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FIRST SEMI FINAL - FITZROY v. DONCASTER

Sunday 12 August (Bulleen Park)

Finals Fever arrived at Fitzroy after the Roys secured fourth place last week and earned a play-off against third-placed Doncaster .

It was evident early, as a nervous coach put the team through it's pre-match paces, that the boys were eager to do well. Alex M & Harry were appointed co-captains for the game and they helped Terry to get the team primed for a good, fast start.

From the moment Jon thumped the ball at the opening bounce, it was clear Fitzroy were in for a good day. Sam W scored the first goal, after grabbing the ball out of a busy pack. Minutes later, the crowd was deafened by cries of ‘ Moreno !!!!' as the big bloke marked strongly in the goal square and kicked truly. The ground sounded like Bourke Street at peak hour as the din of car horns filled the air. Next, Harry joined in with a lovely set shot from an acute angle in the pocket. Jon kept dominating in the ruck and Paddy and Christian kept driving us forward. Christian chipped in with the next two goals, one from a bouncing snap and the other from a set shot. Murray was prominent with some fast leads and strong marks and Sam W finished off a terrific quarter by kicking his second goal from a lovely shot from deep in the pocket. It was a dream start and we led by six goals to one at the first break.

Doncaster started the second quarter well and kicked the first goal. But after that, Fitzroy fought hard to maintain their advantage. Declan was proving a stumbling block for Doncaster, constantly driving them out of their forward line, and Raph was lending solid support with several important marks. Oscar came into the game, with some handy runs into the open spaces and Sam H continued to run wide and set up some fast breaks for us out of the back line. Christian kicked another two goals for us, one from a clever snap out of the pack and then Will L added his name to the scorer's list after converting a well deserved free kick. At half time we had extended our lead to 43 points and were looking good, but wisely, the coach warned against complacency.

That warning looked justified when Doncaster came out running in the third quarter and kicked two quick goals. Once again, Fitzroy rose to the challenge and worked back into the game. Alex T was running hard and fast out of defence and helped set up several attacking moves. Lachlan was having a good spell as well and was getting plenty of the ball across half forward. Hamish & Chris help bolster the side when they came back onto the ground, while Alex M & Jesse began to take control, as per usual, as the game wore on. Will L was again the recipient of a free kick near goal (this time after almost being decapitated!) and he made no mistake. Harry was getting lots of attention up forward but he worked hard for two more goals. One was from a great piece of team play involving Bryce, Paddy & Murray. We led by 8 goals, but Doncaster were not done with yet. A three quarter time burst from the coach, as the players munched on freshly supplied snake, warned that we still needed to work hard.

Sure enough, Doncaster came out blazing in the last quarter and played their best footy of the match. They kicked three unanswered goals before Alex L put us back on track with the goal of the day after a courageous mark and a long booming kick. It was a tough finish with Doncaster not giving in, even though some of their supporters did. (That old chestnut taunt of ‘you won't go far in the finals' brought back many fond memories). Zeb, who had been ill and unable to partake in most of the game, came good after a half-time pie and helped keep us out of trouble with some good marks deep in defence. It was not until Harry kicked a pressure goal with a clever left snap that Fitzroy put the match out of reach for the struggling Cats. Will K & Alex L were both fantastic in the final stages, when Doncaster mounted their challenge.

In the end, we got up by 33 points in a tremendous win over a team that beat us early in the year. So, another game next week, and all plans for a footy-free weekend are again put on ‘hold'.

Scores:

Fitzroy 14.6.90

Doncaster 9.3.57

Goals:

Harry Borland 4, Christian Sullivan-McNeill 4, Sam Walker 2, Will Lovett 2, Moreno Mazzon 1, Alex Lynch 1.

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