able to record a 209 pt victory. In a win like this, its hard to single out players but Mitch Meadows with 13 goals was brilliant. Jaydey Faull from the U16s chipped in with 4 goals and Harry Cole burnt all day.
Great effort guys, this weeks match against last years Runners Up will present many more challenges.
In the Reserves, the side took the field full of confidence, expecting to win and win well. The 1st half saw a real grind as we held a slim 8pt lead with Wandin really working hard. An 8 goal to 2 goal 2nd half saw us finish with a 50 pt lead and go 1 game clear in 3rd spot. Georgey Azzam chipped in with 3 goals and Stevey Gannell and Mickey Ruigrok were again named in our best 2.
In the Seniors,we came up against an old foe and were expecting a tough, physical encounter. The 1st half saw us have alot of possesion but not putting the score on the board. We held nearly a 5 goal lead at halftime but this was cut to 3 immediately after the break as Wandin found another gear. We managed to steady for a while and innacuracy again cost us as we took a 4 goal lead at 3 quarter time. The last quarter finally saw some good system as we piled on 9 goals to 1 to record a 76 pt win in very heavy conditions. Blakey Walter finished with 4 goals and Dylan Troutman and Owen "Spider" Millwood were in our best. The Seniors sit in 6th spot, 1 win outside the Top 5 with 2 very big weeks coming up.
Coming up this week, we are at home against Mt.Evelyn and then the following week, we are home again against Monbulk. Two games atop the hill in a row and both days are massive in the context of the season for all grades.
The attached PDF Document is an invitation to all to the home match against Monbulk FNC in two weeks time so please have a look at it.
This weekend also sees our Junior Club at home, taking on Upwey/Tecoma.
Looking forward to seeing you all over the next couple of weeks and "Go Those Mighty Blooders"