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Round 15
Fitzroy Colts Vs Bundoora
Today’s theme was Payback, in the earlier round Bundoora had beat us at hard ball gets and our team had made a promise to turn this around. The first quarter was tight and tough, as the two teams made efforts to gain the early ascendency at Bullen Park No 1. Bundoora kicked the first goal of the quarter into a 3-goal wind, but from that, moment on Fitzroy dominated the quarter to kick 2 goals 4. Chris Polidoras again roving the packs in the goal square, snapping the first, and a few moments later Luke Novello doing the same. We new that Bundoora was to kick with the wind in the second so we needed to lift our running game if we wanted to have the lead at halftime. Bundoora’s backline had done their homework on our Key forwards, Ross and Antony and were giving them little room to move. The second quarter was tight and scrappy with both sides kicking a goal each. Fitzroy had completed the first part of its mission by leading at halftime. At halftime, we discussed trying to kick clear of our opponents by trying to kick 4-5 goals, while holding Bundoora to 1 or 2. To the Colts credit, the boys kicked 4 goals 2 to nothing. They did this by always being in front, winning more hardball gets, and running hard to help their teammates. Michael Lee took a very courageous mark, just on the siren, putting his body on the line and then went back from 40 metres out and kicked the goal. Michael took no further part in the game because of a heavy knock to the back, but his courage was just what we intended to display if we wanted to win this game. Tom Cheshire was also wreaking havoc, winning in every position he played in. Ross Borland also broke the shackles of heavy tagging and provided a much-needed target at centre half forward. So here we were, 5 goals up with one more quarter to play and Bundoora kicking with a wind that seem to be getting stronger. You could see at 3-quarter time the looks of determination in the players; we were not going to lose this game. There were 2 goals apiece kicked in the last with both sides not wanting to give up. The colts have now beaten in consecutive weeks 2nd and 3rd on the ladder. A great effort by all. One more to go in the season a showdown with Ivanhoe to boot. Looking forward to a great season’s finale.
The Final Scores were:
Fitzroy 2.4, 3.6, 7.8, 9.10.64
Bundoora 1.0, 2.5, 2.5, 4.10.34
Goals
Ross Borland 3, Chris Polidoras 2, Luke Novello, Tommy Pichen Hogg , David Delio, Michael Lee
Best players
Jack Atkinson, David Delio, Chris Polidoras, Tom Cheshire, Chris Krousoratis, Ross Borland, Sam Baker, Jesse Dimond, Max Rogers
Go Lions
Claude Inturrisi
Round 14
St Mary Vs Fitzroy Colts
Judgement Day had arrived, after last weeks disappointing loss to Banyule the Fitzroy Colts side had to win today against second on the ladder St Marys. The boys had put in a hard week on the track working on skills and accountability and today had to put it into practice. Michael Lee was elevated to first ruck for this match and was sensational from the word go, nullifying St Mary’s ruck from the very first bounce, also winning many contests around the ground and getting many possessions. Shannon Young took a couple of strong marks in the forward fifty and converted them into goals. David Delio, Tom Cheshire, and Shannon Young roved Michael Lee’s ruck work effectively giving us our best clearances percentage for the year. (88%) The Lions kicked 5 goals to 1 in the first quarter, thanks again to our super back six players. The second quarter started like the first where we piled on the first 3 goals of the quarter to lead by 7. St Mary showed us why they are second on the ladder and kicked 3 goals in the last 2 minutes of the quarter to reduce our lead to 4.
At half time, the colts were reminded to stick to the game plan and the result would come. The third quarter was goal for goal with St Marys winning the quarter by 4 points when the rain began to fall. We went onto the last quarter determine to come away with the 4 points and victory on St Mary’s turf. Michael Lee took the ruck again after having a spell in the forward line in the third quarter and provided our mid field with first use of the ball, kicking the ball long to an open forward where Chris Polidoras swooped on a spilled ball to kick the first goal of the quarter. Antony Harbor was proving difficult to match all day marking and running strongly. When Michael had to come of the ground with a hand injury Chris Krousaratis took up the challenge leaping all over the opposition. Luke Novello played a great captains role kicking 3 of his 4 goals in the last quarter. The players smelt victory, and kept running hard and played the best team brand of football for the year kicking 6 goals to 1 in the last quarter to run out winning by 53 points. The whole team played there part very well and deserved the win. Fantastic Effort.
The Final Scores were:
Fitzroy 5.3, 8.4, 11.4, 17.7. 109
St Marys 1.1, 4.3, 7.7, 8.8. 56
Goals
Luke Novello 4, Antony Harbor 4, Shannon Young 2, Tommy Pichen Hogg 2, Ross Borland 2, David Delio, Chris Polidoras, Sam Baker
Best players
Great team effort
Go Lions
Claude Inturrisi
Round 13
Fitzroy Colts Vs Banyule
Fitzroy Colts 1 were playing Banyule in game that would give one of the teams a 4 point break in fifth position and a good position to came home with a chance for finals. Today was meant to be Fitzroy’s day; we have shown brilliant form in the last two weeks and were confident we could go on with it. We had the lead all day but the heavy track took its toll on the players and could not sustain the run in the final quarter. It was very disappointing that we could not find a way to goal in the last quarter. Congratulations to Banyule for the win on a heavy track. The colts are not out of the finals race yet, but must win the remaining three games from here on in and hope that some other games fall our way. The first challenge “St Marys”.
The Final Scores were:
Fitzroy 2.2, 3.4, 4.6, 4.7. 31
Banyule 0.5, 2.5, 3.6, 5.11.41
Goals
Luke Novello 2, Michael Lee, Chris Krousaratis
Best players
Will James, Chris Polidoras, Luke Novello, Max Rogers, Ross Borland.
Go Lions
Claude Inturrisi
Round 12
St Damians Vs Fitzroy Colts
Crunch game! The Fitzroy colts needed to win this game and win it big to stay on track to the journey towards finals. We have worked very hard on the training track this week to improve our running game and tactics, so we needed to translate that into our game. The players new what was required and you could sense in the rooms pre-match that something special was about to unfold. The first quarter started and St Damians was attacking the ball hard and moving the ball quickly, they scored the opening goal of the game. From the next centre clearance, the Roy boys started to attack relentlessly, but with no reward as we kicked in accurately posting 6 behinds before scoring the first goal. We kicked another 2goals 2 behinds before the end of the quarter. The standouts for the quarter were the attack on the ball by Baker, Rogers, and Cheshire; they inspired the whole team to play in the same manner. The second quarter was an all round team effort outscoring St Damians 5 goals to nil, our back six, Atkinson, Parkinson, Williams, Turner, Baker and Rogers sensational as an impenetrable wall. The second quarter also saw first gamer Michael Cussen immediately have an impact on the game with some great Sheppard’s and hard attacks on the ball. We rotated our midfield and gave Will James the role of run with player on St Damian’s most dangerous player (no10). Will completely shut the player out and gained many valuable possessions at the same time. At half time, we discussed continuing our fierce attack and trying to finish with more goals scored than behinds, as our kicking at goal was still inaccurate. The third quarter saw Daniel Buckley and Luke Novello kick two goals a piece to further our lead at the last change, and Jack Atkinson running hard from fullback to give us more options through the middle. The forth quarter saw the hard running at training pay off as we slammed on 6 goals to 1 with David DiLio kicking 3 giving us 8 different goal scorers for the game. Now on to next week where we take on Banyule in the next test towards our finals campaign.
The Final Scores were:
St Damians 1.0, 1.0, 3.1, 4.2. 26
Fitzroy 3.8, 8.12, 12.14, 18.15. 123
Goals
Daniel Buckley 4, Tom Cheshire 4, David Delio 3, Luke Novello 2 , Chris Polidoras 2, Tommy Pichen-Hogg, Jesse Dimond, Michael Lee, Chris Kourasortis
Best players
Fantastic Team Effort.
Go Lions
Claude Inturrisi
Round 11
McLeod Vs Fitzroy Colts
This game was to be a season defining game, win and our final chances are alive. In the first game, we easily beat McLeod by 103 points, but the weather and ground conditions were terrible, and big scores were not going to be achieved today.
The first quarter the Fitzroy boy struggled with the conditions trying to play fancy footy on a wet day. McLeod went into the first break 11 points up. In the second quarter the players went long and direct and found themselves only 3 points down at halftime. As the team has done for the last couple of games, we remained on the ground at halftime and discussed the tactics for the second half. In the third quarter the team really began to find their straps and produced footy we have all been used to seeing. Tom Cheshire was playing in the forward line for the first time this season and really gave the players a target to kick to a highlight was the mark over the pack in the middle of the goal square. He then went on to kick another goal within a minute and gave Fitzroy a 16point lead at the last break. The last quarter was tight as McLeod placed extra men in our backline to try and bottle up our game. Enter Chris Polidoras who manages to kick a great goal under a lot of pressure, when Luke Novello kicked his second goal the game was beyond doubt. We now have St Damians away next week and this is yet another challenge to keep our finals dream alive.
The Final Scores were:
McLeod 2.4, 4.5, 5.5, 6.6. 36
Fitzroy 0.5, 3.8, 7.9, 9.10 THE .64
Goals
Luke Novello 2 , Tom Cheshire 2, Tommy Pichen-Hogg, Jesse Dimond, Chris Polidoras, Antony Harbour, Daniel Buckley
Best players
Tom Cheshire, Sam Baker, Chris Polidoras, Ross Borland, Michael Manoli, Jack Atikinson.
Go Lions
Claude Inturrisi
Round 8
Bundoora Vs Fitzroy Colts
Bundoora came out hard and aggressive
from the very first bounce, Fitzroy lost 2 players in
the first ten minutes of play through injury. From that
point in seemed that our players were intimidated and
did not want to put their bodies on the line and contest
the hard ball. Bundoora wanted it more than Fitzroy and
it showed on the scoreboard. For the first time this
year, Fitzroy was down at the first break. The second
quarter started like the first Bundoora doing all the
attacking and our backline was under siege and repelling
every attack. The backline could not sustain the
pressure as they were not getting support from their
midfielders, Bundoora kicked the first 3 goals of the
quarter, and all looked lost. Late in the second, we
managed to score 2 goals. Therefore, after playing the
worst half of footy for the year we were still only 3
goals down. A bad knee injury to Michael Manoli just
before half time only meant we would have to take on
Bundoora in the second half with no bench and a couple
of players carrying injuries on the field. The players
were reminded of the tough style of play we pride
ourselves in playing at Fitzroy at halftime and were
asked for a much-improved effort for the second half.
The third quarter started and Bundoora kicked the first
2 goals all seemed lost again, but the players seemed to
lift and started to win more 50-50 balls and put on 2
goals of their own. Special mention to Daniel Buckley
and Will James as they started to rally and the rest of
the team lifted. Still their were many players that were
still second to the ball and Bundoora kicked a late goal
to increase their halftime lead to a 4-goals. Again, the
players were reminded to show courage and not to take a
backward step at the contests and to rely on their
fitness to make a game of it. The last quarter started
and we saw the Fitzroy we have been over the last 7
weeks. The commitment to the ball was tough and hard and
our players started to win contests all across the
ground, one defining moment was when Jesse Dimond went
hard at the ball colliding head on with 2 Bundoora
players while still getting the ball off and the team
scoring a goal due to his act of courage. Ross Borland
was dominating in the last kicking 3 goal, while Tommy
Pinch-Hogg was proving too quick and too cleaver for the
opposition players. However, in the end we left too
little too late and with playing one quarter of football
almost pinched it from Bundoora.
This game was meant to be a crunch
game, to try to finish the half waypoint of the season
with a win over great quality opposition away from home,
and possibly slip into the top four. Now we must
reassess our season at a team meeting on Thursday, and
work hard at training to be prepared for a tough
fortnight of games against Ivanhoe and Bulleen Temp.
Believe in yourselves, and greatness will be
achieved
The Final Scores were:
Bundoora 3.1, 6.2, 9.4, 10.7.67
Fitzroy 1.1, 3.2, 5.4, 10.6. 66
Goals
Ross Borland 4, Tommy Pichen-Hogg 3,
Luke Novello , Jesse Dimond, Daniel Buckley
Best players
Will James, Jesse Dimond, Shannon
Young, Ross Borland, Tommy Pichen-Hogg, Daniel Buckley.
Go Lions
Claude Inturrisi
Round 7
Fitzroy Colts Vs St Mary
The game against St Mary was always
going to be a big test for the colts players, and they
came out firing in the first quarter. It was only
inaccuracy in front of goal that did not allow the Roys
to have a commanding lead at the quarter time break. St
Mary had no answer to our quick movement of the ball,
our hard tackles, and harassment. The team continued
their great game in the second quarter, slamming on 3
more goals, but that was where the game changed and St
Mary started to win more contested balls and around the
ground clearances, Slamming 4 unanswered goals just
before half time, Fitzroy went to the main break with a
2 point lead. The team knew it had been challenged and
must regroup to regain ascendancy. The third quarter
start as the second had ended with a fast and committed
St Mary kicking 5 goals in a row, the Colts players
rallied and kick 2 late goals to cut the deficit to just
17pts. The last quarter was tuff and the colt’s boys
played all over St Mary but could not convert all that
good work into goals. We managed to get within 5 points
late in the quarter and had all the running, but a
turnover caused the ball to be quickly moved into the
oppositions forward fifty and they scored the sealer. It
was a game that should have been won, but we have only
ourselves to blame for dropping off our intensity. The
Colts must learn to finish off their hard work against
the top sides of the competition. When they believe they
can match or better the best of them will they realise
that they are capable of greatness. Next week we take on
the might of Bundoora away, and maybe cause an
upset.
The Final Scores were:
Fitzroy 2.4, 5.5, 7.6, 10.8.
68
St Mary 1.0, 5.3, 10.5, 12.7.79
Goals
Luke Novello 4, Ross Borland 1,
Antony Harbour2, Chris K 1, Shannon Young 2
Best players
Tom Cheshire, Shannon Young, Luke
Novello, Ross Borland, Chris K.
Go Lions
Claude Inturrisi
Round 6
Banyule Vs
Fitzroy Colts
The weather
again this week would play its part in keeping the score
relatively low, and the side that could play the hardest
would win. It was a going to be a great battle between 2nd
placed Banyule and 5th placed Fitzroy. The
first quarter saw a tough affair as both sides battled
for supremacy; Banyule kept attacking but the strong
Lions defence, kept repelling the attacks trying to turn
our defensive rebounds into offensive plays. Eventually
10 minutes into the first quarter, great hard pack work
by Tommy Pichen-Hogg saw the first goal scored by Luke
Novello, who is constantly a busy forward looking for
the right opportunity. Two more goals were scored by the
Lions to give us a 17-point buffer at the first break.
Banyule came out a different team in the second quarter
proving that they were not in second placed by luck
alone. A five goal to two-goal quarter had the game all
tied at the main break. Banyule got on top in centre and
were running the ball with easy. We needed to regroup at
the break and try to play the game on our terms. We
kicked the first of the quarter but Banyule kicked the
next 3. Jack Parkinson who was playing a fantastic game
at full back was placed in the Ruck giving Daniel
Buckley a much needed rest. The move paid dividends
quite quickly with Parko giving the other ruck man grief
and winning free kicks around the backs. Shannon Young
went onto the ball as well and gave us more run and some
athletic attempt at marks. Fitzroy missed 2 attempts at
the goals, as it seemed to gain the ascendancy in the
later part of the quarter. Jack Parkinson won a free
kick on the half-forward flank and a 15-metre penalty
gave us the much-needed goal we were looking for. The
difference being Banyule by 4 points at the last change.
At the 3-quarter time huddle, Antony Harbour suggested
loading the bigger boys into the middle and all agreed
to give it there all in the final term. We had not won a
game away from home and it was important that we tried
our best. Fitzroy is a fit team and knew it had the legs
to finish the job. Well the last quarter was played
strong and hard with great defensive rebound from Tom
Cheshire and Curtis Williams, Our smaller forwards Chris
Polidoras and Jesse Dimond were getting plenty of the
ball but because of heavy conditions, we could not
convert. So point by point, we would edge closer and
finally hit the lead. With a couple of minutes left
Banyule gave one last effort to win the game with a
powerful run down the side of the ground and a big long
kick to the top of the goal square, but Parko took a
match winning mark and with a quick switch we managed to
kick another point and be up by 2 points when the final
siren sounded. The scenes of elation by the players were
something to see, and the song was sung so strong you
could see this team is starting to believe that it can
mix it with the beat of them. Now we must prepare to
take on St Mary this week at home, another big test for
the Fitzroy Colts.
The Final
Scores were:
Banyule
0.3, 5.4, 8.4, 8.5. 53
Fitzroy
3.3, 5.4, 7.6, 7.13. 55
Goals
Luke Novello
2, Ross Borland, David Delio, Antony Harbour, Jack
Parkinson, Arlen Nieuwehuizen
Best players
Tom
Cheshire, Jack Parkinson, Chris Polidoras, Daniel
Buckley, Luke Novello, Arlen Nieuwehuizen, Shannon Young
Go Lions
Claude
Inturrisi
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