Match Report - u11 Blacks vs St Bedes Mentone

Written by Nib Smith | 01 August 2011

Match Report

St Kilda City v St Bedes Mentone Under 11s – 9am at Wattie Watson Oval Elwood

“You cant always get what you want, but if you try sometimes...you just might find ........you get what you need”  Jagger/Richards

In preparing ourselves for the penultimate match of the season between aspirational Bayside suburbs, we found ourselves with all the moons in alignment for a good day as we stepped into the sunshine at our spiritual home Wattie Watson. Parents were assured the expresso machine was working and apart from the siren not working we were set to go. Our hard working runner JT was, as always, splendidly attired in seven layers of lycra and we once again had a full team.

First Quarter: St Kilda City 4.3.27 – St Bedes Mentone 0.2.2

Skipper Joel won the toss and immediately pointed to the Beach end which was aided by the ubiquitous Sunday morning  3 goal Northerly.  Wasting no time and determined to start well Oscar kicked a point then got hands to tap to Curtis who combined well with Cameron and he snapped our first goal which was great reward for a rapidly improving speedster adding depth to our midfield.

With Joel at Centre half forward and the leading Hugo at full forward the attacks had system and it wasn’t long before Joel unselfishly passed to the leading Hugo for our second. The city boys were on fire and all were contributing to the run on style of play. There was shepherding, voice and people providing options. Cameron won another free and Declan cleared from half back twice when Mentone did attack. Connor was in everything as was Mac who was  winning frees from bad tackles  and getting kicks from the attacking wing and Samuel provided options. Hugo kicked his second with a snap and although Kye was sore with a leg injury he also got amongst the disposals and scored a point . Joel kept running and bouncing and giving off to Zac and Mac. Mentone did get it up their end a couple of times and Dylan saved one attempt by running the ball through for a point. Bobby held up some of the attacks and Adam was clean at Centre half back. A fantastic quarter and the boys went in with a 25 point lead at quarter time.

Second quarter: St Kilda City 8.4.52 – St Bedes Mentone 3.4.22

Coach Mick told the team to keep attacking even though we would be against the wind and Joel turned it on with great attacking runs. Cameron was playing well in the midfield as was Zac. Joel kicked the first goal on the run from twenty after two bounces and straightening up. One of the highlights for the season has been the high marking from Connor each week and he had another for the highlights reel as he got up high to mark an Adam Oulton kick in. Kye kicked a point and we continued to attack and Joel , deep in the pocket did the team thing and gave off to Hugo who marked in the goal square for his third. Mentone stared to play well and scored a couple of goals despite solid defense from Max. Oliver took a mark and Will looked dangerous with his constant running. In one of the best bits of play that showcased the “team” aspect of our improvement Mac got the ball at half forward, gave off to the rampaging Joel who got it back to Mac who snapped a wonderful goal from 25 out.  Samuel and Harry got involved and Dylan got a long kick forward. Adam’s marking and kicking out were terrific for the quarter and we went in to the oranges 30 points up .

Third quarter: St Kilda City 11.8. 74 St Bedes Mentone 3.5.23

Mick suggested at half time that we continue to play on at every opportunity and back ourselves. It was important for everyone to be involved and like Cadel Evans earlier in the week not to take our foot off the pedal. Having the wind certainly assisted us as the game perhaps tightened up with more ball ups this quarter. Hugo goaled early for his fourth. Curtis took a good mark after a great pass from Joel but just failed to score when his kick just grazed the post. Marco who had been playing well getting many possessions and providing leads managed a free kick within range but just missed for a point. Mac took a towering mark and kicked truly. Some of the team work and slick handballing was great to watch and when Joel gave off to Dylan who quickly handballed back to Joel who then passed to Marco who converted with a great goal.  This was seriously good clean footy. Max laid one tackle that showed all his rugby league experience and certainly had a couple of Mentone boys thinking about a career in alternative sports.

Good tough quarter that allowed Mick to try a few new things in the last quarter with the game well won.

Fourth quarter:   StKilda City 11.10.76 St Bedes Mentone 5.8.39

Oscar was dominating at the stoppages giving first use to Zac, Curtis and the courageous Joel who had hurt a finger. St Bedes hadn’t stopped trying and despite the efforts of Adam on the last line, scored the first goal. Connor took a couple of marks and was dominating play and Will, playing in the midfield, got a couple of kicks as did Curtis who had a great quarter and just missed on goal again after marking in the goal square. In one of his best games Declan cleared the ball repeatedly and Mac was controlling the game in his unobtrusive but effective manner. The final score saw us winners by 37 points. One of the quotes of the day came from Coach Mick when he suggested that although he had been to many a rock concert over the years, he hadn’t heard anything volume wise to compare with the singing of the theme song.

Coaches award for best player went to Mac and Marco and brick awards went to Cameron for his courageous play and great running capped off with a goal and to Adam Oulton who always plays a role well and listens to the coaches instructions.