Seniors
Morningside 22.16-148 def. Broadbeach 12.7-79
Goal Kickers: K. Fulton 4, M.
Cooke 2, T. Rolfe , J. Rolfe , T. Haley , A. Oehlman , N. O''Hare , L. Shreeve
Best Players: T. Rolfe, A. Oehlman,
D. Zorko, K. Fulton, J. Rolfe, L. Frawley
Once again the scoreline renders a quarter-by-quarter blow-by-blow
description as unwarranted. Basically we matched a peerless side for a quarter (4 2 to 4 1 at quarter time) and
without a couple of players we matched their endeavour but not their height and
skill level. Again we got hold of the nut and transferred it pretty well in the
first instances but turnovers around our fifty let us down, and for the better
part the panthers were able to convert these to goals.
They were a well oiled unit with set plays evident at stoppages and
around their 50 and interchange area. Once in possession they moved the nut
with alacrity and quick first decisions which has the appearance of making them
look fast, and they are served well with the presence of Gough, Abbey, Lucy and
an AFL draft camp invitee in Hickey, a 1980mm ruckman whose palming work at
times was a thing of beauty. They had a real purple patch in the second and it
was good to watch if you could forget it was against Broadbeach. How to stop it was our problem and a
traditional spare man in defence was no match for the mood they conjured up.
Squiz sat on Bonney before the umpire’s bounce, and to be fair, it went
down and up as it should, unlike many to follow. But we digress. We had two
coffee scrolls on the board before the Panthers realised it was game on. Fults,
running around as if he wasn’t age impaired, was doing the defensive forward
thing, and covering lots of territory. He cleared down back on more than one
occasion, and on his third, followed up the ground to mark inside our fifty and
subsequently goal.
Then Ox, competing well against bigger and seasoned performers, picked
up the scraps from a JD pass to Azza and promptly surprised all including
himself by snapping truly under pressure. His confidence grew on the spot and
the box deferred his rotation by resting him up front and giving Cookie a run.
And not too much later, back in the ruck, he won the ball when following
through at good pace from a stoppage, handballed to Azza who promptly found
Cookie who made no mistake in bisecting the erections. Ollie front and centre
again was at the end of a chain of good work by Stewie, the undeniable Jesse
Derrick, Rhino, Stewie again, Tinka and Azza. Unfortunately his set shot
missed.
R-Pants came off with a damaged wing and while he was up for it, and
bandaged appropriately, he was to take no further part in the game. A little
later Simmo went down and he too was destined to an early shower in the sheds.
We think R-Pants had an AC problem and Simmo a bad corkie. Two of our ‘in and
under’ players gone in the first stanza did not improve our chances. Both these
blokes are vital links in our game plan and play a major role in first
possession at stoppages and contested ground balls, not to mention their sometime
‘realistic’ jumps at the high ball.
Fults belied his years and continued to find the ball roaming up and
down the far side, and on one occasion, at the centre clearance. He went on to
pick up four goals for the day, one in the last stanza that shall remain in our
memory for some time. Picture a timeless photograph of a scissor shot on goal
in the round ball code. Now locate the kicker on the boundary at deep fine leg with only daylight between the erections,
and with a couple of defenders applying physical pressure, unlike the round ball
code. And again unlike the round ball code, imagine the kicker to get up off
the deck immediately and without complaining. That was a goal to be remembered.
And it may be one of the last dozen or so we observe given that next week is
our final home game for the season and very likely Fults’ last for the club. He
keeps himself in good knick and could surprise again in 2011 chasing 200 games
in the QAFL, but chances are he will see out his days taking tennis lessons
from Kevin. So get down to Merrimac next week. We are set for a big game with
Redlands – they need to win to make the finals – we want a win to celebrate
Korey’s career, and set up the funny money evening.
Josh Searl was full of run. We reckon he is just about the best in the
competition in carrying or linking the air conveyance out from the back
line. And lately he has been
called on by the box to donate his skills around the ground. He reads the ball
so well he is valuable at stoppages especially when the opposition is in charge.
At the long break there was some relief on hearing the swannies score at
the SCG. It was reported that Boc, back at Cats’ headquarters at Merrimac, had
his first orgasm since 1945 when he heard the score. There was further relief when Boc failed to
back up at the end of the swannies game.
Plenty of other good combination plays were noted and the determination
of Jacko was prominent as was his composure and kicking – there are times when
we wished that we could clone his kicking and pass it on to guess who. In fact
the Rolfe brothers were everywhere men. And they leave a trail. Squiz became a
serial pest overnight and was Bonney’s worst nightmare. While Bonney got 2
goals, one from a free and the other an overhead gift, it was nowhere near his
usual return in a 22 goal team haul. The Squiz wore him all over the deck,
providing him with unwelcome blocks at stoppages, and some powerful stuff off
the ball that generated opportunities for us. And on several occasions he was
very clever in zoning off at the last moment in realisation that Bonney was not
in the race for the ball, and in this manner he kicked our forth – off the deck
after JD, Fifey, Tinka and Ollie forced the sherrin into our goal square - for
the first quarter. Azza was in it all day. Like his brothers, or maybe it
should that his brothers are like him, courage is a given. Azza takes more hits
than travelonline dot com, such is the way he puts himself in the play. In the
last term he took a really good hit from an airborne opponent coming at him a
la league style. And you’d have to be blind and deaf not to have noticed it.
Azza took it in, acknowledged that it didn’t tickle and set about getting back
in the game, which he did through a bone-jarring dump of an opponent in front
of the trainers’ bench.
The ‘old timers’ in JD, Fifey, Stewie, Rhino, Hales and Tinka aided and
abetted by Liam Frawley, were valiant in defence. JD does all those one
percenters, not the least of which is ‘third man’ up at boundary stoppages, and
those wonderful smothers sometimes resulting him taking the ball just before an
opponent gets his foot to it. He’s like Da Vinci seeing the flap of birds’
wings. Fifey displayed enormous courage to come back after having his facial
features rearranged last week at training and contributed his usual captain’s effort
– he doesn’t know when to give up. Rhino gave his all wherever he was asked to
play. They were playing funny buggers rotating through the forward line and he
and Liam Frawley picked up mis-matched opponents or whomever was around at the
time. Frawles initiated quite a few forward forays in winning the contested
ball and Rhino complemented his contested possessions as designated kicker out
of the backline. Hales played all over like a rash, one minute down south, the
next up north, or as a loose defender, all the time looking best when the fast
decision was required and hands were more effective than feet. Stewie was not
quite Stewie but nevertheless spent some time wearing a concrete parachute
while polishing the undersides of jets landing in Brisbane. If he were an
American football people would discuss his ‘hang time’.
Speaking of American Football, there
was one passage of play in the last stanza straight from a NFL quarter back set
play when Tinka gathered the nut in front of our box and ran. He made about 75
metres (or an adjudicator 50m), with three bounces, and players coming at him
incessantly from every which what where, only to be blocked by our blokes.
Squiz, who buttered up twice, Nick O’Hare, Azza and one other hidden from our
vision, laid the offenders to sleep like bowling balls on skittles in the trail
of Tink. He was spent, he had been in and under all day and he had no petrol
left, out of tickets, stuffed, when he was ironically freed at the front of the
carnage. Never seen him so stuffed and on his haunches gasping for oxygen. His
pass to Lukey Shreeve unfortunately resulted in a point.
The younger blokes must have learned some good lessons. This was a fair
team and one that will push deep into September. (Let’s hope the buggers do not
reach the GF because then we will miss the gate cash flow for the GF) At the
risk of being silly Cookie is still one of the young blokes, as is Quickie.
Both are important to our longer term aspirations at Broadbeach and both are
gifted to the point of having plenty of potential left to work on. Quickie had
Gough and Abbey and on occasion Mugavin to contend with, and while he was
beaten on the day, he was never out of it. Keep in mind that he (and Stewie)
have been ‘pushing ‘em back’ more often that not this season, and that has its
draining effects physically. Cookie carries our hopes, next to the old bloke
and Tinka, to compile a winning score in each game. He like Quickie and Searly,
played in the Qld. under 21s and is as good a mark and kick at goal as any in
the comp and is still a tender age. He is also one that the box uses to plug
on-ball gaps, drop down back or run the forward lines and lately has been
playing under a cloud of injury. Recent selections Squire Pat and Glenn Ryan
made their usual contributions. The Squire, who has consolidated a place in
recent weeks, played the game out and his long handballing got us out of strife
on a few occasions, while Glenn determined he would be at the the right place
when the ball hit the deck.
As for the other younger players, there was one play in the last, when
post a Shreeve tackle, and a good one at that for a bloke that doesn’t have too
much meat on him, Frawls and Fitzy ran and carried for about 60 metres without
a bounce until the referee called a travel offence. Never mind, we can have
another Fitzgerald inquiry into game policing when Fitzy has completed his
Law/Commerce degree. In actual
fact, their contributions were far more effective and both were praised by
coach Smith for particular instances of bravery and nous. Macca will have his
day. He did some great work and is developing speed with his hands to match his
feet and mind. It’s not over yet for higher honours in footy for him. Lukey
Shreeve has been at Broady since Adam played full back for Jerusalem. It has
been our pleasure to watch him play over the last couple of years at GC17 and
recently with our seniors. He is a gifted footballer with sublime footskills
and does well in the company of men. On the one hand we wish him well in AFL
ranks in 2011, on the other we would love having him in our line-up.
Magoos
Morningside 14.13 def. Broadbeach
5.12-42
Goal Kickers: S. Roberston , D.
Dienjes , D. Skrinnis , J. Pantic , D. Glossop
Best Players: M. Kavic, S.
Roberston, M. Scale, N. Lyons, D. Skrinnis, J. Pantic
Again the blokes looked like the goods early on and we had hopes in the
third that we could go on with it. Well done to Dienjes the younger who may not
be that far away from playing with his brother, and good to see senior players
Lyons and J-Pants in amongst it. As for Skriners, we have no truck with a young
man who courts a Collingwood supporter. But for that he would be leading the
charge out of the midfield in the ones.
At home to Redlands next week and a big chance to get 4 game points on
the board. Think of your coach who puts in each week, persevering with
developing players but at the same time hoping for, and deserving, a win
Last Modified on 09/08/2010 17:59