Fitzroy Junior Football Club Under 10 Team 1 Gold 2015: Round 9

Despite the scoreline not reading Fitzroy’s way, the game against top rated Camberwell was one of the boys best for the season. After a crisp warmup session in perfect playing conditions, Scott addressed the players in the rooms. Stressing the importance of playing with intensity at the ball, he urged the boys to have confidence in themselves to perform well. John spoke with the boys about the importance of committed tackling and importance of remaining focused for the four quarters. He reminded the team that they’d been the equal of Camberwell for a quarter and a half during their previous encounter and, echoing Scott’s sentiments, he urged the boys to believe in themselves and create doubt in the opposition with their intensity at the ball. Co-captains, Tom Markham and Kyle, led the team out and won the toss, electing to kick up the hill. Much of the first quarter was played in Fitzroy’s backline, with both teams applying relentless pressure. Yianni established early dominance in the ruck and Stanley and Joe got involved early, both taking contested marks. In an intelligent passage of play, Darcy kicked out of defense to Yianni, who then handballed to Laird, who moved the ball forward. Mason saved a certain opposition goal with a mighty spoil in the last line of defense and Lucas applied a wonderful tackle. Stanley, having one of his best quarters for the season, was getting countless possessions, on the ground, on the run and in the air. Jack, having recovered from smothering the ball with his head, was taking marks and driving the ball out of defense. Josh, Max, Alex and Sam Ward were all in amongst the action in winning the ball as the quarter ended. Despite the team having conceded three goals, Scott was delighted with the boy’s performance. In his quarter time address, he praised their intensity at the ball and their running, jumping and tackling. Stanley was thanked for being an inspiration in defense, as was Lucas. Scott urged the boys to continue to make smart decisions and kick the ball forward and if caught behind, to punch the ball. Team Statistician, Gerry, outlined that the boys had performed strongly with their tackling and, despite the pressure from Camberwell, had still managed to get the ball into their 50 meter zone twice for the quarter. John spoke briefly and urged the boys to play in front. The second quarter saw Fitzroy start to slow the Camberwell momentum. Coming off the bench, Noah Cameroux and Sam Clarke were in impressive form, tackling hard, spoiling kicks and winning possession of the ball with second, third attempts. Darcy took a terrific mark on the wing and Yianni did his best to open Fitzroy’s scoring account as the team drove forward. Lucas was having a wonderful quarter at full back. If he wasn’t smothering the ball and winning possession, he was kicking the ball long and accurately out of defense. Sam Ward and Alex were teaming well and Joel was dominating in the ruck. Max, Josh and Dom were winning possession of the ball and Lachie was working hard to create opportunities in the forward line. Tom Ward applied ferocious tackle and Lucas and Joel teamed intelligently a number of times to move the ball out of defense before the quarter ended. In his half time address, Scott reminded the boys that they needed to keep attaching the ball and if caught behind, they needed to punch the ball. He asked the boys to keep manning up in defense and to keep talking to each other. Gerry outlined that in terms of tackling, the boys continued to perform well. He suggested however, that rather than handball to a teammate in defense, the boys should kick long to ‘create the yards’. John was very pleased with the boy’s performance. He told them that their intent at the ball was as good as Camberwell’s and he thanked Lucas and Noah Cameroux for their ‘sensational’ quarter. He told the boys not to panic if they got the ball but to think through what options they had for disposal. The third quarter started with Sam Ward and Stanley in amongst the action early, getting a number of kicks. Yianni took a mighty overhead mark and then kicked a long ‘torpedo’ punt forward. Leo was fighting hard for the ball in the packs and Tom Markham and Noah Dekker both took solid marks in the forward line. Sam Clarke won possession of the ball in defense and started a passage of play that led to Kyle kicking the team’s first goal from the forward pocket. Shortly afterwards, Kyle, Sam Ward, Yianni and Sam Clarke all teamed to get the ball to Laird, who kicked the team’s second goal in as many minutes. The momentum was flowing Fitzroy’s way, despite them kicking up the hill. Yianni was having a real impact in the ruck, Joe was working hard on the wing and Alex narrowly missed kicking the team’s third goal. In stark contrast to the first two quarters, Mason, Lachie and Stanley were all having a quiet time in defense. The quarter ended with Camberwell kicking a late goal. In his address to the players, Scott was delighted with the boy’s performance. He noted that they’d had been focused on the ball all quarter and had stitched together some terrific passages of play. Gerry outlined that the quarter had been Fitzroy’s best for tackles and John told the boys that they’d ‘made it happen’ in terms of scoring. The final quarter started with Sam Ward continuing his strong form with multiple kicks and handballs. Kyle and Laird were both impressing the coaches with their ability to gain possession of the ball in tight, contested situations. Max was in fine style in the ruck and Will was looking dangerous at full forward, narrowly missing kicking a goal. Sam Clarke, Jack and Dom were giving little away in the backline. Tom Ward was having his strongest quarter for the season. As he prowled the forward line, he was tackling, marking, kicking forward and playing a key role in setting up scoring opportunities. With the team keeping up with the intensity, Max was awarded a free kick and scored Fitzroy’s final goal for the game. Scott addressed the players at the end of the quarter and told them that they’d won the second half of the game against a very strong team because they hadn’t relented in their intensity for all four quarters. Lucas was awarded the opposition team award for his classy performance at full back and both teams lined up to shake hands. Back in the rooms Gerry explained to the boys that they’d almost matched Camberwell in terms of getting the ball into their forward 50 meter zone (19 to 21) and that they’d dominated the second half (the ‘proverbial tale of two halves’ for the team). John expressed his delight with the boy’s performance, in particular their focus for all four quarters. He explained they’d improved in all key metrics from the first time they’d played Camberwell. Joe and Stanley were awarded the footy cards; Joe for performing strongly in his first playing year and Stanley for being a champion, week in and week out. The boys left the ground, having lost at the scoreline but having won in terms of their confidence against one of the best teams in the competition.

Final scores were Fitzroy 3.3 to Camberwell 8.8

John's comments after the game " an excellent second half. I'm very much on a high given what the boys showed in the second half ..."