Saturday the 13^th saw the U10B’s travel to Caringbah to take on the might of De-La; on a day which was bitterly cold, but perfect for winter footy. With an undefeated season so far, the boys were pumped, and keen to keep there unblemished record in tact.

The game started with Engadine kicking off, and finding the line immediately. This was an early indication of Engadine’s unexpected dominance throughout the match. Within the first five minutes Jake Green was to cross for the first of his two tries, which were a result of his fantastic support play. Greeny provides the perfect model for the other boys, as how to run with, and support your team mates. As a result Greeny took out a well earned Man of the Match award. A player who the boys are always keen to run in support of is Noaksey, which is partly due to his uncanny ability to off load from any tackle; that is if the opposition can get hold of him.  Each week Josh demonstrates a natural ability to find and run into the gaps, or simply break the line by putting his opponents into two minds. Saturday was no different and Josh crossed the line three times.

In total the team scored 10 tries, some of which were the result of fantastic team work; while others were scored via sterling individual displays. Tripi was to score an individual try by pulling off an unbelievable intercept which Benji Marshall would envy. Although Tripi displays brilliance as an individual week in and week out, it his is ability to organise and direct the team around the paddock which sees him shine as a natural leader. Like any leader Tripi leads by example and Saturday saw him make a number of text book tackles, which was to encourage the other boys to follow suit. One bloke who enthusiastically puts his body on the line to make the big tackles is Flemo. He plays with a massive heart and is the epitome of a Rugby League player. Saturday’s game allowed Flemo to display his natural skill as a reliable defender and skilful attacker, which saw him cross the line early in the second half and kick a lucky conversion off the cross bar.

The beginning of the second half saw De-La attack Engadine’s line for the first time, and to the boys credit they defended their line with a level of grit and determination, as if the game had only had just begun. The character exhibited by all the players during this passage of play was something the whole team and parents should be proud of. This was not the only time the boys encouraged each other, words of encouragement were being shouted out throughout the entire game. One bloke who was always encouraging his team mates was Kayne, and while he has a natural talent for playing the game, he is another player who can read the game, and lead his team mates by example. Kayne scored a brilliant try towards the end of the game, off a step we see each week, and which other teams will come to know and fear.

The talk during the game had a profound effect on some of the boys, and as result Kyle was to have his best game of the year. Kyle had a phenomenal game, running with the ball without fear and tackling like a machine, this contributed to Kyle receiving a man of the match award. All the forwards had outstanding games, with Adam charging the line like an uncontrollable Rhino. Adam made a number of fantastic runs palming the might of De-La out of the way and barging through the defensive line. Adams skill was also tested on the line by a well placed kick into the in goal. Mobbsy showed tremendous effort to gather the ball and get back into the field of play.

Adam did extremely well to also achieve a Man of the match award. Another recipient of a Man of the Match award was Braden, and he played an excellent game to achieve his award. Brains was running the ball like a rampaging bull, he runs with immense strength and purpose. In defence he was like a brick wall with arms, I suffered three broken ribs just watching the young bloke hit the opposition in defence. A second hard hitter and one who sends shudders down any attacking team is Luke. He is certainly Mr Reliability in defence and made some excellent tackles on the weekend. When he got hold of the ball he pirouetted with the grace of a ballerina, and evaded the first two or three defenders. Luke has improved out of sight and when he runs the ball he is a man on a mission, and it is to some relief for the opposing players when the final bell goes and Luke leaves the paddock.

Engadine was to enjoy a majority of the possession during the game and this allowed the boys to try out some of their set moves, which included the wall. This particular move created an air of confusion and hysteria amongst the De-La lads, with one yelling out in a panic “what are they doing”. Although the move did not produce a try it demonstrated the teams improving ability to strategise and co-operate as a team, which was a very impressive point of the game.

The ability to work as a team produced some magical football, where the boys spread the ball from one side to the other. One person getting his hands on the ball and unselfishly letting it sing to his teammates was Macca. On more than one occasion he was able to take the ball to the line and pop it to a team mate, sending them on their way. Macca also had no regard for self preservation and put his body on the line in a tackle that mimicked a scene from Kung-Fu panda. Another young bloke who is willing to be the sacrificial lamb in the line of defence each week is Peachey, and Saturday was no exception. Peachey defended with enormous intensity and performed some excellent tackles. He also pinned his ears back and darted for a couple of very good runs and was unlucky not to place the ball on the chalk. Peachey had a fantastic game, and is also one of the players who offered words of support to the rest of the team during the game.

Another young player who got a meat pie on Saturday was young Zac; he played his usual disciplined incredible game. Zac was running at excellent angles, which allowed him to break the line several times. Not only was Zac running excellent traditional up the guts forward running, but he also had the foresight to run wider and seek out the gaps. Zac has learnt how to use his body to drop defenders and he demonstrated this perfectly on Saturday.

The young Dragons played an excellent game and displayed the fact that they are improving on a weekly basis. Key features which should be highlighted and mentioned a second time was the continual positive talking amongst the boys, and the desire to support each other. It was also great to see the boys developing safer hands when passing along the line. Well done boys and for the record the final score was 54-nil.