Under heavy conditions up at Noosa on Saturday the young Mayne tigers really served it up to their older and stronger opponents early on, before being completely overpowered in the second half. Tom Falconer and Matty Evans got plenty of the ball early and with a fierce commitment by all players to pressuring their big name opposition, the boys made Noosa earn every kick. Unfortunately the loss of Stu Meredith in the 2nd minute to a hamstring made the task that much harder, however a late flurry in the second quarter saw Mayne close the gap to a respectable 8 goals to 2 half time deficit.
Whilst the boys were confident of continuing their bold showing into the second half they knew that Noosa would step up their efforts. And step it up they did with an 11 goal to nil blitz which put an end to any hope of a comeback. Noosa showed Mayne how to control a wet footy with some of the skill on show first class, giving their forwards time and space to move. It was the ability of Noosa to hit the ground level contests at top pace in the forward line that continually kept the boys on the back foot. No doubt Mayne will learn from this.
Luke Ferguson was exceptional in nullifying Noosa’s star full forward Hicks by repelling countless attacks in the last line of defence. With the return of Caleb Brown and Hugh Valentine imminent Luke may be looking to stay at full back for a bit longer yet!
Steven Maar showed plenty in his senior debut and Daniel Weller was tenacious in defence.
In the reserve grade it was a similar story with Noosa’s superior skill and fitness paving the way for a big win.
Mayne was best served by first gamer Ethan Smyth and new comers Nathan Jones, Joe Hickey and Jason Maggs.
Both sides will be looking forward to playing at home this week against Coolangatta on Saturday. Given the ding dong battles Mayne have had with the Blues over the years a big crowd is expected.
See you there
Last Modified on 31/03/2009 10:30