For a moment, it looked like The Roys may need dune buggies rather than footy boots because there was so much sand and soil around at St Marys. But pretty much every oval is suffering from the drought and no amount of wishful thinking can take us back to the green, green grass of all those years ago. Still, there was a game of footy to be played and the Roys had turned up with a real sniff.
It took no time at all for Fitzroy to start the scoring, although it felt a bit like last week when behinds rather than goals started to mount on the scoreboard. The truth was that the Roys had much of the play: Ned was powering his way in the ruck, giving the ball a decent thump at the bounces. And when Connor B marked and kicked the Roys’ first major, the game was well and truly alive. It’s a cruel thing about footy that St Marys went forward three times in the first quarter for three goals, while the Roys had to settle for seven shots at goal and 1.6 by the first break.
But there was plenty of signs that the team was starting to get some momentum and as all those footy commentators will tell you – whether it’s around the telly on Friday night or on the radio on Saturday afternoon – momentum is the key. It started with Charlie taking a strong contested mark in the goal square and converting. Then Muh added another. Josh Barnes was crashing and bashing his way across the half-back line, letting his opponents know that he was pretty much unstoppable while Ahmed was cutting them up through the middle. Jesse Jones was charging at the ball with courage and desire that won him key possessions, and Andre, then Will gathered the loose ball to send the Roys forward again. St Marys grabbed one back, then Patrick latched on to a loose ball in the middle of the ground, and found Charlie who sent it forward where Muh was waiting again, to score his second for the quarter and give the boys an 11-point half-time lead.
Richard kept them on the ground for the long break, to enjoy the buzz. They had played well – could the Roys keep it up?
St Marys are always tough competitors and they never give in. So it was no surprise when they started pressing hard at the start of the third quarter. The Roys’ defence was working hard but St Marys managed two goals while Digby, who was finding a lot of the footy, just missed out with three behinds that could easily have been goals. Score were level with a quarter left. The boys sucked in a few deep breaths in the huddle. Richard looked around the group and asked the question: “How many of you have driven a dodgem car?’’ Every hand shot up. “Well, you know there’s not a lot of fun just driving around is there?’’ A low murmur of agreement. “So we need to be more aggressive and go in and get it,’’ Richard told them. And they did.
It was hard work, but the boys set to it. Sebastian took three towering marks on the wing and half-back while Ahmad ran and chased to bring off a great tackle and earn a free. Down back, Connor B was impassable. Up forward, Max H guided a left-footer home from the pocket to put the Roys in front and then helped Wiz get another. Sam H laid a powerful tackle that stopped a St Marys player in his tracks and the Roys’ crowd went wild with delight. And then in the dying moments, St Marys clawed a goal back. Could it be that the Roys were going to be denied a win in the shadows of the siren? Not this time. A blink after the goal came the happy sound of the siren and the Roys had their first win of the season. And how sweet it was to hear the song and see the boys, arm in arm, walk off the ground after an outstanding team effort.
Match Report by Nick Richardson
Under 13 Blue 2 Fitzroy U-13 Blue 2 7.12 (54) d St Marys 7.6. (48) at Whatmough Park, May 24, 2009.