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 Team Reports
11B's Major Semi Final V St Josephs WON 10-0
Well done we beat the Minor Premiers and have gone straight through to the Grand Final.
It was a sensational defensive effort, everyone that witnessed the game were impressed. As I mentioned in the last report winning this game has now resulted in us reaching 3 Grand Finals in the last 4 years, which is an achievement you should be proud of.
Man of the Match was Jake Wheeler, closely followed by Josh Paton.
Anyway boys play well for one more game and keep up the tremendous tackling and we will be Premiers!
13B’s V CRONULLA CARINGBAH WON 10-7
Today our boys had a big and important job in front of them, taking on these
Cronulla boys was always going to be a tough job.
The boys took to the field ready for a big game and that's exactly what
they got!!
As always our forwards were running up hard and solid, but Cronulla was not
going to make it easy for us, they were strong in attack and defence and after not
to long they put the first points on the board. We needed to get organised out there and it seemed to take a while, but just before half time Ben went charging over to even things up. Come second half the boys seemed a lot more switched on and there were plenty of hard hits, good runs and the pressure was on, Jarrod was on fire today with some great tackles, Reece, Keenan and Badon were running hard, Joel was a tackling machine, and nipper was struggling for air, but he put in a great effort and was unlucky not to get away a few times. As time was ticking away Cronulla caught us of guard by kicking a field goal, to make it 7-6, so our boys had to take it to another level, Jordan was giving his all taking on the big boys, Jurra, Jyle and Nathan were on their game, then things were getting very tight and may I say
bloody stressful {for us parents on the sideline} oh and maybe the coach too, then we got a penalty and Brandon we thought would take the kick to put us in front, but NO he took the tap with about 1minute to go, just to freak us out a bit more, and with a
few quick plays this crazy kid goes into score!!!! Well done Brandon, you
dug deep and put your team over the line and into the grand final!!!! So well done boys, train hard, dig deep, play and support each other as a team and we wish you all best to go all the way on the big day!!!!
U/21 SEMI FINAL V BLACK CATS RESULT: LOST 17-18
This was a game of 2 halves. The first half Engadine dominated, the second half it was the Black Cats
We fielded what I thought was probably our strongest side of the year, and the boys didn’t let us down.
We played our best half of footy all season, and I might add our first game for nearly a month. We completed well, defended well and by doing so put on two first half tries, both scored by Haydn and converted by Freddy. A late field goal in the first half to Freddy saw us go in at oranges 13 nil up.
The Black Cats got a sniff in the second half through some errors and once they did, I knew it would be hard to win.
When “not another Goodwin” was sin binned I thought it was our turn to consolidate, but with 12 men they lifted and put on a try. They quickly hit the lead 18-13, we played some panic footy and hit back with 3 minutes to go. Freddy scored in the corner 18-17, with a kick to come to win the match. A kicker in this position would have been enormous pressure; it was bad enough to watch, unfortunately the kick just missed and the rest is history.
I am very proud of all the team, including all the blokes who didn’t get a run; they are just as much a part of the side as the blokes who did.
A big thankyou to Cambo, Haydn and Levi all from NYC 20’s who helped us all by playing quality football on the day. Our regulars, Milk, Mother and Freddy all tried hard all game by taking out our points and the quiet achiever Fordo who gives his all.
This is my last report with this fine young bunch of blokes, most of which I have coached for three years now. I wish you all the best for the future in whatever paths you take.
Tries: Haydn 2, Freddy 1
Goals: 2 Freddy, 1 field goal
Points: Milk 3, Mother 2, Freddy 1.
On a sadder note, our condolences to the Smith family on the tragic loss of their young daughter, and our thoughts go to Fordo and his family, as his father is battling cancer.
Senior Presentation Night – This years Senior Presentation night has been booked for Saturday the 31st of October at the Engadine Family Tavern in the St Moritz Room. Tickets are $55 for players, coach and manager with all guests being charged $60. Price includes meal and drinks (not sure to what degree at this stage). Please note that this year the Club has made a strict policy where all money must be collected and paid for before the night otherwise you will be hit up for an additional $5 surcharge on the night for any late comers. So get in early and confirm your spot as these are always a good night and well worth attending.
Semi Final - A-Grade Match report V’s Como Lost 17-16
Sutherland Oval may well be the first home of the Cronulla Sharks but it is a mighty difficult place to play footie. A cricket pitch dominates the centre of the field and is as hard as cement and as cruel to the flesh as bitumen. The ground slopes away on both sides and has a natural fall to the northern side. It does take some getting used to. Most teams play to the fringes where there is nice soft grass and a smooth surface suitable to the speedsters. Even though we knew this was were we should play we went up the middle and frequently did so without support runners. On the other hand Como played to the fringe especially to the right hand side. We failed to notice this and did not slide sufficiently in defence giving Como unnecessary overlaps. They used this to their advantage and before you could say rumpelstilkskin we were down 12 points. The cavalry came to our rescue in the form of Pony and we had a home run. Nails missed the conversion, but what the heck, he is only human. The game was a typical Dragons/river lizards affair with toughness the name of the game. The 6 supporters of the lizards – some girlfriends and a mum or two – gave some support but nothing compared to the roar of The Hill. The Hillies spurred the team on and soon we had crept back to 12-10 with a try from Kyle and a conversion by Nails. The lizards were tenacious and kept coming and maybe this surprised us a little. Over the past few weeks we had some relatively easy games winning by 30 and 50 points, so an ‘in your face’ opposition was not something we had seen for a while. However, we managed to score next and took the lead 16-12 thanks to Paul Smith and Nails. I guess we were starting to realise that we needed to attack the fringe as that was were they had scored and so had we. The clock was our friend as it remorselessly ticked away and message of ‘how long’ were passed throughout the ranks. Carelessly we lost the ball several times in crucial positions and ‘Como’ Russell was so busy yelling at the trainers he appeared to miss some crucial decisions with his one partially good eye.
The tide turned before the lizards had gone belly up and they crossed the thin white line to even the contest. Now Father time showed a complete lack of loyalty and became our enemy. We attempted an ambitious but necessary field goal and missed but one of the lizards – a chameleon turned from green to red - when he dropped the field goal attempt. The game was ours – run the ball, hold on tight, nothing silly, long kick, pin them down and the game is ours – but no – we knocked on in the second tackle. Horrible, horrible football, why didn’t you hug us to our chest? – you slippery beast – an eel – a cousin of the lizard.
The lizards ran the ball for a couple and then appeared as though they were going to attack the right side. But this was a feint and the lizards kicked a field goal. As we ran back the bell sounded. There was a feeble hand clap from the 5 supporters of the lizards – one must have gone home when we reached the lead – as they scurried off but not so from The Hill. Our warriors were cheered off as we knew this was the loss we had to have. Fat was a little dumbfounded with the loss as his early comment was ‘What?’ So, 17 to 16 a close enough encounter to ensure the next meeting will be no different to those that have gone before. DLS is our next hurdle but have no fear, like Usain Bolt, we will hit them so hard and fast all they will eat for the next few weeks is dust.
At the clubhouse The Fat expressed interest in the play of Mark Stewart, himself (humbly so), Nathan Harris, Scott Nancarrow and Chris Wood. The next stage of our season is win and play on for the prize or go home and rue what could have been, what should have been. The decision will be made by the 17 on Sunday at Toyota.
Tries this week:
One to Paul Smith sponsored by JRB Diesel
One to Shane Chapman sponsored by Ralpet Plastic
One to Mark Stewart sponsored by Ben Paul Landscapes and Paving Solutions
Goals this week:
Two to Mitch Neylan sponsored by D&C Plumbing
Awards this week:
Mark Stewart sponsored by Ben Paul Landscapes and Paving Solutions
Nathan Harris sponsored by Kwik and Easy Vending
Scott Nancarrow sponsored by Professional Piano Relocations
Aaron Palmer sponsored by Grahame Wagener
Chris Wood sponsored by John & D Gilbert Electrical
A Grade Semi Final Report V DLS will be in the next newsletter as will the reports from the Grand Finals.
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