It was a
beautiful clear, cold day for Fitzroy’s home game against the Ashburton team –
an inconsistent but ultimately successful outing. John’s pre-game
instructions were typically to the point – coming off a good second half from
the previous week’s game, the boys were to ‘man-up’, to ‘clear the
stoppages’ and
talk to each other about their intent when near the ball. He wanted to see some
of the drills practiced at training used to good effect in the game.
Co-Captains Lucas and Sam Clarke led the boys out of the room and through the
guard of honor made for them by the Fitzroy ‘Tackers’ (the younger age team). Fitzroy lost the toss and
started the first quarter kicking to the eastern end of the ground. Three Fitzroy players were offered to Ashburton to make up for illness and injury in their ranks (this occurred for each quarter). Key
play-makers, Laird, Sam Ward and Alex, were getting possessions early on and
Kyle and Max were unlucky to miss kicking the first goals of the day. With Will and Laird defending
strongly (and with assistance from Tom Ward, Mason and Yianni), Ashburton’s
early attempts to score goals were repelled, despite a number of incursions
into their 50 meter zone. With the notable exception of tagging specialist,
Lachie, there was frustration from the coach’s box that the boys were not
‘manning up’ or playing in front as they’d been instructed to do so. This was
leaving up to five loose opposition players in the Ashburton forward line.
Luckily, with the ball back down in Fitzroy’s forward line, Max, Dom and Sam
Ward all teamed to get the ball to Alex, who kicked the team’s first
goal. Back in defense
however, despite best efforts from Sam Clarke, Fitzroy’s continuing inability
to ‘man up’ saw Ashburton kick its first goal – scores were tied. In the centre, Joel, Lucas and
Jack were getting possessions and with no more goals added by either side, the
quarter ended. In his
update to the players, Team Statistician, Gerry, noted that the Ashburton boys
had been more effective at getting the ball into their forward line (inside
50s), in part due to their higher work rate and their ability to lose their
Fitzroy opponents. Gerry also noted the lack of talk by the boys when near the
ball which was leading to lost opportunities. In his address, John gave the boys a
‘razz’. He challenged them to increase their concentration, to ‘man up’ against
their opponents and to stay focused for the whole quarter. The second quarter started. Ashburton, clearing the ball
easily from the centre, quickly kicked their second goal. With Fitzroy under
pressure Kyle, Sam Ward and Dom were all lifting their games to try and steady
the Fitzroy ship and a confident Noah Dekker went head to head in contest with
two Ashburton players. With
a boost needed, Josh roved the ball up forward and managed to kick the team’s
second goal – an important confidence builder for the team. Minutes later, Alex did the same and kicked his second goal for the game. Not to be underestimated
however, Ashburton took the ball forward and scored their second goal, despite
more disciplined defense by Fitzroy’s back line. In what was becoming a high
scoring quarter, Fitzroy cleared from the centre to get the ball to Lucas, who
then kicked his first goal. The
quarter continued with Jack taking a strong overhead mark at centre half back
and kicking to Laird who took the ball forward. This led to a dashing passage
of play in which Darcy, managing to control the ball with second, third
attempts, kicked yet another goal for the team. With Fitzroy’s defense under
pressure again, Lachie, taking on three opposition players, managed to repel an
Ashburton attach. At half time, Gerry noted that despite the team lifting,
tackles were down in numbers from the previous week. Paul spoke to the boys next, stressing
the importance of getting to the ball first and competing in the air. In his
address, John noted that the boys had improved as the quarter progressed, in particular
in the final five minutes when Fitzroy had managed open up play. He conceded that Ashburton had enjoyed
a couple of ‘go the goose’ goals (ie: lucky). For the next quarter he urged the
boys to treat every contest they were involved in as the most important in the
game and to lift their intensity at the ball. The
third quarter started with Tom Markham, demonstrating his much improved form,
roving the ball and kicking forward. Giving
away nothing to his opponents, Lachie was defending strongly at full back and
saved an almost certain goal. Sam Ward, Kyle and Stanley were all getting
kicks. Alex went for a run (bouncing the ball twice) and shortly after, Stanley
kicked his first goal. Mason
and Joe were both in fine form, getting multiple possessions and Tom Markham
saved a certain goal with a mighty spoil in the last line of defense. Joel was
performing strongly in the ruck, Darcy was continuing his dashing form around
the ground and Kyle was showing his typical on-field leadership to win multiple
contested possessions, an outstanding example of focus and commitment for the
team. At the quarter time
break, John spoke to the boys and again stressed the importance of creating
consistency in their game. The final quarter started with Jack tackling strongly
to win a free kick and Lachie continuing to demonstrate his versatility as a
defender, this time on the half back line. Tom Ward and Tom Markham were teaming
well in the centre and Yianni and Kyle were taking the ball and going for a
run. In the forward line, prolific goal kicker, Alex, scored again. In an
exciting passage of play, Stanley, weaving his way through multiple opposition
players, kicked his second goal. Shortly
after Stanley featured again, shepherding a clever snap kick from Lucas through
for his second goal. The
game ended with Fitzroy engineering a convincing win, despite some erratic form
as a team. Sam Clarke was
awarded the opposition team best player award for his notable efforts in
defense and the team linked up to march victorious back to the rooms. Back in the rooms, John noted that
despite some inconsistency, the boys had won every quarter in the game. Tom
Markham and Dom were awarded the footy cards, Tom for his improved form and
ability to have a ‘crack’ in the games and Dom for being a pillar of strength
to the team, week in and week out. The
boys sang the team song and then departed home for a warm shower, pleased with
their efforts.
Final scores:
Q1:
Fitzroy 1.3.9 - Ashburton 1.1.7
Q2: F
4.2.36 - A 2.0.19
Q3: F
1.1.43 - A 1.0.25
Q4: F
3.1.62 - A 0.2.27
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