Finals Report - Week 1 - B's go down by 13 points in the Qualifying Final
Finals are underway
A Grade - Finals Week 1
The A's had the week off and now face Adelaide Uni in the 2nd Semi Final to be played at home - 2.15pm.
Uni 13 12 (90) defeated Walkerville 08 02 (50) in the Qualifying Final.
In the Elimination Final SPOC 11 16 (82) Defeated Old Ignations 07 07 (49)
Grass Roots Football SAAFL TV Show - Channel 44
A Grade Coach Tim Hart, will be on this week's show on Thursday night (August 25th) from 8.30pm.
B Grade Report - Finals Week 1
On a really good day for football we took on Walkerville at Thebarton and unfortunately went down by 13 points in a tough and entertaining game. Our lads were very good in terms of applying pressure to the opposition and never gave in. The 13 point result was the biggest margin for the game. It was a tight tussle all day, we led by 1 point at quarter time, Walkerville led by 1 point at half time and 2 points at 3 quarter time.
We certainly had our chances to win and we probably cost ourselves with our goal kicking by not putting the opposition under scoreboard pressure. There were plenty of positives to come from the game, we had more scoring shots. Some players will be better for the run, knowing what to expect from the pressure and intensity of a finals game now. We will work on our disposal and the quick give at training this week and I am pretty confident we can turn the result in our favour next week.
The game didn't start well for us with Walkerville controlling the first 5 minutes and we were dealt a cruel blow when Chris Cialini, who has been playing really good footy in defence and in the middle, came off with a dislocated shoulder. In the latter part of the quarter our pressure and persistence paid off with Jonno Trenorden kicking our first goal and went into quarter time 1 point up.
In the second quarter we controlled parts of the quarter well and had 7 scoring shots to Walkerville's 4, but they kicked 4 goals straight while we wasted some opportunities and kicked 3-4. Walkerville tended to kick their goals a bit easier than us, and our defensive pressure and manning up in the back line was lacking at times. Our midfield was working well, in particular Damien Moyle and Dale Sheedy. This bears well for the A-grade next week having some quality players putting pressure on players to retain their spot.
The third quarter was tight with 2 goals each and at times we looked like we might have the legs to overrun Walkerville, but to their credit they refused to go away. With the pressure of the contest we turned the ball over a bit too easily under pressure and made some silly decisions with our delivery. Russell Brooks and Eamonn Hanna were working well across half back and took some great contested marks to relieve the pressure in the back line.
In the final quarter, Walkerville kicked successive goals for the first time in the game and the 13 point lead was enough to hang onto. What was pleasing was that we never gave in and scored a goal to bring it back within 7 points with 5 minutes to play but a quick reply from a disappointing 25m to Walkerville saw us fall a little short this week.
Best players in the first final went to Dave Eckert, who started on the bench, but when he came on was fantastic with his courage and intensity to keep his eye on the ball and take some courageous marks. Charlie O'Malley played very well at fullback and saved a couple of certain goals by keeping his feet and keeping the ball in front of him and clearing it out of the danger zone.
The best 3 players in the game were Dale Sheedy (3rd), Russell Brooks (2nd) and Damien Moyle judged best afield. All these players will be in strong contention to play A's this week. Dale Sheedy was very influential on the ball and up forward kicking 3 goals and taking some strong contested marks. Brooksy controlled centre half back well and rebounded strongly. He cramped up a bit in the last quarter but fortunately got through the game well in his comeback from a hamstring injury. Damien Moyle returned through the b-grade last week and didn't play an overly influential game in round 18 after nearly 2 months off. But in just his second game he dominated from the wing and half forward and found plenty of the ball and presented well when the ball came out of defense.
I really believe that there were a lot of positives to come from the game and I am really looking forward to the challenge against St Peters this week at home in the knockout 1st semi final. Some players now have a better understanding of the pressure and pace of a finals game will be better prepared this week and know what to expect this weekend. We'll train hard and give it our best shot this weekend. We still have belief that we can make an impact on this finals series.
Glen Malkin
B Grade Coach
In the Elimination final SPOC 07 07 (49) Defeated Old Ignations 04 11 (35).
(Uni finished top and had the week off)
C Grade - Finals Week 1
The C's had the week off and now face PAOC in the 2nd Semi Final to be played at home on Sunday 28th August at 2.15pm - tbc.
PAOC 19 17 (121) defeated SPOC 05 09 (39) in the Qualifying Final.
In the Elimination Final - Uni 09 15 (69) Defeated Old Ignations 04 13 (37).
