Lacrosse Division 3. Chadstone vs Bendigo at Chadstone. 20th May 2017
The temptation to turn a match report into a long-winded whinge about the unfair nature of our competition is pretty strong, but I’ll do my best to resist....
The Warhawks packed the vehicles with provisions and trekked out east to Chadstone on Saturday. The weather had looked grim all morning, but we arrived and were bathed in bright sunshine all afternoon (a goalie’s nightmare at the non-clubhouse end). The ground was in very good order, though fairly long and thick grass made the bounce hard to judge.
Bendigo began with 12 players, while Chadstone, enjoying the luxury of a bye in Division 1, were able to field a very handy 15.
I don’t think a quarter by quarter commentary is really necessary. Chadstone overpowered Bendigo in all areas and with the tempo of the game much higher than what you’d expect in Division 3, the Warhawks found the going difficult and keeping possession a challenge. As a slow-moving forward, it felt like there was no room or time to move without Chadstone pressure. It was relentless and with their youth, pace and skill, Chadstone punished any mistakes and the Warhawk stick work was sorely tested. The Chadstone stick-work was sharp and forward work around the goal pretty to watch, though viewed from the other end with a heavy heart.
However, as always one must, and can, find positive aspects. Bendigo allowed 14 goals to be scored by Chadstone in the first half, but managed to stem the bleeding with only 8 in the second half. The Chadstone forwards found the going tougher when the Bendigo defence changed over to a zone defence and the attack had to resort to longer shots. Gino Iuliano had his skill, reflexes and temper tested in goals and stopped an absolute barrage and the Warhawk defence made their presence felt with big hits on any Chadstone forwards who might try to push their luck.
The Warhawk centre players, Russ Crofts and Brett Ruiz did very well and were able to win the face-off regularly and our middies were able to capitalise often, but the difficulty was always getting the ball onwards and into a coherent attack with the Chadstone pressure on passes.
The Chadstone goalie was also denied a shut-out, with Ian Lock managing to snare our single goal with a shot rebound off the goalie in the third quarter. We had some good moments and some reasonable shots and tried to make use of the brutal sun in the goalie’s eyes, but it all went unrewarded and it was a tough day. The final score was 22-1.
Votes were deservedly awarded to Gino in goals (3 Club and 2 Association), 2 Club votes to Alex Orr and one Club vote to Mark Reader.
Head’s up, lads! We were short-handed against a team that contained more than a handful of Division 1-capable players; a side which would have beaten most Division 2 sides. There were no beginners in the Chadstone team; they could all handle a ball and run, and they had a full bench to draw on. There were no over-50’s (in fact, I don’t think there were many, if any players over 35). We can’t allow ourselves to feel disheartened for long (for my own part, I felt very old and despondent driving home afterwards). Onwards and upwards! We play Melbourne Uni at Maiden Gully next week. Uni also have to play Willy in Division 1 on the same day, so I expect we’ll have a fair go in Division 3. Let’s get everyone to training this week and to that game and get ourselves a win.
Senior player, John Webb
Last Modified on 22/05/2017 09:12