Coaches Report - R17
A's; B's & C's vs TTG; D's vs Port Districts
A Grade Match Report: Round 17 v Tea Tree Gully
Saturday loomed as our final home game of the minor round and an opportunity to continue to build our game.
Conditions again would challenge both sides but with the return of several players we headed into the critical encounter full of confidence.
The opener was hotly contested setting the tone of the game. Justin McInerney ably assisted by midfield group in Xav Tranfa, Beau Baldwin, Will Mead and work horse El Murada all got to work from the first bounce in heavy conditions. Our opponents were not going to be denied as the multitude of season scenarios on the game’s outcome ebbed and flowed with the scoreboard. The early tone wasn’t pretty footy, but it was hard and as mentioned hotly contested with the clash jumpers proving a challenge for player, coach, commentator, umpire and supporter alike. The first break saw us down by just 2 points.
With players having settled into the game we managed to get some flow into our ball movement which gave us valuable field position to score. Paddy Dawson was accumulating possessions across the ground with his hard running up and down the ground and Jack Michalanney was proving a headache for our opponents intercepting across half back. We continued to push hard to break the game open. Scores at the main break stood at 34 points each.
Inside the sheds as a collective we knew we needed to maintain pressure and work rate as the game would break open at some stage. The third was an arm wrestle with our opponents throwing everything at us in an attempt to gain some valuable separation on the scoreboard in a low scoring encounter. We continued to push hard but with three missed opportunities in the middle part of the quarter saw the margin out to a game high 11 points before a late inspiring goal from Jett Boxer cut the deficit back to just 5 points at the final break.
Again the message was reinforced, maintain the work rate and pressure the game will break. The quarter wasn’t going to be a spectacle by any stretch but required a rock solid performance. It was again Jett Boxer who lifted the side with another snap on goal at the 5 min mark of the quarter which had the scores level. The next three shots on goal were behinds however the time stamp recorded us holding a one point lead for 19 min of the quarter with players from both sides pushing hard from contest to contest in what was a gruelling quarter. Then came the moments, first it was Jules Piro who broke the game open with a hard running goal to break the deadlock giving as a 7 point lead. Then the moment that we had been searching for came and not surprisingly from Xav Tranfa who snapped a miraculous goal from outside a hot contest to break the game open. Tommy McCormack finished off what was a gutsy final quarter and game with a goal on the siren to seal a hard fought 19 point team win.
A game full of character which we will again look to learn from as we head into next week.
Final Scores: ROCFC 10.9.69 defeated TTG 7.8.50
Goal Kickers: J. Boxer 3, T. McCormack 3, J. Piro 2, J. Bradford 1, X. Tranfa 1
Best Players: J. Michalanney, P. Dawson, J. McInerney, W. Mead, B. Baldwin
See you at the footy.
Bootsy
A Grade & Club Coach
B Grade Match Report: Round 17 v Tea Tree Gully
Yet Another Nail-Biter
I’ll try to keep this one a little shorter this week, but it’s hard not to be proud of this young group and the way they continue to find a way to compete in what is an incredibly tough competition.
Coming up against an opponent who is on the rise, and who had just beaten a side we are yet to defeat this year, we knew we were facing another challenge. But, after last week’s amazing effort, this game was also going to be a challenge about ourselves and whether we could back it up.
We went into the game with another 12 changes from the previous week. While we are desperate to find some continuity and connection within the group, we are hopeful that things will settle down as we approach the most important part of the season.
The first quarter certainly showed that we were still finding our feet. We created opportunities but didn’t make the most of them on the scoreboard and found ourselves nine points down at the first break.
The second quarter was much the same. I felt we were keeping our opponent in the game with our inability to convert, going into half-time having kicked 1.8, but still only trailing by six points. The effort was there; we just needed to find a way to execute when it mattered.
At the break, we needed to realign the side and make a few positional changes to give us the best opportunity to score. The response from the lads was outstanding. They came out in the third quarter and kicked four goals to two to take a five-point lead into the final break.
The last quarter was another nail-biter, with momentum shifting both ways. But once again, this young group found a way to grind out a result. Even after our opponent had a shot on goal after the siren, the boys held on for a fantastic win and, importantly, kept us in fifth spot heading into the final round.
There was a time on this journey when I believe we would have lost a game like this. But this group is growing every single week. They are learning how to handle pressure, how to stay in games when things aren’t going their way and, most importantly, how to find a way to win.
Luck can certainly favour the brave, but you have to be brave enough to put yourself in that position — and once again, this group was brave enough to do exactly that.
When you look at how much this young group has improved over the past 12 months, it is genuinely something to be proud of. They have grown individually and collectively, and they have done it in a competition that is incredibly demanding and difficult. The challenges, the changes and the adversity they have faced have only made them stronger.
There is still business to finish. One more game. One more opportunity to play finals.
A win this coming week will reward these lads with a finals berth — something they thoroughly deserve for the work, commitment and improvement they have shown throughout the year.
We’ll enjoy this win, but we know the job isn’t finished yet. Let’s get to work and give ourselves every chance to earn the reward this group deserves.
Final Scores: ROCS 6.12.48 defeated TTG 6.7.43
Best Players: T. Griffiths, H. Shute, L. Hill, H. Maxwell, T. Bradford
Goal Kickers: B. Spehr 2, J.Slivak,1 T. Griffiths 1, S. Zealand 1, N. Thiessen 1
Jamie Thomas
B Grade Coach
C Grade Match Report: Round 17 v Tea Tree Gully
Welcome back to another weekly review for the ROCs C grade. Our last home game for the minor round and potentially for the rest of the year. We welcomed Tea Tree Gully to ‘The Quarry’. Sun was shining, oval wasn’t in bad condition considering the wild rain we had during the week, and the team looked really solid across the board. All factors considered we knew we have to take advantage of glorious conditions. One aspect of the game that we couldn’t change was Tea Tree Gully’s choice of guernsey. Both clubs wear the red and black colours. Now we know Tea Tree Gully have a grey clash strip but nope that wasn’t good enough for them. They wanted to make things a little more challenging by using a guernsey that was predominately red with a red sash and black outline. Whoever thought that this wouldn’t clash with our guernsey needs to be fired.
Back to the important part of the day. The team knew how important a win would be, win and we guarantee our spot for a double chance in finals. It’s easy to get into cruise control when you know you’re up against a team that isn’t travelling well, that’s exactly what happened. Stuck it in 3rd gear and flick the cruise control button on and wait for the final siren to blow. A very strange and scrappy game. Yes, we won by 101pts but our on field performance told a different story. To Tea Tree Gully’s credit they made it incredibly hard for us to get comfortable and play our brand of football.
The team’s focus of ‘front half territory’ again was super strong, registering 53 inside 50’s for the game. Our back six were strong all day allowing us to give the forwards maximum opportunity. Midfielders worked hard all day on quite a heavy ground, and the forwards were hitting the scoreboard and looking dangerous all day. All in all a lot of positives to take away from the game and a few things to work on but a fantastic result for the team. We secured 3rd spot on the ladder and double chance heading into finals.
Jordan Huppatz was huge all day and has become a revelation down back. His defensive craft has improved every week and has become such a force down back.
Dylan Matthews looks like a new player this year. A player full of confidence and enjoying his football. Huge aerial presence on the day and kicked 7 goals. Daniel Leonard or ‘Lizard was strong down back, his rebound work from D50 was elite which set up most of our scoring opportunities. Just glad people don’t mistake him for Nick Blakey!
Lewis Matsis just keeps on keeping on, gets the offense going and made smart decisions with ball in hand.
Jayden Smith dominated on the wing. Was great to have him back in the side providing a lot of run and carry. We travel to Salisbury North for our last game of the minor rounds. I know the team will be looking to put in a strong performance leading into our finals campaign.
Final Score: ROCFC 16.16.112 defeated Tea Tree Gully 1.5.11
Goals Scorers: Dylan Matthews 7, Amer Elhosni 2, Tom Fotheringham 2, Lewis Matsis 2, Zac Aufderheide 1, Adam Greenwood 1, Harry Smith 1
Best Players: Jordan Huppatz, Dylan Matthews, Daniel Leonard, Lewis Matsis, Jayden Smith
Congratulations to Zac Aufderheide on playing his 100th game for ROCS
Nick Karagich
C Grade Coach
D Grade Match Report: Round 17 v Port Districts
Rocs Academy hosting Pt. District - a must win match up in heavy conditions at the home of Football (CMO). Prime time late afternoon timeslot, a big crowd in attendance - up to the Team to play well....
Rocs were focused and started with a positive attitude and quickly had the first major score on the board . Pt. District responded with some excellent teamwork and were determined to create some momentum to match the up and about Rocs.
Both teams battled hard to control general play, but Rocs worked together creating some fluent passages of play to hold advantage but failed to capitalise our momentum on the scoreboard.
1/4 time scores Rocs 2-3 (15) vs Pt. Districts 2-0( 12)
The Red & Blacks were again working together all around the ground and produced some excellent teamwork with our backline setting up constant attacking plays but once again inaccuracies on goal in the heavy conditions left the door ajar for Pt. District to stay within striking distance on the scoreboard.
1/2 time scores Rocs 5-6 (36) vs Pt. District 3-2 (20)
The second half of the bruising game evolved into a dour slog with both teams defensive unit under constant pressure but were able to stymie most attacking drives with confidence and controlled ball movement . Rocs continued to hold advantage around contested possession and despite a few close shots on goal held on for a desperate and much needed 18 point win.
Final score ROCFC 6.11.47 defeated Pt. District 4.5.29
Goal Kickers: S. Tagg-2, J. Thoday-2, P. Norris-1, J. Avlonitis-1.
Best Players: M. Lombardi, J. Avlonitis, T. Grant, J. Scutella, J. Thoday, L. Tripodi.
Best team men: S. Tagg, P. Norris, rest of the Team all played important roles.
Steve Edwards
D Grade Coach
