Coaches Report for R6
C's uploaded !! - All the action from R6 against Henley for the A's & B's & R7 Simmo'S 250th in the C's
Coaches Report
A Grade - R6 vs Henley
Following our match last week against Gaza it was obvious that we needed to address a few aspects of our game. To the players credit they took this on board, made the necessary adjustments and were rewarded with a excellent 52 point win over a side I rate highly, the Henley Sharks.
Tim Baccanello played his best game for the club and was instrumental in getting the side going in the first half. His ball winning abilities and poise in traffic were a pleasure to watch. Craig Hom (3 goals) and Jimmy Jordan (4 goals) work rate's were outstanding whether playing through the midfield or up forward.
Jono Trenorden and Dan McCallum hardness around the footy was outstanding. One individual effort of Jono's to back courageously back into a pack early in the first quarter was brilliant to see and set the standard for his teammates to follow for the rest of the day.
Kieran Holland's good form continued and Luke Manuel again kept the ROCS supporters entertained, finishing with 5 goals for the match.
We are currently sitting second on the ladder with 5 wins and 1 loss, which is certainly a good start to our season. However, we must realise that there is a lot of footy still to be played and we were in a similar position last year but fell away badly in the second half of the season.
Tom Wigley
A Grade Coach
B Grade Report - R6 vs Henley
Round 6 saw the ROCS B grade come up against Henley. Henley have been the dominate team in the Div 1 Reserves competition for the previous 3 or 4 years so it provided a great challenge for our boys.
With this in mind, it was extremely pleasing to see the B grade play arguably their best game for the year to win by 21 points (10-13 to 8-4). Apart from a 5 minute period, ROCS dominated the 1st quarter in terms of possession and inside 50’s however where unable to capitalise on the scoreboard (2-6 to 3-0). The 2nd and 3rd quarters showed a similar pattern and as a result the game was still in the balance at 3-quarter time. An outstanding last quarter, based on sheer hard work and ferocious attack on the footy finally saw as break away and record our 5th win for the season.
Again an even contribution was a hallmark of our side however Charlie Jordan was simply outstanding on-ball. His tireless work rate and ability to win clearances saw Henley eventually try and tag him. Not a bad effort an 18 year old in their 6th game! Tom Moore was excellent in the ruck, providing us with first use of the ball at clearances. After 2 years off, Moorey is starting to recapture some of his best form. Pat Holland and Sam Wilson played outstanding defensive games on two of Henley’s dangerous forwards. Their ability to shut-down their opponents and also provide us with run and drive from the backlines was invaluable.
The ROCS B grade need to back up for another big game this week against Tea Tree Gully at Pertaringa. Like us, their win-loss record is 5 and 1, so we need to make sure we come ready to play!
Final Scores: ROCS 10-13 (73) def Henley 8-4 (52)
Goal Scorers: J. Harrison 3, J. Lyons 2, T. Taylor , J. O'Leary , T. Versace , C. Deegan , D. Sheedy
Best Players: C. Jordan, T. Moore, P. Holland, S. Wilson, N. Janetzki, S.Bowler (Best Team Man)
Paul Bannister
B Grade Coach
C Grade Report R7 & Simmo's 250th Game vs Unley Mercedes Jets
This week's highly anticipated clash against Unley Jets gave the young C1 squad at the ROCs Academy of Football a real chance to test themselves and find out some answers to the $64 question. "How good are the C's really going"??? The third placed Jets had amassed some extremely high scores against other teams in the C1 competition and were also far from disgraced. A few rounds earlier, they failed by only 3 goals when matched against the all conquering Goodwood Saints. The C1 squad has been working very hard on the track over the past few weeks, aiming to perform at their best against the Jets in this fixture, with the added incentive of ROCs C grade stalwart, Captain Blood Emanuele playing in game 250 for the Red and Blacks.
With several players looking tired and others still sleeping, the ROCs were quickly brought to attention as club legend Paul (Cheesy) Arnfield spoke a few inspiring words before taking to the field about his long-term team-mate Captain Blood’s glittering ROCs career.
Bursting out of the blocks with Linchpin (Sam Lynch) winning the Ruck contest, ROCs on-ballers Bungee O’Connor, Ryan Grigg and Jacko Adams were soon in the thick of the action gaining possessions to distribute the ball into attack with a rested H Bomb (Hados) Edwards on fire at full-forward, testing his dodgy groin, leading well and marking strongly to finish off the on-ballers’ efforts. He had the radar locked 'on' and kicked with laser-like accuracy scoring a couple of 'sausage rolls', adding to forward playmaker Grizzly (Scott) Adams game-starting major in the first few minutes of the quarter.
Ably assisted by Jersey boy Emanuele, the ROCs main focal points worked well with each other to finish off some great team play by their team mates. ROCs absorbed the early pressure from the Jets with all players having an influence on the dominant quarter of footy, finishing well on top of the visiting Unley side.
First Quarter scores: ROCs 5-1[31] vs Jets 1-1[7]
To no-one’s surprise Unley took the game right up to the Red & Blacks from the start of the 2nd term & put some scores on the board, making it a real contest throughout the qtr, with scores very close at the 1/2 time break. The Jets had strung some effective teamwork together running the ball through the lines, keeping the pressure on the ROCs defence, to boot 3-2, outscoring the ROCs effort of 2-4 to send a very strong message that the ROCs had a challenge ahead of them on their home turf, aka The Quarry. Many ROCs players had influenced the game up until 1/2 time with Murph (Pat) Murphy & the Lynchpin in the ruck, Griggy & Hollywood (Tyler) Gava on ball, Paddy (the Horse) Brennan & Thirsty Camel Shirley in defence with wingman Rowdy O’Leary & Wonker (Jack) Tagg all having patches of dominance, with the ROCs holding a handy 20pt advantage.
Half-time scores: ROCs 7-5(47) vs Unley 4-3(27)
During the long break the ROCs were challenged to take control of the game and show their opposition and the building crowd just why they were holding a top 3 position on the ladder. The ROCs team responded in their usual manner when challenged this season, exploding out of the blocks as the Juggernaut found top gear, totally dominating general play & scoring effectively & with clinical precision to slam home 3 goals in 3 mins of pulsating skilful football. Despite Unley’s best efforts to stop the ROCs machine, the Jets were swarmed upon by the hungry Red & Blacks and put to the sword in the second half by a committed & first-to-the-ball ROCs team. The ROCs worked as a single unit to totally dominate all aspects of the game & hammered home 11-4 to the Jets 2-3. By the time Jersey Boy (Paulo) Emanuele had booted back-to-back long, long, long goals from outside 50m halfway into the 3rd term, the game was firmly in the ROCs control, with a blow-out 75pt margin at the final bell signalling a very satisfying result, A fitting end to the game had Captain Blood carried high on team-mates’ shoulders’ back to the sheds through a guard of honour created by the C1 squad, team officials & friends with a fantastic gesture by our B grade entourage as they joined in as well, a fitting tribute to Simmo's superb playing career (so far) and a testament to the respect this great clubman has around the ROCFC.
Final scores: ROCs 18-9[117] def Unley Jets 6-6[42]
As the immediate post-match celebrations dulled ever so slightly, we received some sad news about the injury to Football Academy freshman & young gun on-baller, Jordy Shore (Jordan Owen). He had sustained a knee injury early in the game with the result that he will require knee surgery, bringing his year to an abrupt and early end in 2013. Our thoughts & best wishes go out to the skilful 1st year player with a speedy recovery high on his peers’ wish list.
Best players - H. Edwards, J. O’Leary, T. Gava, E. Shirley, J. Adams
Best team-man - P. Brennan
Goalkickers - H. Edwards 6, P. Emanuele 4, S. Tagg 2, S. Adams 1, R. Grigg 1, T.Gava 1, P. Murphy 1, L. Cooke 1, M. Zamparelli 1
Just a few quick points to finish on - huge thanks to Captain Blood who has worked tirelessly with the Supercoach since 2008. We are a true 'Odd Couple' that sometimes disagree, but always eventually compromise and agree on all the trials & tribulations that each footy season conjures up. Gaining success for the C grade is the driving force as the two dedicated ROCers try to create an important culture for the future for all players during their C grade careers at the ROCFC. 'Thanks Simmo', it has been an absolute pleasure being closely involved with the consummate defender, clubman , committee-man and devoted family man, making the Supercoach’s coaching tenure a truly pleasurable part of life.
Steve Edwards
C Grade Coach
