It was a wet and windy day for
Fitzroy’s Mother’s Day contest against Beverley Hills, a game of two
startlingly different halves. At the pre-game warm-up, John noted the large
size of the ground and stressed the importance of clearing the ball from the centre.
As the Beverley Hills team colours are the same as Fitzroy’s, the visitors were
required to wear the light blue ‘clash’ jumpers for the game. Additionally,
each Fitzroy player wore a pink arm band to highlight breast cancer awareness
(and for Mother’s Day). In his pre-game address, John emphasized the familiar
themes of playing on front and ‘manning-up’ in defense, in particular across
the mid-field. Given the wet conditions the boys were told to ‘kick it long’ to
either a team mate or into the open space. The ‘Three-Rs’ were reinforced –
respect, responsibility and run. The importance of encouraging and supporting
team mates were also stressed, with John noting how pleased he’d been with
these positive behaviors the previous week. Team captain's Lachie and Max led
the team out and won the toss, electing to kick with the wind to the eastern
end of the ground. Darcy, Laird and Stanley were active early on,
clearing the ball from the packs and Sam Ward roved a spilled mark to kick the
ball forward. Mason was on the hunt around the packs and Laird carried the
ball toward the goal square where Max created a contest. As quick as a flash,
Alex had the ball and kicked his first goal of the day, continuing his good
form of the previous week. Back in the centre, Sam Clarke, shrugging off his
illness from the previous evening, got his first kick for the day. Jack
was controlling the half back line and paired well with Lucas to move the ball
forward. Will stopped an almost certain goal in the last line of Fitzroy’s
defense and Tom Ward took on two players as he chased down the ball.
From the coach’s area, John and Paul noted that the boys were not playing
in front on the backline or dropping back fast enough to pick up their men. As
almost to emphasize their point, Beverley Hills scored their first goal and
then a second. Back in the centre, Lucas cleared the ball and Stanley was
doing his best to crash through the packs. Tom Ward took a solid mark however Beverley
Hills scored twice again, exploiting Fitzroy’s lapses in discipline on the
backline. Fearless in his attempts to get the ball, Noah Dekker was tackled
hard and forced to leave the ground, injured. In his quarter time update,
Gerry noted that both teams had the ball within their fifty meter zone four
times each, however the opposition had scored four goals to Fitzroy’s one, a
far superior conversion ratio. Paul asked the boys to keep playing in front and
praised Max for leading by example. The second quarter was a congested affair
with Fitzroy working hard to slow the Beverley Hills momentum. Noah
Cameroux was ferocious in his tackling and Jules was showing his class as a
ball clearance specialist. Joe was working hard from the bottom of the
packs and was rewarded a free kick for his courage. Tom Ward and Sam Ward teamed
well to move the ball forward, with Sam kicking Fitzroy’s second goal.
On-field leader, Kyle, was impressive as he played in front to move the
ball forward from the half back line and Sam Clarke took a ripper mark.
Dom, with a combination of skill and tenacity, was working hard to clear
the ball from the packs and create opportunities and Joe took an impressive
overhead mark. The ball was in Fitzroy’s’ forward line frequently and despite
Leo, Max and Sam Ward teaming well to create the defensive ‘wall’, scoring
goals was proving challenging. At half time, John praised the efforts of
the mid-fielders and was pleased that when required, the boys had dropped back
quickly to crowd the backline (thus limiting the Beverley Hills scoring
opportunities). Jack was thanked for his work around the packs and Sam
Ward’s ‘cracking’ quarter was noted. The boys ran back onto the ground, full of
purpose, determined to create free space and score. The momentum gained
by Fitzroy in the third quarter was in no small manner due to the dominance of
Joel in the ruck and Laird’s skill in clearing the ball from the
tap-outs. Both were in sizzling form as they paired to get the ball out
of the centre and swing the game Fitzroy’s way. The ball moved into Fitzroy’s
forward line, however despite a number of gallant attempts by Josh, Alex, Max,
Lucas and others, conversion into goals was continuing to be a problem. Tom
Markham narrowly missed taking a courageous contested mark before Jules,
dodging several opposition players, broke free to end the goal scoring drought.
Out of the centre again, Sam Clarke was increasing his tally of kicks for the
game with some speedy work on the wing. Joel, Jules and Laird teamed to
get the ball into the Fitzroy forward line before Yianni, composed, focused and
running fast, kicked a wonderful goal (to the delight of his team mates).
Josh ensured further delight when, cool under pressure, he goaled.
On-ballers, Joel and Sam Clarke, were giving nothing away, with some fine
tackling that slowed any momentum the opposition may have been trying to build.
Lucas, Leo and Josh were working hard to create opportunities in the Fitzroy
forward line, with Lucas playing his most confident game to date. At three
quarter time, Paul praised the boys for creating space in the forward line and
getting in front. Joel’s ‘absolutely sensational’ performance was called out,
in particular his role in organizing the Fitzroy forward line. Laird was
thanked for ‘smashing’ the centre clearances and creating the momentum that
Fitzroy needed so badly. Gerry outlined that there was only one defensive 1%’er
in that quarter, due to the fact that the ball had only gone into the Beverley
Hills forward line once (a credit to the Fitzroy defenders). He noted however
that forward scoring conversion continued to be a challenge. John
stressed that to carry home their momentum and consolidate their lead, the boys
needed to get in front and ‘want the ball’. The final quarter started
well for Fitzroy. Noah Cameroux used his strength to break free of a tackle and
Mason and Laird teamed to bring the ball forward. In ten minutes of
inspired football, Alex demonstrated all the versatility of Swiss army
knife. If he wasn’t breaking tackles to kick two more goals, he was demonstrating his proficiency at kicking on both feet or stepping up to take to take the role
of ruck when the ball was bounced (and no tall player was near). Kyle kicked
for goal and was unlucky not make the distance. Lachie, Will and Tom Markham were
getting cold in the Fitzroy backline, as they looked on from a distance. In the
twilight of the game, Laird lay a ferocious tackle to get the ball to Stanley,
who broke into the clear to kick a goal. For this and his earlier
efforts, Stanley was awarded the best player award by the Beverley Hills team.
Back in the rooms, Gerry outlined that the boys had scored an impressive
twenty times but with a conversion rate of 66% (much improved as the game
progressed). Due to Fitzroy’s solid defense and creation of defensive ‘walls’,
the ball had only gone into the Beverley Hills fifty meter area five times in
the final three quarters. John thanked the boys for leading out to ‘create the
space’ in the second half and for creating opportunities (and resisting the
temptation to create congestion). Lucas and Jules were awarded the footy
cards for their outstanding performances and the boys polished off a satisfying
day’s work by singing the Fitzroy song, thrilled with their comeback win.
Final scores where:
Fitzroy 8 goals 12
points 60
Beverley Hills 4 goals 0 points 24
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