There was some tension in the air at the beginning of this match. The boys clearly wanted to play well, integrate their training drills into the game, play for each other and win well. Banyule seemed to be a bigger side, and were as hungry as our boys for a win. A win today meant the chance to be placed in the final four was greater, and a loss threatened to put their final chances out of reach. Bruce asked the boys to support each other, swap positions whenever they tired, give themselves room to run with the ball, and push the ball forward quickly whenever they have the chance. The boys didn’t let him or each other down. They kept intense pressure on the ball, and fought bravely in the contests both on the ground and in the air. Ben (two goals), Luke and Otto scored goals to bring Fitzroy’s first quarter score of 27 (4.3) to the front of Banyule’s 24 (4.0) score. Otto took some spectacular marks, Harry H, Evan, Aiden and Brendon worked tirelessly in defense, with Sam, Chris, Liam and Matthew fielding the ball to David, Orien, Luke and Jules. Ben and Otto found space regularly and converted to a score.
The second quarter was a great quarter to watch. The boys seemed to be enjoying working together and the hard training was paying off. The back line kept Banyule scoreless for the quarter and Bruce said at half time that everyone made a committed effort. His only request at half-time other than encouraging the boys to stay focused and committed to the ball, was to do less handballing. Everyone played well and received praise from the coach for the effort they were putting in. The score at the break was Fitzroy 6.6 (42) to Banyule’s 4.0 (24).
The third quarter saw some spectacular marking by Otto, accurate kicking from everyone with Bruce commenting on Luke, Jules, Sam and Aiden’s effort. Ben, Luke and Orien scored goals but Banyule fought back and the boys had to maintain their work rate to keep in front with the score of 9.7 (61) to Banyule’s hard fought-for 6.2 (38).
Neither side was prepared to slacken off and the final quarter saw some great, tough football. Both sides kept the pressure on the ball and defended brilliantly, with the ball moving quickly from one end of the oval to the other. At one point, Banyule came within a couple of goals, and it seemed as though it could be anyone’s game. The boys kept the PRESSURE, PRESSURE, PRESSURE and reaped the rewards. David had a brilliant quarter, Ben David, Luke and Otto scored goals again with the support of the whole team that allowed the ball to get to them and create the space to put the ball through the posts!
The final score of 13.11 (89) Fitzroy to 10.5 (65) reflected the toughness of the game and the fight that Banyule took up to them. Bruce’s words to the boys after the game; ‘whether manning up, tackling, smothering, chasing, zoning, manning the mark, spoiling or shepherding, doing all these hard little things all the time will help achieve the results you are after’ echoed the work the boys put in. It was a great game to watch. Well done Roy Boys.
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: | Round 9
