Coaches Report - R13
All reports uploaded plus late mail from Stevo for R13 + R12 as well - Frustrating day for the A Grade against Gepps & B's under Stevo & C's under the great Fabes record wins
Coaches Report - R13
A Grade Report
Round 13 V Gepps Cross at Gepps Cross 14/7/2012
It was a very disappointing and frustrating day for the A Grade going down by 5 points to Gepps Cross in a very low scoring and scrappy encounter. Kicking with the wind in the first quarter we struggled to get any decent forward entry and were very unaccountable all over the ground. We had an early set back with Jon Trenorden getting cleaned up in the opening few minutes going back courageously with the flight of the ball and reaggravating his shoulder. As the game went on it soon became obvious we were in for a slog with both sides having numerous turnovers and missing shots at goal. Gepps had the better of us for the quarter nullifying us around stoppages and seemingly hungrier for the contested ball.
The second quarter was equally as tight a tussle with neither side getting any real ascendancy on the scoreboard. We had more of the ball than early on but continuously fumbled the ball at ground level and turned the ball over by foot. Luke Crouch was a standout out for his cleanliness with the ball and Ben Birch stood up very well across centre half back. Scott Gilbert was another who found the footy but there were not many others winning their positions over the ground. At half time we were up against it but still confident that with some hard work and improvement in handling the ball we could break the game open.
The third quarter didn’t get much better with Gepps Cross slowing the game down and hitting up targets easily through the middle of the ground to move the ball forward. We allowed them to play this type of football by continuing to be unaccountable especially through the middle of the ground. Tom Birch took a few good grabs and was callously hit high in one marking contest resulting in a red card to a Gepps Cross player after he also hit Luke Crouch when he came in to remonstrate.
The last quarter saw a definite lift in intensity around the ball as both teams were desperate to get the two points in what was otherwise a very ugly affair. With the ROCS still up late in the game, Gepps continuously attacked the footy and had many forward 50 entries. Ben Birch stood up very well in the air but eventually the quantity of ball coming in saw them get a cheeky goal and claim victory by 5 points. We were unable to get the lead back in the dying minutes even with a couple of chances late in the game we effectively finished off where we started by fumbling the ball and missing targets/ goals by foot.
Best Players: Ben Birch, Luke Crouch, Scott Gilbert
Goal Kickers: Drew Litster 2, James Jordan, Scott Gilbert
Well done to the B’s (as coached by Stevo in Malks’ absence), on a comprehensive win effectively putting the game beyond doubt with a blistering first quarter. Congratulations also to the C grade (as coached by the Ox) who had another convincing win this time over Ovingham.
Matthew Dawes
A Grade Coach
B Grade Report - R13
(with Malks away this week, C Grade Super Coach Stevo Edwards took the reins of the B's for the R13 clash)
The Rocs B Grade played away vs Gepps Cross with the Rd13 clash a real challenge for the Bs with the best 5 players from their Rd 8 (8pt winning) teams last encounter all missing due to promotion or overseas on holiday.
First use of a strong breeze blowing straight up the middle of the wide spaces of Gepps Cross oval had the Rocs swarming into attack and with Simon (Fitzy) Fitzgerald in total control at full forward & a multitude of attacking options including the dominant Dale (Best on ground) Sheedy at CHF, Jordan Lyons & Chris Cialini around the forward pockets the Rocs team played champagne football over the qtr to slam home 8-1 vs 0-0 holding a commanding 49 pt lead at 1/4 time. The Red & Blacks played exciting & exhilarating team football thrilling supporters & playing with a high degree of skill level used the ball superbly to create a flowing style of team play, kicking to position well with an open forward structure. After the first stanza the game evened out with the Rocs doing enough to extend their lead & run out winners by 62pts.
Leading comfortably at 1/2 time the B grade squad were urged to keep working hard towards a big win but let themselves down as some players became selfish, stopped using discipline & defensive effort to move out of position & were quickly made to pay as the Rams kicked easy goals against the wind. Some players had the coaching staff scratching their heads as they followed the ball around the ground & let their direct opponents remain unchecked to eventually link up & attack the scoreboard. Although winning comfortably in the end the B Grade team must learn to concentrate all day in their onfield positions & all players need to work together as a team & not individuals.
The Rocs B Grade side have definitely formed the basis of a formidable finals challenger & must work on the formula of team football as a hard run home commands the Red & Blacks perform at their best to finish the regular season inside the top 3 & earn the double chance during September action.
Many players had a major influence on this week’s great result with our 2 key forwards Fitzy & best on ground Sheeds dominating their positions. Sheeds in particular displayed his class by kicking crucial long goals against the strong wind. Elliot (Camel) Shirley played a vital role at CHB & although not having a huge number of possessions totally blanketed the Rams CHF to leave the important attacking post a nonevent for the Gepps Cross side. The halfback line was almost impassable with young guns Charlie Jordan (3rd best) Nick Holland & wingman Tom O’Malley stamping their authority to win their positions all day, a fantastic effort as the three Amigos are all on loan from the Rocs First XVIII at school level.
50th Gamer Tom (Teege) Taylor was up to his usual tricks working overtime to win the hard ball in heavy traffic & set up teammates with his deft ball handling skills. Reece (Digga) Digance & Pat (Silent Dutchman) Holland teamed up well in the ruck duels to hand the Rocs on ballers first use of the Sherrin in most contests. Digga in particular rose to the challenge of lead ruckman & worked hard all day to have a real impact around the ground. The Silent Dutchman in his usual Mr Fix it role worked hard at both ends of the ground when needed. A very important player in the B’s attack on the finals Ryan (Alf) Castellano displayed his class around the contested ball & used his brute strength to force the ball forward working well with Chris (Mild Chilli) Cialini. Returning from injury the Mild Chilli showed his knowledge of the game to have a huge impact when the going was tough & kept the forward line busy with great defensive pressure.
Other players to play well in bursts Dan (Chad) Gilbert & Andy (Bungy) O’Connor changing on the ball, B’s small player brigade led by Sammy Tagg, Jezza O’Leary & Hamish (Sticks) Kernahan, all did enough when needed to influence proceedings & will be called upon to keep this standard in weeks to come.
With many areas to keep working on the Rocs B Grade are in a position to influence the finals make up & finish off a great season so far.
Final scores: Rocs 16-8 104 vs Gepps Cross 6-6 42
Goalkickers: S.Fitzgerald 5, D.Sheedy 5, C.Cialini 1, T.Taylor 1, J.O’Learey 1, D.Gilbert 1, J.Lyons 1, R.Castellano 1
Best players: D.Sheedy, T. Taylor (50games), Charlie Jordan, S.Fitzgerald, P.Holland
Best team man -R.Digance
Stevo Edwards
(Stand in B Grade Coach for R13)
C Crade Reports - R12 (Stevo) + R13 (Fabes)
C Grade Report - R12 (Stevo)
RD 12 2012
Rocs vs Walkerville
Round 12 was a huge day on the Rocs calendar this season with our own Superstar & living legend Drew Lister playing his 250th game for the Red & Blacks. Even more remarkable is that our goal kicking machine has reached this milestone only missing 1 game over the seasons to reach this total in consecutive appearances.
The Baby Rocs had a huge challenge in the early game of a triple header vs Walkerville a team that had smashed our squad earlier in the season. The C1 Team had been urged to not let the Cats run away early in the game. The young Rocs side totally blanketed the Cats from the opening bounce using superb team skills in a dominant display of quality football & constant pressure in every position on the ground. Only letting Walkerville off the hook & with a slight hope of being in the contest by wasting a few shots on goal to lead 4-4 to 0-1 in a pulsating opening qtr.
The second stanza of football produced a similar effort with the Walkerville side scoring goals to apply some scoreboard pressure that had a dramatic effect on the Rocs team play. Standing up to the challenge & then increasing our workload around the ground the Baby Rocs totally outclassed the opposition to hold them scoreless over the last half of the second qtr until a rare goal well into the final qtr of the game. An extremely pleasing aspect of our season so far as we have worked relentlessly towards becoming a real contender for the Premiership Cup.
This Round welcomed (Hadyn "Haydos"Edwards) the One Legged Ranga back into the side for his first game since the 2011 Grand Final. Haydos has been fighting a groin injury sustained mid year 2011 & only recently became fit enough to don the Guernsey this season. Starting in the goal square the highly skilled Redhead gave his teammates a forward target to work through and dominated his position to bag 4-2 while setting up many other opportunities for his team. Other young players to have a real influence on the telling result Luke Allen, Tyler Gava (two lads still at school level) as
well as Liam Cooke, Luke Polkinghorne & Jack McCarron.
Best player on the park by a long way was Big Mac Alex McKenzie (who polled the maximum 20/20 votes) dominating the centre square hit outs & then controlling the game around the ground with the hard things needed in football, shepherding, blocking &
harassing all opponents & was the last man needed in a superb piece of team play from fullback to half forward with the big unit booting a long goal on the run in his 50th game for the Red & Blacks.
In a total team performance it’s a coach’s dream with so many good players having an impact making it difficult to sort out the best 5 to receive votes. Best of the best were Big Mac, Vic 'the Wizard' Pisianello, Irish import & already a club favorite Paddy Brennan, Dermott (hitman) Leggett & custodian Sam (Motor) Moten.
Final scores Rocs 17-14 116 vs Walkerville 4-2 26
Goalkickers - H.Edwards 4, D. Leggett 3, C.Ash 2, N.Swincer 2, J.Abfalter 1, S. Adams 1, T. Gava 1, A. McKenzie 1, J.McCarron 1, L.Allen 1
Players just outside of the best players - The rest of our squad.
Stevo
C Grade Report -R13 (Fabes)
In Round 13 the ROCS C grade team faced the Ovingham Cats at home, "ROC Park", Campbelltown Memorial Oval. The team was somewhat undermanned with a significant number of players out from all grades. However, the situation gave others a chance to play and make the most of the opportunity. It was a day where everyone on the team list made a solid contribution to a strong win for the ROCS.
Pleasingly the team started very well. We dominated play for the entirety of the first quarter. The team played with a lot of intensity and the attack on the football was exceptional. The backline did a fantastic job in defending any forward movements by the opposition. Of particular note was the effective use of the football by the midfield when moving forward into attack. The forwards rewarded the work of the midfield with some accurate goal kicking. At the end of the first quarter ROCS had scored 7 goals to nil.
Unfortunately, the second quarter was quite a different picture for us. It appeared the majority of players got ahead of themselves and we stopped doing the things that had made us so dominant in the first quarter. Players stopped running hard and our skill level decreased significantly. Ovingham played with two men loose in our forward line and they made real effort to restrict the free flowing football that had been so effective for us. To Ovingham's credit, we lost momentum in the game and each team only managed to score one goal each for the quarter.
After half time the ROCS players did well to responded with a clear improvement in effort. The third and fourth quarters involved a number of patches of good football. Overall it was a good win for the C grade. The final score was ROCS: 13.14 to Ovingham: 2.2.
Josh 'the coal miner' Daniele was best on ground and a stand out player all day. On a number of occasions, Josh courageously went hard into contests to win possession of the football. He was then able to use his speed to get away from opponents and move the ball forward quickly. Alex McKenzie rucked strongly for us and beat his opponents well. Alex also did a number of good things around the ground and used his long kick to get the ball into our attack regularly. Haydn 'Dos' Edwards and Scott 'Grizzly' Adams both were very good in the forward lines. Dos and Grizzly are great mates off the field and this is evident by how well they work together on the field; they linked up regularly to create scoring opportunities for us. Sam 'Funky' Millard also played a solid game at full forward and presented well as a target. Josh O'Leary and Alex Trevarrow did a number of good things in a number of differing positions. With strong numbers at the club this year unfortunately both Josh and Alex have at times missed out on selection. It is a real credit to both Josh and Alex that they have persisted and they really made the most of their opportunities on the weekend. It was also pleasingly to see the lads from the College, Luke Allen and Tyler Gava, make use of the school holiday break to play for the ROCS. We wish them all the best returning now to the College and we hope to have them (and their friends) back at ROCS in the near future.
Moving forward we must keeping improving our consistency with the aim to maintain concentration and effort right throughout the game.
Goal Scorers: Sam Millard 4, Haydn Edwards 2, Steve Marotti 2, Scott Adams 2, Nick Swincer 1, Alex McKenzie 1, Josh O'Leary 1
Best Players: Josh Daniele, Luke Allen, Alex McKenzie, Haydn Edwards, Josh O'Leary, Scott Adams
Best team man: Patrick Brennan. Patty sets a great example for others with his encouraging and keen approach
A special thanks to Paul Whitford, Simon Emanuele, Paul Bannister, Ray Williams and Steve 'The Super Coach' Edwards for helping me through the day as fill-in coach.
Thanks,
Fabes
C Grade R13 Guest Coach (and future coach in waiting!)
Craig Fabbian
