Well, you couldn’t fault the morning: perfect blue sky, no wind to speak of, a bit of warmth in the sun, and everyone out and about.
Ramsden was the place to be, for power walkers, dog walkers, and strollers.
And then there was that very good winning record the Roys had against St Marys. It felt like it could it all work out pretty well. But footy, like so many things, doesn’t always go to plan.
For a start, St Marys looked like they hadn’t missed a week between seasons. They were, as footy legends have it, hard at it, right from the start and they were on the board in the time it takes to check you’ve got your boots laced up. But Roys are used to slow starts.
Well, that’s what we told ourselves after St Marys kicked another.
Yet the Roys did work their way in to the game: Elia found some space to conjure some opportunities, Sebastian was fearless in defence and Kieran was eager around the packs. You could see how it could all work when a couple of Fitzroy players got themselves between their opponents and the ball and won the free kicks. First to the footy has its own reward.
There was a moment when the Roys threatened after Enver’s quick hands set up a shot at goal in the pocket, but the kick bounced the wrong way. St Marys regrouped and kicked their third for the quarter to have a handy lead.
Now the truth of the situation was that the Roys couldn’t get their hands on the ball. So Terry’s message was to get it, win it, grab it:
get the footy and then see what happens.
Well, the reward came when Jesse S got a free in kicking distance and nailed Fitzroy’s first. But there was only so much joy to come. The defence was given a searching test, and Jaquan was everywhere, making it to contests and then running back to the square to become the last line of defence. St Marys though were too strong and fast, and they drilled four goals for the quarter.
Never let it be said that Fitzroy teams give up the ghost. These Roys are made of tough stuff. After half-time, they won more ball than their opponents. They tackled hard and ran for each other.
Some inspiring teamwork started to form. Kent, in the middle, was a vital link in marking, tackling and driving the Roys forward. Martin found some of his dash too and Sam was reliable and polished. James T, whose strength was an important part of the Roys’ fight back, latched on to a loose ball and kicked the Roys’ second to cap off a strong quarter.
The Roys kept contesting in the opening minutes of the final term.
Patrick went to spoil his opponent but finished up soaring for a speccie that we would have been talking about for years, except the ball hit the deck, closely followed by Patrick and then the umpire’s whistle for a free to the St Mary’s player.
Josh and Adam were relentless in chasing down their opponents and causing turnovers with their pressure. It was great stuff, but St Marys were unstoppable. In a remarkably accurate performance, they kicked 14 goals, with only three behinds. It was big, but then again, there’s always next week.
Nick Richardson
