Match Report

The grand final

YJFL Under-14 Blue Grand Final, Stradbroke Park, Kew, 12.30pm, August 29, 2010 Fitzroy 11.11 (77) d Doncaster 8.3 (51) The build-up. Tuesday training: It can be a lonely time, training for a grand final. You're the only team out there, and the forward coach is doing something in the goal square and everyone else is on the wing at Rammo, working on a few drills. Phil, the boys' spiritual guru, has delivered a solemn and inspiring message. Some of the parents are inside the clubrooms, with crepe paper, sticky tape and a tin of soup that had magically appeared from Pam's bag, with mysterious purpose. The banner for Sunday is taking shape. And then the rain comes, sending sheets of water rattling on to the Rammo roof and driving the boys off the paddock and in to shelter. But not for long: the man-boys became boys again, soaked, joking and carrying on around the cricket pitches as hail stones deluge the ground, slipping around and larking about. ''Get home, get a hot shower,'' Richard bellows above the din of the rain. Eventually, they head off in to the night, laughing at their dripping hoodies and soaked socks. Thursday training: The last hit-out before the big game. It is a low-key affair on the track. This team has been training twice a week all season. Fitness will suddenly not appear on Sunday. It's about getting the feel of the footy, having a run, soaking up the anticipation. There's pizza and a few fizzy drinks while Richard reads a poem, incomplete, waiting for Sunday's events to provide the conclusion. Saturday afternoon: A few of the boys hop in to Phil's bus and join Richard for a scout around Stradbroke Park. The ground is flat and in decent condition. There is an area of mud near the middle, but the rest of the ground is firm without being hard. Richard tries a few torpedoes from the 50m arc. The coach looks nice and loose for the big one tomorrow. Sunday morning: Everyone's routine is different but Richard has helped out with some dietary hints for a bit of carbohydrate loading on the Saturday night and a light breakfast before the game. Some of the boys have watched the Collingwood-Hawthorn game from the day before and realise that a game is never over, until it's over. A few others have been subdued. A couple have had melt-downs. Others have plugged in their Ipods in the drive to Stradbroke Park and chilled out. By the time they arrive, the crowd is swelling. Even MasterChef Matt Preston is there, apparently to watch his boy play for Glen Iris in the Under-10 grand final against the Roys. Matt has a big grey beanie and a cravat. He confides to a Fitzroy parent that he's not sure what he can endorse from the canteen. The clouds are high, the wind is light and there is a whiff of spring about. The boys go through a few drills on the lower ground. Richard confesses that he's calm, which puts him in front of most of the parents. Only three of these boys have premiership medals - Josh, Kieran and Patrick - who were part of the Under-10 blue flag in 2005. For the other 21, this is a new sensation. In the rooms before the boys run-out, Chris reminds them that they have beaten Doncaster twice during the year. It's true of course, but in the most recent encounter Doncaster almost pinched it and they were missing one of their playmakers, Number 4 Zane. Since then the Doncaster Cats have swept all before them, rolling over everyone they played, including St Marys twice. They are in it with a real chance. The ace up the Roys' sleeve is that Digby didn't play in the last encounter with the Cats: will Digby's contribution cancel out Zane's run and carry? Chris is upbeat: "This day is made for Fitzroy,'' he says. He urges the boys to tackle, tackle, tackle. There is a silence for a moment but there is a hum of emotion. The boys are almost ready. Richard moves in to the centre of the room, a cool, light concrete box, and he looks across the faces of the 24 boys in front of him. ""The truth is that you are good enough to win this and if you give it everything, you can win it,'' he growls. The noise is starting to build. The boys are on their feet, they are starting to shout, bumping each other, running on the spot, counting to 10, then coming together in a huddle. And then they are away, out to the banner, to take on the Cats, for the premiership. First quarter: The Roys have been great starters this year, and there is confidence that it will happen that way again, that the goals will unfurl like a magic carpet. But then you remember that they have had a week off, and the nerves - the damn nerves - worse when you have led the competition in to the home straight - kick in. And that's why the Cats look to have settled first, bustling the ball in to attack in a move reminiscent of their second half charge against the Roys a few weeks earlier. Still, there are good signs that Digby is in the groove, taking a couple of early marks, and Charlie's expert ruckwork is right on target. Al and Jaquan are also busy early, picking up some vital touches and showing they are adapting to the quicker pace of the game. Lochie is outstanding off half-back, with one skipping, scything run that found Digby with a great pass. After five minutes, there was an air of tension across the ground. Whoever scored first would ease the pressure, and after a quick Doncaster sortie in to the goal square, the ball spills free for a goal off the ground. What can the Roys do? The reply comes soon enough when Kent sharks one from the boundary thrown-in deep in the pocket and skilfully hits the outside of his boot to register the Roys' first. It is a signal for the Roys to increase their forward pressure, and Seb is outstanding in some clever touches that forge two behinds, sufficient enough to give the Roys' a quarter-time lead. Mu is wonderful in defence, at first ambling, then jogging, then sprinting, juggling the ball, paddling it, and then winning possession with every ounce of calm under great pressure. How does he do that? Fitzroy 1.2 (8) to Doncaster 1.0 (6) Fitzroy: 42 kicks, 12 handballs, 11 marks, 3 centre clearances. Second Quarter. The promising element of the first quarter was that the Roys had struggled to find any system but they somehow managed to conjure a lead. There are signs in the opening minutes of the second term that some loose men are starting to get the ball. There is a glimpse of system when a string of possessions almost lead to a goal but just when it looks promising, the Cats race the ball downfield and score their second major. The dry, still day make it perfect for marking and both teams have their tall timber to hang on to the contested ball, but when Kent finds Ahmed, who takes a tumbling mark and converts the goal, there is hope that Fitzroy have more boys who can hold a mark under pressure. Then, in a one-on-one contest in the Cats' goals, there is a mark and an easy goal. The Roys go forward again, more in hope than design. Luke is giving plenty of drive off half-back but the ball gets caught up in the Roy forward line before it zooms back down the other end. Wiz manages to break free and send the ball deep in to attack where Jesse is waiting for chis chance. Slippery, with a nice line in dancing footwork, Jesse dodges the tackle and snaps over his shoulder for what is a memorable first goal of the season. But the Cats come again, slamming on two more. The quarter is ebbing quickly from the Roys when Ahmed snaps a goal that gives the Roys' back the lead. And then the siren sounds. The goal feels mighty important. Roys by only four points at the main break. Fitzroy 4.4 (28) to Doncaster 4.0 (24) Fitzroy 34 kicks, 9 handballs, 11 marks, 4 centre clearances. (Doncaster 1 centre clearance) Third Quarter. It's tense but no panic in the room. Omar has come to remind the boys that they have worked too hard to not finish the job. "Intensity and pressure,'' he reminds them. Richard is on his feet, prowling around the room. He urges Connor to hang on to his mark. "One grab,'' he shouts at the skipper, and Connor nods. He knows he hasn't had enough of it in the first half. Back we go. Everyone knows this is the premiership quarter: win this one and you can set it up for a last quarter charge to victory. But the Cats are rolling, and they snatch a goal in the opening minutes of the term. Come on Roys! What's going on? Like a lion slowly waking, the boys start to stir. Al finds Mu, who gives it off to Wiz and then to Diggers, who drives it forward where the Pickpocket (Aleks) hands it off to Connor for a goal. Moments later, the Pickpocket snags another one. Everywhere the boys are starting to lift. Wiz finds Connor again, and the skipper snaps a point. Pat traps an opponent, strips him of the ball and threads the ball through traffic with poise. And the ball see-saws now between the half-forward lines, trapped in footy limbo with no apparent sense of a goal to come. The teams trade points, until Connor snaffles the kick-in, and finds Wiz, who takes the contested mark and goals. It feels like the game is on the verge of breaking the Roys way and then the Cats pile on the agony with another last-minute goal. Kai has done a good job on tagging their Number 4 but he slips away and drills the goal that reduces the margin to 13 points. This is how finals are meant to be played: tough and even. The tension is mounting. Fitzroy 7.9 (51) to Doncaster 6.2 (38) Fitzroy 40 kicks, 8 handballs, 12 marks, 3 centre clearances. (Doncaster 1, in dispute 1) Fourth Quarter: So this is it. It's the last quarter of the season. No ifs, no buts. Nothing to be left out there. No excuses. Who is going to stand up and help their side clinch the flag? Is it the Roys to lose? In the past week, the great subtle message has been about the team. It takes everyone to make a contribution, and not everyone will make a contribution on the day. But in the two year-journey that Richard has gone with this team, they have all had their day in the sun. Will today be their day? Will the team today reap the reward of their training, their friendships and their skills? It looks for a moment that it will indeed come to pass when Jaqan slams one towards the goal, only for the ball to bend in to the goalpost: 14 points up. Then, as they have all day, the Cats kick a goal through some strong marking and quick ball movement. The Roys are tackling hard, but the Cats are finding their way through. A Cats' snap for goal reduces the margin even closer, and then a point leaves just one behind between the two teams. The Cats have played their hearts out. They have a sniff. The Roys last quarters are not their strongest. Could it all go horribly wrong for the Roys in the final game of the year? In the midst of this mayhem of emotions, the Roys rush the ball forward and Aleks, alone in the goal square, goes after the ball. He can't trap it. The ball bounces around and won't sit still. The Cats are sprinting towards the goal. Aleks can't seem to find the handle. And then he grabs it, and nurdles it through the goals: Roys by seven. You can almost hear the Roys' parents breathe out. A couple of simple but creative things are making a difference: Sam Howard is inspired in the pocket, just finding room to give Aleks the chance to kick his second. Kent, how at centre half-forward roves Charlie's tap expertly and bangs it forward. Wiz wrangles a point and Andre, with good hands and a steady gaze, levers open the door a bit wider. Connor marks 20m out and rides it home. The momentum has shifted: the Roys' forward line is roaring now. Kent finds Connor again, who kicks the Roys' fourth for the quarter and at that moment, you sense that Doncaster cannot stick with it. In the dying minutes, Josh exerts his strength to make a marvellous smother that sums up the effort and determination of the boys throughout the match. And then the sweet sound of the siren blares out across Stradbroke Park, and the Roys' joy is unconfined. Diggers is deservedly Best on Ground, but the Roys but he had some great mates out there. Good players play well in big games, and there were no passengers on the premiership bus. Richard is beaming. Chris is beaming. Rick is beaming and Phil, well he grins his knowing, lop-sided grin, and adjusts his Freo scarf. Fitzroy 39 kicks, 8 handballs, 6 marks, centre clearances 4. (Doncaster 1, In dispute 1)

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