Round 9 Newsletter

The Round 12 v Old Geelong Match day Lunch is already a sellout! But do not despair, there are 2 more lunches for the year. Make sure you book early to avoid disappointment. The remaining lunches are on:
31st July - Round 15 v Fitzroy
21st August - Round 18 v Caulfield - the last home game in the current rooms.

The Gala Dinner is on Saturday 24 July and is set to be one of the best to date. Tickets are already selling fast to make sure you get your seat quick! click here to get the flyer and check the website in the coming weeks to see what auction items will be up for grabs

Seniors
After losing Damien McGuigan in the warm up, it was an even start feeling each others abilities out before the Wellers were able to create a 20 point lead at the first break. With the Vultures fighting to avoid relegation, they came out hard in the second really testing the home side, however our defence was able to sustain these attacks and create some great counter attacks from deep in defence, increasing our lead to 34 at the half. The theme for the day was based on the need to play intense football for four quarters, too often we have been slow out of the blocks, then being forced to play catch up footy. Not today! The forward forays came thick and fast, however a number of strong scoring opportunities were wasted. The final quarter was somewhat disappointing, allowing the Vultures to score 4 very creative team goals, which gave the score line from their perspective some respect. Congratulations to Simon Bonyhady & Greg Tolson on achieving their 100 game milestones. It is also great to note that Adam Goldblatt made his debut at senior level on Saturday, his debut was very solid, and he certainly did not look out of place. Better Players: Mitch Hough, Phil Bennett, Jack Le Cerf, Ben Hart & Jordan Heffernan

Reserves
In what should have been percentage booster for the Reserves team, turned into a dour struggle. With a handy 6 goal lead at half time with some classic goals from Matt Cottrell we were poised to capitalize on our strong position. Unfortunately as with the previous game against Fitzroy our third quarter was a shocker with Parkdale out scoring us against the breeze, 5 goals to our 2. With a “Back to Basics” man on man in the last we were able to run out comfortable winners, showing again how reliable our defence is keeping Parkdale goalless in the last. Better players during the day were our lively centre liners in Romanin, Storey & Dean, who were well supported by our onballers Hudson, Robinson & Searles. Up forward it was the hard work of Sam Mulligan & Blake Hillier and some clever play by Brett Cottrell that created our early opportunities. Special mention of course to the goal of the day in the last quarter from “Hudo”, being deep on the boundary from 70 metres out and still slotting it through the big sticks

Under 19
Saturday was an interesting challenge. A 9:30am start, not yet winning away from home, a bench of only two and our captain out, the task of winning the game wouldn’t be easy. The game started with attack on the ball and the man with great vigour, this intensity meant our midfield got on top early and our defence was outstanding not conceding any score. However we where somewhat wasteful in front of goal, with 2 goals from 9 attempts, a 17 point lead at quarter time. Our intensity and effort dramatically dropped in the second, allowing the opposition back into the game. The scores were level at 15min mark but we switched back on to finish 19 points up at the half. With the aide of the breeze in the third, we knew that we must create a game winning lead by the end of the quarter. The game had really levelled out and our opposition started to play some good attacking football. That coupled with one or two defensive mistakes for the first time in the match meant we only extended our advantage to lead by 20 points. In the final quarter we would have to go defensive to protect our fairly modest lead. The quarter was exactly that, defensive! With little rotations available it was necessary to clog up the play for long periods of time and for the most part we achieved this, the quarter was by no means a pretty one not managing a score. We managed to hold on until the final minutes of the game when the opposition Kicked 2 quick goals, to get within 9 points at the final siren. Finally a win away from GBO, one that was much needed. Now we must make it 3 in a row against a fired up Marcellin side.
 
Under 18
Our first game in the newly formed U18 Division One was against the undefeated ladder leader – Rupertswood. A new team we hadn’t seen before on a new ground we hadn’t played before - at 9:30am in Sunbury – a destination many of our players had never been to before! We were without our Captain and Vice-Captain after both succumbed injuries at training during the week and we also welcomed three players for their first game. We came out of the blocks very well and took the game up to Rupertswood. At half-time we were only 16 points down. Unfortunately, our match conditioning, fitness and game skills fell away in the second half against the relentless pressure of Rupertswood. They were well-organised, well-trained and disciplined team but their undefeated record and high percentage are somewhat flattering. They are definitely not invincible. In a much more competitive division and with a few players out for a while with injuries and several players going overseas, our U18 team faces a very important cross-road. We can choose the high road or the low road – the high road requires us to band together, train hard together and meet the challenges we are facing head on together. If there is no change in current attitude towards training and collective improvement, then the low road will take us all to capitulation and an embarrassing end to what has been a very promising start. The individual and team character of our young U18 group will be well and truly put to the test in the weeks to come.

view email in browser | unsubscribe | update your profile | forward to a friend