Week 10

at Norths (Both Grades)

It was an up and down Saturday evening last weekend with night games organised by the North's club at North Dalton Park. After a couple of wins on the trot we were looking to test ourselves versus one of the top sides in both grades.

Reserve Grade were hampered by a lack of numbers and we had a couple of players volunteer to run in the Two's to help bolster the numbers. A solid start with some strong play all over the ground gave us a lead at quarter time. Norths came out stronger in the second quarter and we squandered some good scoring opportunities to relinquish a slender lead to the home side at half time. Jeremy Wild was standing up strong in the ruck, Phil Henshaw was getting a bit of the footy and Chris Weller was providing an excellent target up forward. We fought back stongly in the third quarter to trail by 1 point going in the final stanza and wanted to erase memories of the 2 point loss we had to North's in the first round. The last quarter was a struggle with both teams finding it difficult to put it through the middle and it looked like we might come up short again until with three minutes to go Liam 'Emu' Carruthers put one through to give us the lead which we grimly held onto. There were strong efforts all over the ground with Luke Penglow doing some tough work in his first game, Steve Wall strong in the backline, Jake Gordon, Craig Godfrey and Phil Henshaw getting a lot of the footy and Mark McDougall doing well in a unfamiliar role. A great win away from home by the Boys and thanks to Chris and Emu for helping out.

First Grade were a little disorganised (thanks to the coach playing to the final whistle in Ressies) and took the field against a fired up Norths outfit with some concerns over numbers (the bench was a little thin, and became thinner after Vickers had to come off). We started OK but the Wollongong boys are a big and quick team and we did not seem to be able to sustain much pressure against their run and carry. We had a number of opportunities in the second quarter, having the same number of scoring shots as Norths but failed to capitalise putting us behind the eight ball at half time. We showed a lot of heart in the final half with only a couple on the bench but failed to stop the North's boys from running out comfortable winners. Great efforts from Cameron Cullen (keeping Jason Lucas relatively quiet), Jace Southwell, Brett Kelly, Sean Suridge, Scott Clarke, Troy Nicoll and Jeremy Bayley highlighted our performance with the first two really standing out.

This Saturday we play at home against Bomaderry and really need a better turn out if we are going to come away with the points. Bommo have improved since our first meeting and we are starting to struggle with numbers again (8 backing up last week). Let's get some good numbers to training this week and get 2 teams out on the paddock against the Tigers so we can sing the song in their face.

Trivia Night this Saturday Night commencing at 1830 at the Sportsman's Club near the rugby Oval. Let's get some good numbers helping the Club raise the funds to get the building next to the ground together. Would love to see ex-players, families (kids are encouraged to attend) and friends at this event. Entry is $5 for adults, $2 for kids, BYO nibblies with some small eats provided (thanks Serco). There are cash prizes for the winning tables and lots and lots of giveaways during the night. Come along, support your Club and have a great time. To book a table or for more info, contact me (Steve 'Bulky' Wall).

Scores:

Reserve Grade

Norths 2.2 5.5 7.7 8.11 59
Demons 3.0 4.4 7.6 9.9 63

Goals: C. Weller 5, L. Carruthers 2, S. McCurdy, L. Penglow
Best: L. Wright, C. Godfrey, M. McDougall, S. Wall, C. Weller, P. Henshaw

Awards:

Coaches Cup: Luke Penglow
Player's Player: Chris Weller
Aussie Hotel: Phil Henshaw
Sportscene: Jake Gordon

Firsts

Norths 4.8 8.10 14.16 20.20 140
Demons 1.1 2.5 4.5 4.6 30

Goals: S. Levy 2, C. Weller, J. Wilson
Best: L. Carruthers, P. Henshaw, T. Nicoll, B. Kelly, C. Cullen, J. Southwell

Coaches Cup: Scott 'Cranky' Clarke
Player's Player: Cameron Cullen
Aussie Hotel: Jace Southwell
Husky Pub: Brett Kelly
Sportscene: Troy 'Swanny' Nicoll

Paper Story:

http://www.southcoastregister.com.au/news/local/sport/afl/flying-high-tigers-bite-back/1553490.aspx