| ROUND
TWELVE - FITZROY v. KEW
Sunday
29 July (Victoria Park, Kew )
In
a week that saw the demise of several high profile coaches, it was
reassuring to see Terry still in charge of the Roys going into this
important match against Kew. Quite simply, it's a game we needed
to win to have any hope of making the finals.
The
car horns started early when Moreno was appointed captain for the
day, in charge of a full list of 21 players - a first for the season.
The
first quarter saw Fitzroy at their brilliant best. From the moment
Declan marked strongly and drove us into attack, we managed to pile
on the scores. Will K led the way with non-stop running down the
flanks and kicking three goals. Harry was a spearhead up forward
and kicked two goals himself, as well as unselfishly setting up
a couple more. Jesse was marking everything and had Paddy &
Christian helping him through the centre. Paddy kept his goal-umpiring
father busy by adding a goal and Sam W got a well-deserved goal
after being one of our best players for the quarter. To top it off,
Murray came off the interchange (and his sick bed) to mark and goal
as well.
The
second quarter saw Kew fight their way back into the game. After
Fitzroy kicked two more goals, Kew rallied by kicking two goals
of their own after one of their players was unfortunately stretchered
off the ground. Our first goal was the result of a great spoil by
Harry which ended in another goal from Sam W, while Christian followed
up with his first of the day. Alex M was our main play maker in
this quarter, with Zeb, Hamish and Alex T doing their usual reliable
jobs in defence. Oscar was coming into the play and Jonathan continued
his improving form from last week.
It
was clear we had dropped off a little bit in the second quarter
and the boys seemed keen to do well in the second half. Harry started
the scoring after a great passage of play from Will L and then Paddy
set up a great team goal for Will K. It was then Lachlan 's turn
to join in with a clever mark and goal after a long kick from Christian.
Alex L was again proving to be hard and tough in the contests and
Raph continued his good work in the first half by playing his best
football of the match with lots of marking and hard running down
the ground. Will L capped off a terrific quarter by marking and
scoring our fourth goal of the quarter, giving us a 75 point lead
with one quarter to go.
Despite
our great efforts in the first three quarters, the last quarter
proved to be our best of the season. Perhaps this was due to a full
compliment of snakes finally being available to the team at the
last break. We haven't had much luck in the snake department this
year and after last week's unsavoury and despicable theft, no risks
were taken with this week's sacred supply, with the tasty treats
being escorted and guarded Tony Mokbel-style by highly paid security
personnel. As an added precaution, it was reassuring to see the
Victoria Police attend the game - just to let us know that they
are still on the case and to ensure the safe transfer of the snakeage
from clubroom to huddle at the final break. (A reminder that anyone
with information about last week's daring snake heist can contact
Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000).
So,
after the satisfying snake feast we looked primed for a stirring
finale.
Christian
had been busy all day, but in the last quarter he poured on four
goals of his own. Paddy was keen to do just as well and his three
goals meant that his dad was in danger of exhaustion as he continued
to wave the flags again and again. Chris was desperately unlucky
not to get amongst the goal scorers and his attempt to scale the
packs for mark of the day was yet another highlight. Harry continued
to dominate and supply his team mates with numerous scoring opportunities.
Alex M got a just reward for his efforts by joining the goal kicking
list, while Will K finished off a memorable day by kicking his fifth.
On the rare occasions that Kew went forward, our back line was ready
to drive us back into attack. Sam H was the notable stumbling block
for Kew, making the most of his defensive role in the second half
and making sure the Kew forwards stayed out of the game.
It
all added up to a terrific day for Fitzroy and perhaps our highest
ever score. As an added bonus, it seems that other results have
gone our way and we are now a real chance for the finals.
Terry
gets to keep his job for another week and perhaps adds a few more
lines to his resume in case the head-hunters from Carlton or Essendon
come knocking on his door.
Well
done to all.
Scores:
Fitzroy
23.14.152
Kew
3.3.21
Goals:
Will
Keating 5, Christian Sullivan-McNeill 5, Patrick McBrearty 4, Harry
Borland 3, Sam Walker 2, Murray White 1, Lachlan Calder 1, Will
Lovett 1, Alex Maloney 1.
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