Under 11-1 - Match Report

Glen Iris           0.2       2.5       2.8       2.8       20
Fitzroy              0.2       2.3       2.3       4.10     34

It was 7ºC, the rain was beating down, on a lake, and Glen Iris stood between the U11 Browns and their first experience of finals footy. But then, as they say in the classics, football is a winter game.

Fitzroy won the toss and kicked to the deep end in the first quarter. From the start the Fitzroy defense was under the pump as Glen Iris fired the ball into the danger zone, but the determination of Gus, George, and Harry H. on the last line meant that only 2 behinds resulted. Eventually the efforts of Declan, Eddie, and Harry J. got the ball into our half, resulting in behinds to Rushed and Sapphire. It was all tied up at quarter time.

The second quarter started with a rushed behind to Fitzroy. Glen Iris quickly swept the ball down the ground but were thwarted by Andrej, who marked in the goal square. Noah relieved Chas in the ruck, and from a disputed ball, picked up and kicked in the direction of Ben who kicked off the ground for a goal. Glen Iris responded by sweeping the ball out of the centre for an answering goal. This opened the floodgates for Glen Iris who backed up with 2 further behinds and a goal. Fitzroy responded with their most assured use of the ball for the day, with Robbie delivering to Iraklis, in turn to Lucien, who hit Ben on the chest, who converted.

At half time the boys resorted to the bar radiators and sinks of hot water to warm their blue hands, whilst a couple of them stood, in all their gear, under warm showers.

The premiership quarter was a real slog, and the ball remained camped in the Glen Iris half for almost the entire interval. Three behinds resulted for Glen Iris, and it would have been far worse but for the efforts of Aiden, and particularly Robbie manning the fortress at half back. Fitzroy failed to trouble the scorer in this quarter, and Glen Iris extended their lead to a potential match winning 5 points. Did the boys not appreciate the angst they were subjecting their parents to? One poor mother even shed tears during this quarter.

The coach laid it on the line at the last break: the boys were contemplating their last 15 minutes of the season.

The message seemed to register, for from the start the boys embarked upon a strategy of taking the lead incrementally, by adding 6 consecutive behinds, 3 of them posters, 2 of these to Chas. Then Chas tapped the ball to Louis, whose kick was marked and converted from an angle by Noah. Noah repeated the dose with another goal off the ground courtesy of feeds from Robbie and Isaac. In fact Glen Iris failed to advance the ball further than center half forward in this quarter due to great saving marks at center half back by Lucien and Chas. An additional rushed behind meant that come the final siren Fitzroy had triumphed by 14 points, and Susan didn’t need to collect the jumpers!

Next an appointment with the formidable Banyule (see round 7 match report) in the sudden death first semi-final awaits us. Go Roys!

“Chicken Smallhorn” (the ghost of Fitzroy past)