Match Report

Round 11

FJFC U-14 Blue 11.6 (72) d Parkside 4.6 (30) at Pitcher Park, Sunday, June 27, 2010 Well, for the first minute or two it looked like the Roys were set for a good day out: into attack in the opening moment. the boys seemed to be up and about. But footy has a way of giving you false hope. The game settled quickly and it was Parkside who looked the more assured, the more determined and more organised in moving the ball up the ground. Was this the same team that the Roys had played several weeks ago at Rammo? Well, Parkside has certainly improved: they mark well overhead and they were really hungry for the ball. The Roys looked a bit slow, maybe even a bit shell-shocked. Will won a free and his penetrating kick found Connor for the first goal but it felt like it was almost against the run of play. Parkisde kicked two major quickly and headed the Roys mid-way through the quarter. It came down to the strength of the boys' defensive skills: Kent laid some heavy tackles and Patrick roamed across half-back with a touch of the Harry O'Briens. Seb backed his judgement for a tearaway dash through the middle but it was grinding stuff. Alex managed to kick the Roys' second and give them a one-point lead at the first break. The second quarter saw more of Parkside's high work rate that seemed to slowly choke the Roys' run and confidence. There were some ill-discipline and signs that the boys were losing their cool. Mo curved a lovely goal from deep in the left forward pocket, but Parkside answered quickly before the major break. Richard and the coaches were mightily upset at half-time with the lack of effort and let the boys know it in the sheds. But there were also some positional changes after the break, including moving Kent in to the centre to get Charlie's taps. It worked almost instantly and Kent's kick brought the forwards right in to the game. And then Kent kicked one, and instantly there seemed a bit more purpose to the boys' approach. The balance started to shift: instead of being penalised for being second to the ball or high with the tackle, the Roys were getting to the contest more often and winning free kicks, especially in the forward line. The scoring changed: Andre snaffled a goal with a clever snap then Ahmed put one through with a smooth kick from a set shot. But all over the ground the boys were now doing the hard things - Kai took a strong mark under pressure, Jaquan cut a swathe through the centre in an impressive solo run and then Andre, on the last line of defence, made a despairing effort to ensure what looked to be a certain Parkside goal was only a point. The game was turning around, slowly, groaning and creaking like a big ship in heavy seas, but it was starting to turn. Then Hammo lurking on the goal line volleyed one through to extend the Roys' lead to 27 points. There was more confidence and belief in the three-quarter time huddle. Parkside had not kicked a goal in the third quarter and the Roys had kicked three. Could it be that the Roys had broken the shackles? It took only a minute to find out when Max took a strong mark, played on and found Connor, who put it through. Then Ahmed kicked his second, and suddenly there was some breathing space. Wiz was getting a lot of the footy for the first time and he was dangerous out of the middle. Then Max managed a goal of his own before Connor iced it by trapping a bouncing ball in the goal square and nudging it through for a major. Parkside came again, and kicked its fourth but Lochie was giving the Roys enough dash in the dying moments to make sure the Roys were never headed. Whew! Close one, but in the end it showed a bit of character after a slow, slow start.

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