The heat is on, on the street
Inside your head, on every beat
And the beat's so loud, deep inside
The pressure's high, just to stay alive
'Cause the heat is on
That was the opening lyrics of "The Heat is on" performed by Glenn Frey and on Friday night, it was the red-hot Balmain Dockers meeting the slightly wounded Newtown Breakaways. With both teams at almost full-strength, it was the Dockers who started out with positive fast-flowing play with Chris Matthews and Belinda Pride kicking four goals in the first quarter to one goal by the Newtown Breakaways. From there Balmain continued to exert pressure although Newtown put up some stout resistance so that Balmain were leading at the half-time break of 7.4.46 to 1.2.8.
In the 3rd quarter Newtown fired up by Coach Lewtas talk to get some pride back in the jersey, dominated most of the territory and field possession but were unable to capitalise on this. Balmain hit back on the counter attack using the empty spaces as a benefit. Brooke Atkins put on a big and legal shoulder bump on Kathryn Kobzan as a highlight in an effort to inspire the Breakaways. In the final quarter, Balmain finished off their hard work and put the heat on the Breakaways to win Balmain Dockers 10.7.67 to Newtown Breakaways 2.9.21. Best in my opinion were for the Dockers: Kathryn Kobzan, Tracey Robinson, Claire Beech, Karla Spilarewicz and Chris Matthews and Belinda Pride. The last two players had 4 goals each which brings Bee to 74 goals for season 2010. For the Breakaways who had many rushed behinds or touched on the line by the Balmain Defence, best were Jemma Still and Natasha Devlin.
I have just read the excellent kid's novel Don Henderson's "Half the Battle" and there is an ode to their full-foward which i might slightly tweak for Bee on page 110.
Bee, Bee, Flying high
From the oval to the sky
What determined opposition
Can stop your scoring mission?
In what far-off oval or park
Did you take that speccy mark?
On what wings did you ascend?
Will your tailbone ever mend?
Bee, Bee, flying
high
From the oval to the sky
Which team, could ever rally
Could stop your century's tally?
With that victory, Balmain remain undefeated and I'm prepared to concede the minor premiership to the Dockers with a 12 point gap to second place with only four rounds to go. The race for second place heats up, as Sydney University tries to put the acid on the Breakaways to grab the second chance although Wests might spoil the party in Round 15. The Breakaways hard work at the beginning of the year might hold them to be in good stead as they have a superior 200% advantage over the Bombers.
On Saturday, Southern Power hosted Wollongong at Mahoney in the F6 Challenge. Both teams were keen to win this most winnable game for each side with Wollongong on the Richmond-like revival. With frosty cold biting conditions it was the Power that switched on from the opening siren as they exerted themselves using the two player advantage over a 16-player Saints. The Saints tried valiantly but missed their university based players today. Best for the Power were Kristy McKirdy, Dominique Goom and Christine Coles whilst best for the Saints was probably Sophie Lavender and Ariana Cardamone. The Power were able to celebrate a victory and throughly deserved today's result. The end score was Southern Power 7.6.48 to Wollongong Saints 1.4.10.
In the Southeast at Pioneer Park at Malabar, the Bondi Shamrocks celebrated Kellie Nolan's 100th SWAFL Game with a beautiful banner recognising her 94 games with Sydney University and 6 with the Shamrocks. Well done Kel! After the Shamrocks scoring two goals including one by Kellie Nolan from in front of goals it was the Wolves who decided everything was on the line and threw their bodies on the line. This desperation was enough for them to grind out a win at Pioneer Park winning by 27 points. Best for the Wolves was Rachel Mercer, Kate Lawson, whilst for the Shamrocks, Paula Chalmers and Sandra Ryan stood up on the day. With the defeat, the Bondi Shamrocks can start planning for the end of season trip as it is now mathematically impossible to qualify for the finals. Western Wolves 6.8.44 to Bondi Shamrocks 2.5.17.
Out on Saturday night in northwest Sydney, Macquarie University hosted the UNSW-Easts Stingrays at the first match on university campus this year. The Bravehearts tried hard especially in the third quarter but the Stingrays needed the win to restore their campaign for finals participation. The end score was UNSW-Easts Stingrays 12.13.85 to Macquarie University Bravehearts 2.2.14.
The table remains the same although the Power and the Shamrocks are now equal on points.
Round 15 Preview
It's SWAFL Super Saturday at Mahoney with all four games at Mahoney.
The early game at 9am, sees two teams out of finals contention playing for pride and a view to developing players for season 2011. The Southern Power are on a roll on the back of a 38 point win over Wollongong and will be keen to see if they can beat the Shamrocks for the first time. As both teams are equal on the same number of points, a win puts either side in a solid sixth place. The Shamrocks will be keen to have all their other players available for selection but might lose their inspirational speedy Paula Chalmers out with school sport duties.
At 11am, it's the match of the day between Sydney University and the Western Wolves. For the Wolves, a win gives them a 98% chance of finals place and almost shuts the door on the Stingray hopes of a finals place. A win also means that they are equal with the Bombers on points. For Sydney University, a win means equal for Newtown before they play their match with the Stingrays. So it's a must-win game for both sides.
At 1pm, its Newtown Breakaways taking on the UNSW-Easts Stingrays. The wounded Breakaways couldn't make any headway against the Dockers last Friday night and coming off a two-week losing streak which is a rarity. They'll be keen to hit out hard against the inconsistent Stingrays who polished off the Mac Uni Bravehearts last week. The Stingrays know that a win keeps their elusive finals dream alive for another week but a loss definitely means that they can start planning their end of season celebrations.
At 3pm, it's Macquarie University hosting the Balmain Dockers. With first place taking on 9th place, the Balmain Dockers could potentially be wanted by the police by 5pm for GBH on the Bravehearts but we hope that the Bravehearts gives the Dockers a run for their money before the Dockers head west for their match at Subiaco against a combined West Australian Womens Football League side. The Bravehearts are having fun playing footy in their first year of football and hopefully a bit of persistence will hold them up for season 2011. For the Dockers, avoiding injury will probably be the forefront of the players mind as they continue their path to the finals. Let's hope the Bravehearts brings the heat and makes a challenge of this game!
It's on the street
The heat is on, the heat is on, the heat is on
Yeah it's on the street
The heat is on
Photo shows the dedication to tagging by Wests Elspeth Banks on Lisa Roper of the Shamrocks.
Last Modified on 18/07/2010 18:10