Coahes Report - R16
A's by 6 points, and B's solid 4 quarter game to defeat Flinders Park
A Grade Report
We kicked with the breeze early, however, wasted opportunities and scored 3.7 which kept Flinders Park in the game. In the next two quarters we were well beaten around stoppages and seemingly had every bad bounce, every close decision and a host of other problems go against us.We trailed by 13 points at the last break ,kicking into the breeze in the last quarter.
Matt Footner made a massive difference on ball and we charged at them for the whole quarter. We hit the lead , then they kicked two goals. We fought back to lead again, then they tied the game. With only a short time on the clock, Luke Manuel kicked a great left foot goal and we held on for a memorable win, full of enormous character.Better players were Peter Baccanello, Matthew Footner, Scott Gilbert, Luke Manuel, Will O'Malley and Jack Nelligan.
Clearly, the season will go down to the wire and is incredibly tightly contested.We are striving for consistency and to bring our best to the table in the weeks ahead. We appreciate the support of the ROCs community.
Tim Hart
A Grade Coach
B Grade Report
With every game now critical it was pleasing for the group to play a solid 4qtr game and get a well deserved win. With a strong breeze to the southern end of Campbelltown we were able to run the ball well into the breeze in the 1st & 3rd quarters and use it to our advantage to put scoreboard pressure on in the 2nd and final term.
Our attack on the ball and body and pressure skills all over the ground were the best they have been all year and the number of scoring opportunities from their turnovers highlighted this as a real improvement from recent weeks.
Alex McKenzie dominated the ruck and kicked 4 goals to hurt the opposing big men. Dave Eckert playing strong and tall across half forward with Eamon Hanna, John Harrison displayed the form which had him playing A grade early in the season and Tom Taylor continually set up play around the stoppages. It was terrific for us that our backline was led by 2 young blokes in Russell Brooks and Charlie O'Malley, along with super poised Chuck Norris and dour Josh Clothier.
An important result and the most even 21 player contribution we have produced all season, however there is still a lot of work to do if we are to make the finals.
Congratulations to Ben Birch and Chris Nutchey who played their 150th games for the club on Saturday.
Peter Pedersen
B Grade Coach
C Grade Report
Coming off a morale boosting win against Walkerville the C's faced the second placed Flinders Park in our final away game for the minor round. Kicking with the wind we got off to a positive start, kicked the first goal and looked to be getting on top. As expected Flinders Park fought back and took a slight edge into quarter time. Our second quarter into the breeze was excellent and we trailed by 3 points at half time but were the better side in general play. Our competitiveness and defensive pressure were the highlights of our first half.
Unfortunately our intensity dropped off in the second half and with that Flinders Park overran us to run out comfortable winners. Two key learnings coming out of this game are the need for us to take our opportunities (we missed several very gettable goals) and the importance of maintaining our work rate for four quarters.
Our better players on the day were captain Simon Emanuele who controlled the back line and thrashed a dangerous forward, Vic Pisianello who played a dominant game in the midfield and comprehensively beat his opponent, Pat Murphy who won the ruck contests all day, Ned Taylor who was resolute in defence and Darren Leggett who worked tirelessly on his wing.
In summary, despite the final score, there were lots of positives to come out of this game and there is much for us to build on as we lead into our final game, next week before finals.
Mick Borrillo
C Grade Coach
