FJFC U-13 Blue 2 7.9 (51) d Bulleen-Templestowe 0.2 (2) at Bulleen Park East, July 19, 2009
The grounds at Bulleen are not the best or greenest in the league.
They are, though, large and exposed. And on Sunday, they seemed more than usually difficult: the wind was strong and tricky, and there was one Bulleen-Templestowe player who had an occasion to celebrate - 100 games, no mean feat for an under-13 player.
Terry was in charge, a familiar feeling for some of the Roys who had been under his guidance during the past few seasons. His message was simple "get to it first.'' Josh and Connor B won the toss and decided to kick with the wind for the first quarter. And so started the Roys best four-quarter team effort of the season. It was a game played with space and speed - the boys kicked to position, went looking for teammates, contested hard, worked for each other and continued their great tackling from the previous week. On a day when overhead marks were the hardest thing to do well, the boys excelled, hanging on to several big grabs. In the first quarter it was the talls - Hugh, in defence, Ned on the ball and Josh around the ground - who set the tone, but it was Sebastian who ran
on to a ball in the goal square and coolly slotted the Roys' first.
The challenge was going to be the second quarter, in to the wind. Not that you would have known. The Roys played like they could stop it blowing. Sam Mack in the centre was outstanding and found Atticus with a
pass that he duly converted. Andre seized on to a loose ball in the centre of the ground and kept tapping it forward, dodging, swerving and in a great solo effort, sent the Roys deep in to attack where Kieran dobbed a terrific goal.
As the game opened up, the Roys started to spread and push in to space. Jaquan took a powerful mark and Charlie applied a couple of excellent shepherds to help Ned mark. Al was carrying on his good form from last week and Will A skilfully pushed his opponent off the ball to pinch a key possession. Then Wiz (Will Z) capped off his good work with a goal and the Roys entered half time with a dominant lead of 26 points.
When the game resumed, Al won a free kick and kicked a good goal.
Patrick, down forward for the quarter, marked a Connor B kick to add another. The Roys kept pushing and the behinds started to mount up.
Bulleen worked hard to
get forward but Mo was very good in holding them back and it wasn't until the final quarter that Bulleen registered its first score. By that stage, the Roys' smaller players, such as Jesse and Sam H, were getting a lot of the ball, and they managed to help push forward again where Max H kicked the Roys' seventh. Mo and Mu ran out the game in style, and the Roys recorded an impressive win, against the odds and against the wind.
ENDS
Under 13 Blue 2