Match Discussion U19s v Caulfield Grammarians plus a Seniors review

[Kangaroolz]

Round 11 Caulfield Grammarians v Fitzroy

The weather was perfect on Saturday for the match against Caulfield Grammarians at Glenhuntly Oval. The ground was a picture, the only problem was the canteen wasn’t open and I hadn’t had lunch! Fitzroy had low numbers for todays’ game. Injury and Uni holidays are a killer at this time of the season for most teams. Caulfield may well be suffering too but had a full squad for the game. Fitzroy going in with 21…there go the rotations again.

The first quarter was a good contest. It was very even. Joe Hill was once again a marked man up forward so he was moved into the middle again so he could get his hands on the footy. Fair to say, Joe is not aerobically the fittest lad in the side but he made a difference instantly. There’s a lesson for all the kids out there – don’t train too hard, fitness is good but not everything, the secret is just be bloody good at playing football!! Meanwhile, at the other end, Woody was frustrating their gun forward. It ended up being a 7 goal to 1 quarter, including a beautiful soccer goal from Edwards that would have made Messi proud!

The watermelon and Gatorade tasted good at halftime as it always does when you have control of a game. Bruce was content. Pleased with the midfield. Happy with the forwards and I think he has a bit of a bromance happening with the backs – Woody, Sawyer, Zimmerman, Meltzer, Tregellis and Ligris all doing their jobs.

The third was just like the second, another 7 goals added to the Fitzroy score. Strathy up forward was now looking like a champion. McCormack was in everything. The other JMac, alias Jordy, was having a great game. Jordan last played footy at u10s. He misspent his youth playing basketball. Sometimes you can clearly see his inner basketballer, especially when he tries to bounce the oval ball like a round ball! He is just good enough to pull it off too! He is starting to get used to the physicality of this game, which is encouraging. Matters was also influential. I am going to take this chance to say Mike matters to this team!!! (Glad to have got that off my chest!).

Sadly, The Roys endured another worrying injury. Gutsy Bryce McAdam was taken to hospital by his parents with some sort of shoulder problem….possible collarbone maybe? Let’s hope not.

In the last, the Roys were tiring. With one less on the bench and therefore, less rotations, it wasn’t surprising. It was a great win in the end by 63 points. It probably cements us in the top 4 but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Next week, while everyone is enjoying the bye weekend, we have to play Collegians because we were washed out in Round 9. The game will be at VAFA headquarters in Elsternwick, another Friday night fixture, are we the new North Melbourne?

 

[By George!111]

The Red Foundation luncheon was a harbinger of the success the Club was to have in the afternoon. Premiership players and the Coach, Graham Burgen, of past campaigns lent a generational sense of fading and renewal of success. Many parents of present players in attendance who saw their sons play off for a premiership last year and now see them struggle to rise further up the ranks this campaign must feel keenly Rudyard Kipling’s categorisation of victory and defeat as imposters both. Peter Hille’s mastering of civilities and ceremonies as Chairman of the Foundation together with the interview of Sam Pang by John Harms provided superb entertainment. President Joan, later in the day, publicly on behalf of the club expressed the shared sorrow to player Marty Cusack and his family on the recent loss of his father. What lives beyond our share in the chain of time in a club like Fitzroy is the goodwill, camaraderie and kindness we can inject in that brief interval.

Where there is a Will there is a way; where there are two oh happy day.

Wild Bill Pickers with goatee and ziff and the Wolf (a sobriquet given to him some years ago by the well respected late Valerio Breda father of Rob) entered the arena with bandages inflating their respective ankle and shin that made each look like they had lower limb elephantiasis. Their first half contributions, Wolf -23 possessions plus 8 tackles and Wild Bill 3 goals 2 which he would say was 4 goals 1 (and the replay would confirm) plus pressure acts, including a blue steel stare that made the full back fall over whilst kicking out, were decisive. Four times this year the team has kicked 10 or more goals . Wild Bill has played in 3.5 of those and we have won 3 of them. Unlike many, I am not usually a fan of forwards; they often fail to understand the gut running end to end efforts of the mid field (i.e Rory’s , Sam’s, Hesse’s, Alex’s, Dalt’s and Antony’s) and the instant death pressure on defenders. They get the show pony shots on goal that make the best player selectors, especially if former forwards, swoon; not so Wild Bill- there is much more to his game and he disciplines himself to remain in the pi r2 of his choosing.

Replays of the games are free and up each week on VAFA TV. Watch the start of the second quarter. Unsatisfied with the delivery from the mid field Wild Bill joined with the full back in punching the ball 30 metres forward; both did the right thing but Pickers had assessed our domination of the mid field and knew it would come straight back. Within 30 seconds Michael Cussen had marked another forward foray from which Fitzroy goaled.

A 10 mark 21 possession 5 tackle game by Dan Bisetto and a ruck tour de force by Michael Lee (regarded by many as equal best player) were essential for victory. Most ruckmen never get past juniors; the mother’s that inspect their shin and other injuries each week properly persuade them to pursue other activities. With a tooth loosened, despite mouthguard, a fortnight ago (where were you Phil) and last Saturday absorbing punishment to his beanpole body that many of us beyond the boundary line thought would end with an ambulance if not worse, Michael persisted to have a 26 tap out 13 possession 2 tackle 5 defensive big grabs game. Another Michael - “Racca” whose form up to game day did not justify selection returned the faith of the coaches with a 7 mark 25 possession 2 tackle game.

The most efficient effort was by our smallest and newest player Chris Doherty. Thirty seconds into the game he laid his and our first tackle; he had run from the forward pocket to the wing to execute it. His first possession after receiving a handpass from Pickers was to handpass it back for Wild Bill to kick the goal that wasn’t. His first senior kick after a bottler of a mark in the second quarter was a goal; his second and third kicks likewise. His fourth and last kick was a pass to Pickers who doing a double take just failed to nail his own fourth (5th?) goal. It was the tale of his tackling however that was most impressive; his seventh dispossessed Caulfield Grammarians second best player and resulted in a free kick and goal for Chris. His eighth and final tackle brought down the Grammarian veteran Sam Wood who had been commissioned to roam the half backline in the last quarter to send his long bombs deep into opposition forward territory. Those that saw us lose the first round against Caulfield remember they wheeled out another veteran Mark Liddell to kick 4 majors in a 7 goal each game. Tim O’Shaughnessy Caulfield coach was again playing the veteran card well. That tackle by Chris demonstrated that tackles by young sides learning their craft are one of the most effective weapons they have. The embryonic run and gun game being developed by the team and the likes of our Maxs’ will be fostered by the armoury of bulk tackling.

After the game it seemed that all opposition players stayed for the coaches addresses. This is not easy when you have lost but fosters the respect of your opponents and their supporters. The well wishes from our President Joan, leader of a better “petticoat” government than Kevin’s or Julia’s, were sincere and genuine. Victory and defeat - Tim O’Shaughnessy cousin of regular reporter Phil, (and advised I was reporting on the game in his absence) summed it up best in conversation when I asked how many premierships he had got while coaching at Xavier. His humble reply? “….the players won 3 and I lost 2”. Everyone’s a winner when games are played in good spirit ; after all even Caulfield President Richard Footeprofited from Pickers in the Ist goal raffle!