25 May Round 6 Coaches Match Reports

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I went a bit early with the ‘perfect weather’ call last week so I’ll just keep my mouth shut on that moving forward and hopefully the sunshine returns this week

All in all, a rippa weekend of Footy both at Research Park and away from home. As always, mixed results but super pleasing to hear that all teams are competing really well and are really pushing themselves to be the best they can be. The results themselves are of not a huge relevance – sure it’s nice to win some games of Footy but it’s so much more about the way we go about the game, and to that point we are always the winners !

Highlights this week:

  • U14 Boys coming agonizingly close to knocking off the ladder leaders. with 8 eligible u13s in the team, the boys fought well out of their weight division and proved they are real contenders this season.
  • U17 Boys bouncing back after a very tough seven days. Twice now they have really pushed and challenged flag fancies, Yarrambat, and once again showed that their best footy is absolutely at Div 1 level.
  • U18 Girls continue on their merry way. Also a little under-staffed with a number of players away on higher duties, the girls played out another very high standard game of footy to maintain their unbeaten start to the season.
  • So many kids putting their hand-up to help out in the older age groups. After playing full games in their own team and often a bit banged up already, a Club-First attitude to step up and ensure we can put full and competitive teams on the paddock is awesome to see.

Girls Under 10

Today we were on the road down to AH Capp reserve in Preston West to face Darebin a team we only played a few weeks earlier. On that occasion they only had 8 players, so it was great to turn up and hear that they had 16 players for the game. This time it would be us needing to lend a player each quarter as we were down to 14 for the game with a couple of late outs so a huge thanks to Darebin for sending us a player each quarter.

Mia and Milla would be our captains for the day both great leaders and both had great games!
We got off to a flying start kicking the first goal through some great team play finishing with Isla kicking a great goal.
I think we must of fallen asleep at quarter time as Darebin went on a goal kicking rampage kicking 5 goals in about 10 minutes in the second quarter through some great play by them.
We regrouped at half time and came out firing for the second half. It was a great even contest between the 2 teams with us scoring 1 point to 0 in the second half. Overall we won 2 quarters to 1 and were even in the other.
A special mention to Lilian who won the opposition medal with some great play getting lots of the footy and setting up a lot of our play with lots of strong tackles as well.
All in all it was a great contest all day and very even except for one sleepy quarter.  Well done girls great effort we are all so proud of you.

Boys Under 11

VS EPPING AT EPPING
SCORES – EPPING 1-1-7 RESEARCH 5-4-34
GOALS – Cayden 3, Gus 1, Jack 1
BEST PLAYERS – Cayden, Max, Josh, Charlie, Archie, Hunter

A cold, wet, and windy day out at Epping, the second leg of our Northern Tour (Whittlesea, Epping, Laurimar – all away). If we can win this Sunday at Laurimar, it would be a remarkable achievement by the boys.

The weather conditions and a huge sized ground for Under 11’s made it difficult to score on
a regular basis and the game was a hard slog for both teams. Whilst we weren’t brilliant this week, the coaching crew were proud of the way our team stuck to the game plan, for the most part anyway, and played a dogged style of footy to come away with a win, keeping Epping scoreless after quarter time. Having said that, full credit to Epping for playing a solid brand of footy and fighting it out to the final siren. Thanks Epping.

Some highlights:

  • Max. Quite simply the best game I have seen him play. He’s a force now.
  • Karlius showing tremendous leadership on and off field.
  • Another solid performance at CHF by Gus. His hard work resulting in a team-lifting
    goal in the second quarter where he laid a magnificent tackle after a determined
    chase.
  • Ashton’s super work at FB. Looking forward to watching his development up the
    ground
  • Aston fighting desperately for the footy, playing a vital role as a small forward for us
    and his work ethic to want to keep getting better
  • Patrick, Will, and Johan (all 3 playing up from our Under 9’s). I could not believe my
    eyes. Patrick continued from his incredible game with us last week, real impact. Will
    was a tackling machine – I counted 4 tackles within 30 seconds and so many for the
    game – maybe 10 in the last quarter, and smart with the ball. Johan was brave and
    skilful and looked like he had been in our team forever.
  • Jack, time and time again, was selfless as a focal point for us as a key forward – we’ll
    talk Wednesday mate. Great game, under the circumstances.

Over the next 2 weeks, our coaching group and playing group will sit down together and
establish a common goal for the remained of the season.
Thanks to our crew, in particular Andrew F for stepping in this week for Corey. Thanks mate
Shalini for the oranges – thanks Shalini and all of our wonderful parents who always help
whenever/wherever.
Of course, our under 9’s and their parents and coach for making this happen.
Cheers,
Rolly

Boys Under 14s

Research 7.4 46 v Wallan 6.11 47

Unfortunately we went into this week’s game with seven players missing. Not a great sign for the game against an unbeaten and much improved Wallan team. For the second week in a row we were forced to play U13’s up to give us eighteen and a couple on the bench.
To the boys credit we gave Wallan a run for their money. We led all day and battled a much bigger and stronger opponent. With our four permanent U13’s and another four filling in I could tell we were going to struggle to run the game out.
The first and second quarters were owned by us, scoring at critical moments to keep the momentum on our side. We defended smartly using the boundary to our advantage and rushing points through so we could posses the ball.
After halftime the momentum started to slowly turn around. Even though we were three goals up at three quarter time I was seeing signs of the bigger bodies taking a toll on the boys. I’d hoped we could hold them out for another quarter but that wasn’t the case. Wallan scored at will kicking four goals to our one, snatching victory by one point. Unfortunately in close games the disappointment can be greater than if you get thumped by ten goals. And the boys were bitterly disappointed.
I couldn’t be more proud of them. Their attitude to continue to get better each week is becoming more evident. They don’t like to lose and I love that about them. Our culture is becoming a strength that will only drive them to better results. My hope now is our full team can start to play some consistent football together.
Highlights
  • Kai (playing up for the second week) kicking another sensational goal. He basically took on three massive Wallan players and literally ran between their legs to kick it. Kai also won the Club’s Search for the Stars Player of the week for this effort.
  • Our whole backline for standing up all day.
  • Bailey back from concussion only to twist his ankle in the first quarter. Still played  a massive roll kicking two goals.
  • Tom Johnson continuing his good form from CHB.
  • Harvey K playing FB all day and repelling anything he could.
  • Harvey G getting better each week.
  • Cadel and Ev battling in the ruck all day against several opponents.
  • And yes he’s my son but Jake M showing how important it is if you are clean below your knees.
A huge thank you to the U13s who played up this week and to their families for allowing it to happen.

Boys Under 15s

We came up against a very tough opposition this week in Whittlesea after they spent last year hardening up in Division 1. Our boys were slow out of the gate and Whittlesea raced to a big lead in the 1st and 2nd quarters making great use of the large ground. They wanted the ball more, got into space and kicked straight to lead at halftime by 12.7 (79) to 1.1 (7).
The halftime break gave us a chance to get into the sheds and reflect on the game plan we had not been executing on, and decide how we wanted to walk off the field at the final siren. Our boys looked a completely different team in the 2nd half, and played the game they had wanted to play from the start. We were calm out of defence, hitting 2-3 targets each time we left our quarter and contested everything in the air as equals. We still have some improvement to be made in the ground contest, but the boys did themselves and their supporters proud in the way they turned around their intensity and composure winning the 2nd half until a free kick right in front of goal allowed Whittlesea to finish the game 14.13 (97) to 3.3 (21).
There were some courageous performances, none more so than Mitch Hall who was an absolute wall in defence conservatively making a 30 point difference for us.
This experience gives us a point to prove next time we meet.

Girls Under 16s

Goals: Kyah 2, Sienna 2, Ayva H 2, Harper, Amelia S,

Today we were on the road a short trip down to Plenty Park to take on DCW 2. Our form had been good and we were out to make it 4 wins in a row.

We started well and dominated the whole game. We wasted some opportunities in the first quarter kicking 1 goal 4 but the game was played in our half of the ground leaving our backline with not much to do.
The second quarter was a lot more rewarding with us taking full advantage of our dominance booting 4 goals to zero with Kyah and Harper kicking their first goals for the club. The second half was the same as the first we dominated the half and it gave us a good chance to move a lot of our players around to different positions and try different set ups.
In the end we ran out 59-0 winners a great team performance with everyone contributing to the win and making it 4 wins in a row.
Great work team keep up the good work.

Boys Under 17.5

Research 6.7.43 def by Yarrambat 12.8.80

Goals: Riley Kerr (3), River Mason, Charlie Klaster, Will Hensel
Best Players: Tom Dozzi, Hamish Collins, Harrison Wenn, Joshua Northey, Billy
Johnson, Charlie Klaster, Angus Robinson, Joey Morrison

After a tough week and a big loss last week, we couldn’t be more proud of the boys.
They continue to demonstrate what a brilliant group they are to be a part of. They trained with great numbers and spirit during the week but Yarrambat are one of the favourites this year so to travel to their ground to play them was always going to be a challenge.

The boys deserve so much credit, this was the closest to a four quarter effort all season and full of character. We keep trying new things, to some extent forced by injury and illness. This week it was a new midfield rotation system and forward set up, led by Riley Kerr at full forward. Riley, playing with knee soreness gave us a great target and competed all day despite his discomfort and 3 goals was a great
reward for his effort. He and Charlie Klaster gave us a great presence forward.

We won centre clearances, our tackle count was up and our stoppage work generally was much improved. Our ball movement and in particular our switching opened up the game and we held possession and made much better kick decisions which was really pleasing. Hamish Collins did a fantastic job outjumping taller opponents in the ruck and giving us mobility all over the ground. Later in the game, Will Hensel gave us excellent tap work. We got a much greater and even effort right across the ground. Joey Morrison played his best game for the year with his hard running and getting to contests. River Mason and Joey gave us a presence on the wing to support the mids. Harry Wenn, Josh Northey, Tom Dozzi combined really well and Billy Johnson was a warrior and brave.

Our backline were disciplined and competed hard all day. Aidan Davis and Jake McCormack gave up height and size and yet more than held their own. Jesse Todd gave us his usual run and Angus Robinson was consistent all day and had his best game off half back.

I find myself wanting to call out every player for their contribution as this was a terrific 4 quarter, all round high quality team effort. The Yarrambat coach was full of praise for our team. Yes, we want to win games but it’s not far away if we continue to apply ourselves the same way each week.

Paul and the Coaches

Girls Under 18s

Research 12.5 77 d Montmorency 2.4 16
Our whole team keeps doing a great job. Today we had illness, injuries and Coates League players unavailable and had the help of our U16’s to fill a side.
After way wood kicking last week we had plenty of goal kicking practice during the week at training. Bang!, it helped kick 5 straight goals in the first qrt.
After the first qrt we chipped away and increased our lead each qrt. Our Rucks were dominant with Charlotte (2), Holli (1) and U16 Molly giving our midfield first look at clearances, while also getting on the scoreboard when resting forward.
In really wet conditions our players handle the ball like a dry day. Anayah and Bella dominated the stoppages while our running game was exceptional with Tilly hitting up many leads from the half back.
Alli and Sierra took control in the front half, while Abi cleared the path for Ally kicking two her self.
Positive signs across the ground with many players getting time spent in different positions.
Best Players: Tess Gillson, Bella Turner, Alli Allen, Sierra Filippone, Matilda Raphael and Holli Farrelly.
Goal Kickers: Alli Allen, Sierra Filippone 3, Charlotte Kerr, Ally Pilakis 2, Anayah Maher and Holli Farrelly