PREMIERS
'07 DIVISION 1 |
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NEXT MATCHGRAND FINAL vs Bulleen Temp. @ Bulleen Park No. 1 2.30 start NAVY BLUE SHORTS
TRAINING:
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GRAND FINAL MATCH REPORT VS Bulleen Templestowe 26th August 2007 A one point victory in the second semi-final afforded the Fitzroy Colts 1 team a week off during which many of the team travelled to watch Bulleen take on St Damian's in the preliminary final. The ease of the Bulleen win indicated to Fitzroy that the grand final would again be a battle to the end and so it proved.
A beautiful, sunny day greeted Fitzroy in their grand final game against Bulleen although a fairly stiff breeze was favouring the freeway end to the tune of 3-4 goals. Bulleen won the toss, kicked with the wind and started the game like they wanted it won by quarter time. Quickly gaining the ascendancy at the centre bounces, Bulleen repeatedly drove the ball forward where a nervous Fitzroy backline struggled to combat the hard run of Bulleen's midfield and small forwards. Despite some resistance from Jesse Dimond, Bulleen exploded away to kick five goals in succession to take a commanding lead deep into the first quarter.
Fitzroy persisted in driving the ball forward however Will Pickering was the only consistent ball winner across half forward as the Bulleen defence. repeatedly swept the ball away. A quick handball from Will P to Jesse & then a long kick to the full forward saw a timely mark & critical goal by Dylan Temple just before quarter time, containing Bulleen's lead to 25 points.
Facing a 30 point deficit, Fitzroy had to get moving and it was Isaac Anderson who kicked long from the centre where Sam West won the ball well in heavy traffic & kicked a clever and much needed goal to get Fitzroy going. Shortly after, terrific vision from Nick Brown found a running Rory Angiolella who went deep into the forward line where Will P sold a lovely dummy to snap a left foot goal to put Fitzroy within 20 points. However a controversial disallowed mark to Chris Polidoras resulted in Bulleen running the ball forward where a strong mark led to another Bulleen goal.
Chris Krousoratis was providing plenty of run off half back while Gary McCarthy was starting to come into the game while Jesse & Rory continued to generate momentum through the middle. Khalil was starting to become influential in the forward line while Connor Smith was rewarded with a brave attack on the ball with a free kick from which he kicked accurately to put us closer to Bulleen. Another snap & point from Khalil saw Bulleen go into half-time with a 21 point lead.
Fitzroy came out after the main break knowing that their effort against the wind would be critical to the final outcome. The backline led by Will Johnson, Dylan Temple and Sam Baker lifted the team early in the quarter with the winning of many contested balls. Daniel Bisetto, now playing in the ruck, was marking impressively around the game while Khalil remained dangerous, although his quick kick for goal was inaccurate. The Bulleen kick-in was marked strongly by Isaac who reacted quickly and kicked intelligently to Will P ? he put his second goal through and Fitzroy were on the way back.
Jesse, Chris P & Sam B, were picking up countless touches around the stoppages & across half back with Sam, after some quick hands from Dylan, finding Michael Cussen, who kicked long to the top of the goal square where Daniel took a towering mark ? his goal put Fitzroy within 6 points.
Despite the deficit, Fitzroy remained confident that they could pull a victory off and Thomas Dudgeon led the team right from the start, throwing himself into the ruck and winning some vital taps. Dylan and Sam B were linking well together to drive the ball forward from half back, while Rory continued to be influential on the wing. Five minutes into the quarter, another significant tap from Thomas to Jesse freed Dylan up to kick long where Will P, despite being surrounded by 3 Bulleen players, conjured a goal with his left foot to put Fitzroy within 13 points.
Inspired by the early goal, the Fitzroy players were now hurling themselves into contests, however Bulleen had dropped players into defence and precious time was now being run down as indiscriminate kicking into the forward line was hurting Fitzroy. Clever work by Isaac enabled Stiabhna to kick the ball long where Nick Brown swooped & ran for goal however a late fade on the kick resulted in a point. Sam Baker was now controlling the half back line, Gary was out pointing his opponent on the wing, Chris Morton was playing a typically strong game across half forward & Nick Demelis was putting some valuable defensive pressure on the Bulleen backs.
While Fitzroy had multiple forays into forward line, Bulleen were continually running the ball from their defence however a great attack on the ball by Gary led to Chris K kicking forward where Alex crossed the ball and allowed Will P to crash into a pack, break free and kick his second left foot snap goal for the quarter, leaving Bulleen 6 points up at the 14 minute mark.
Fitzroy again went forward courtesy of Chris P where Will P's left foot kick resulted in Michael Cussen taking a typically brave mark. His shot on goal fell short but permitted Will P to soar over the pack to take a crucial grab from which he kicked truly to put the scores level with 7 minutes left on the clock.
Fitzroy had all the momentum however Bulleen went forward from a free in the middle but the Fitzroy defence stood tall again & cleared the ball via firstly Chris K & then Rory, allowing Chris P a chance to score after a great pick-up however his shot was wide to put the Roys up by a point. Another Bulleen forward thrust was halted by Max's terrific mark under pressure - the ball was then moved on quickly to an open Michael Cussen who then handballed to a running Jonno Anderson whose penetrating kick went forward. The unstoppable Will Pickering attempted to mark, and then latched onto the loose ball to kick his fourth goal for the quarter to put Fitzroy up by 7 points.
Well done to the team for making history by being the first Fitzroy Colts team to win a flag - a fitting result after all the hard work both before & during the season.
Michael
Score: Fitzroy 10.10.70 Bulleen-Templestowe 10.3.63
Best Players: A fantastic team effort Goal kickers: Pickering 6, Temple, Bisetto, West, Smith
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Fitzroy
headed into the second quarter with the wind behind them however they
knew that they needed to be better around the clearances and use the ball
more intelligently going forward. Isaac Anderson was now playing on the
dangerous Shuey and Jesse & Chris Polidoras were exerting more influence
in the midfield. However despite a flurry of forward thrusts, Fitzroy
could not capitalise on the scoreboard & watched as Bulleen kicked
an easy goal after an unselfish centred kick. 
For
the next few minutes, Fitzroy peppered the goals but couldn't break through
for goal, allowing Bulleen to rebound where Shuey proved his class by
firstly marking strongly for goal followed up a few moments later with
another goal after a run from behind tackle. Fitzroy were now trailing
Bulleen by 13 points and had chances to reduce the gap however missed
shots on goal by Will P and then Michael Cussens opened the door for Bulleen
whose long kick-in permitted a clearance from the middle where one of
their tall forwards took a rare mark leading to a goal after the siren
to put Bulleen up by 19 points at the final break. 
With
a few minutes remaining, Fitzroy were fiercely contesting everything with
Michael Cussen now proving a handful across half forward. With 2 minutes
to go the ball was bottled up in the Fitzroy forward line with a series
of ball-ups and throw-ins running down the clock. A final move forward
by Bulleen was again repelled by Max who marked safely and kicked long
to half-forward where a contest left the ball in Jesse's hands when the
siren sounded to leave Fitzroy well deserved winners by 7 points. 
Go
Roys 
