Match Report - Round 1

Despite the absence of a boundary line, there was no lack of white-line fever in the hearts of various members of the cat family as the entered the arena united as Fitzroy Lions and swung straight into action after the first bounce on Sunday. Kicking against the wind in the first quarter, there were encouraging signs of a strengthened team with depth and desire as the on-ball brigade of Morgan/Grieves, Leech, C-G and Scott, constantly strove to dominate and drive us into attack.
 
Early goals to elusive forward Ligris and others coupled with courageous work in the packs in the backline led by Kyroussis combined with the mature judgement of Herbert and Hodder in particular saw the Lions three goals up at the first break whilst Macleod remained scoreless. Several times we showed that we were capable of stringing brief but promising passages of play together.
 
The backline was placed under more pressure in the second qurter but refused to wilt as several Macleod forward forays were again thwarted. At times we overdid the handball in general play but compared to our opponents we were certainly hitting the right targets more often even when in "heavy traffic".  J.C., Jake and Ricky led the way as all the backs either forced Macleod wide or read the play better to intercept cleverly at crucial moments.
 
 By contrast, our forwards moved well into open spaces and usually kept clear of the corridor until it was time for both them and the ball to arrive. Led by Filieri, Ligris and Deano the boys were constantly looking for and in many cases finding each other with precision passes. When we did have to bring the ball in from the grandstand flank free running forwards quickly sped through the hotspot so that goals were often kicked on the run from out in front. A deft handball from new boy Omar over the top to Deano was skilfully hooked through the goals and by half-time the Lions had slammed on 5 majors for the quarter - no mean feat in any standard of football.
 
Essential to our success was the imposing presence and pressure applied by our remarkably mobile big men including Jackson and Lewis who made life easier for Dylan, Dave, Hods and the irrepressible man with the mane of many colours who nevertheless still gave their all. Their tallness, talent and tigerish temperament ensured Macleod were less likely to try some of their usual tricks, especially on our smaller players.
 
The less said about the second half the better as the Royboys let Macleod have a bit too much of the ball. Our hard-working on-ballers were running on empty which saw Macleod sometimes have greater numbers at the ball for the first time all day. However, we kept the meter ticking over with 3 timely goals and 1 or 2 near misses. As usual, "invisible man" Ligris kept bobbing up in front of the goal square like Bugs Bunny coming out of his burrow. There were several promising individual dashes of note including a couple by Jackson and Dylan and an inspiring streak from deep in defence by the well-balanced Herbert.
 
Despite a couple of unacceptably easy goals to our opponents and although outscored by them 4.6 to 3.3 in the last quarter we still made life difficult for Macleod and (quite deliberately) for ourselves  as the coach switched Hodder and Herbert into the forward line and Deano and Dylan into defence.
 
All day, the smaller players were magnificent including Bate and newcomer Tim Even Joey looked like kicking a great goal from the boundary until it was intercepted on the line. Patrick marked strongly and showed some real promise up forward whilst Bobby took a grab or two too and played his part. Cal made position in classy fashion and like a few of the lads in the the team needs to start to realize how devastating he could be. More one grab marks, better and lower rolling tackles and faster play on footy from marks and frees must become the hallmarks of this team as the side develops.      
 
To be honest and most importantly, we played our best football when the game had to be won (in the first half on this occasion) and that is what good sides always do. We have the makings of a very versatile, determined side and a persistent and committed effort by all both on and off the field will ensure we gather powerful momentum as we go.
 
Thanks to everyone who has worked hard to get us to this stage. It is now time to crank things up a notch and get fitter, faster and more focused. Next week we play Park Orchards at 1.00 p.m. at Domeney Reserve (away) and need to be there by 12 noon. It takes at least 30 minutes to get there by car from our ground.
 
Finally, for the rest of the month training will be at 5.00pm on Wednesdays and Fridays and votes and match-day award announcements will be shared amongst as many parents as possible. If you have any issues with training, availability, injuries or any other feedback ring me (Richard Grummet) or leave a message on 9489 6706 at any time before midnight.