Under 11 - 3
FJFC U-11 Blue 9.3 (51) d Richmond 0.5 (5)
 
One o'clock Sunday used to be the time when you sat down to a family
roast. The windows were steamed up from the baked potatoes and the
footy replays were on the telly. That was then.
Now, well now, you turn up at Alfred Cres to see the Roys take on
ladder-leaders Richmond, another old-fashioned contest that dates
back to VFL days when Kevin Bartlett had hair and the writing on
Kevin Murray's tattoos was still legible.
The Roys, we knew, were coming off a dispiriting loss to Greythorn.
Richmond had not even tasted defeat this season. Not that you would
have known from the opening minutes, when the Roys looked like they
were switched on like a street full of Christmas lights. They started
out as they intended to go on, with fierce tackling, non-stop running
and concentration on winning the ball.
The goals started with Dave, in great scoring form, and was
followed by another from Sam, emerging as another genuine forward.
But it wasn't so much the scoring that was so impressive: it was the
boys working for each other. Connor expertly shepherded to the Roys'
benefit; Max showed great endeavour to win a disputed ball; Sebastian
took on an opponent in the back pocket and went past him. They were
plenty of examples all over the ground. Richmond, a stronger, bigger
team, could get no run and started the second quarter without having
scored. The Roys were on a roll. Now Martin's tearaway approach is
well-known to his teammates, but he broke tackles in the second
quarter and just kept pushing the ball forward. Jaquan built on his
confidence from last week, with another impressive defensive effort.
Goals to Will and Atticus, which continued his weekly goal-scoring
effort, added more pressure to the Tigers. On a wing, Patrick took
two strong marks and sent the Roys back in to attack. Elia's speed
and agility was finding out his opponents. And by the long break, the
Roys led by 25 points.
The question was - just how much longer could Fitzroy keep it up?
They answered emphatically in the third quarter with more evidence of
a great even, team-effort. The defence, under increasing pressure
from a desperate Richmond, refused to yield. Aleks and Fraser did the
smart things quickly, following Digby's lead to back their judgement.
Kent and Lewis found their way into the play and won the ball with
confidence. Up forward, Noah dodged two opponents and with notable
flair, snapped a left-foot goal, for his first major. Moments later,
Will added another following an impressive mark.
Charlie, who had taken a heavy knock in defence, showed great courage
to go back in to a pack and help the Roys win the ball. It was the
kind of example that inspires teams.
With a lead of 35 points at the final term, the Roys might have
considered taking the foot of the pedal. But there was no turning back.
Adam was still working in close in the tackles, Nick N was a
dangerous presence in the forward line and then Jesse scored a fine
goal on the run, a fitting reward for his efforts throughout the
game. Walt burst through centre half-forward to add another and then
Noah wrapped his arms around the footy, right in the goal square, to
seal what was a mightily impressive team-effort. |
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