Under 11 - 3
Greythorn 6.6. (42) d FJFC Blue 1.5 (11)
Eagle-eyed footy fans know a star when they see one, and they saw one on Sunday, lurking - as he often used to do- in the forward pocket, only this time wearing long trousers and jacket. And if the truth be known, the Roys could have done with him. But Peter Daicos, the Macedonian Marvel of Collingwood legend, had his heart - and his off- spring - with Greythorn, and he wasn't about to give their opponents a whiff of his considerable talent. Watching intently the match before the Roys took the field at Greythorn Park, Daicos lingered a little longer after his boy's earlier game just to see the under-11s go through their paces. He had every reason to be confident of a Greythorn success:
they were one of three undefeated teams in the competition and they played like it.
Their boys were fast, tough and hungry for the ball. The Roys struggled to keep up and were not as desperate, with a few exceptions. Noah slipped into a groove of good form, winning some hard ball and tackling with passion. Jaquan seemed to relish the pressure and picked up kicks around the centre. Martin was his usual tough self and Sam was busy, but Greythorn's constant forward pressure opened the way for the first goal and then a free kick led to the second major of the term.
It took until the second term for the Roys to register their first score, a rushed behind and then another point, to Patrick. There were some outstanding individual efforts: Elia showed his speed along the change-room wing, Atticus took a strong mark and Digby was trying his hardest to stop Greythorn's run. It was a hard task. They were running in numbers, creating loose men and challenging the Roys' to stick with them. At half-time, Greythorn led by 22 points and it was an uphill job.
The Roys resumed under enormous pressure, and Aleks in particular was a rock in defence. Nick B was also in the thick of it, but could do nothing about a Greythorn kick that landed on the end of the footy and darted through the goal with the speed of a Shane Warne leggie. Will took a strong mark at half-back, and then Greythorn surged again to score their fifth goal of the match.
The Roys tried to work their way back into the game: Adam kept making the second efforts, ensuring his opponent never had an easy possession. At three quarter time and looking down the barrel of defeat, Terry was measured and told the boys not to worry about the score. And as Greythorn's speed gave way to fatigue, the Roys found some form. Charlie was good around the ground and Dave played the kick-behind-play on the half-back line with confidence. Attiucs snapped the Roys' first, and triggered a long-awaited celebration.
But another goal to Greythorn was the clincher that snuffed out any hopes of a Roys' miracle comeback.
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