Still just a weeeeeeeeeeee bit stiff but winners are grinners!

We had 21 play on the day and, as you’d expect with 6 weeks of no footy behind us ,we were pretty scratchy early but got better as the day went on, playing our best footy in our final game of the day.

The late ground change from Auburn to Rosedale brought with it a changed format and draw.

Auburn meant we’d be playing four games [two 20 min qtrs./game] with a final if things went the right way for us so the thought of playing the equivalent of two and half full games of footy in a day on old legs was pretty daunting to say the least. Fortunately the shift to Rosedale brought that back to 3 games which, unless you’re Dan Ardu, is still a challenge.

Our first game was up against the Redbacks. Realistically we should have had it under control by the end of the first half but with a tricky wind, we proved exceptionally good at kicking points for the entire game which kept the pressure on. Mugsy’s had had himself down for 0.7 with Breaka chipping in with 1.4. All up we only kicked 3 or 4 goals for the game. Think we got a couple late that got us across the line but if the Redbacks kicked straight, the result could have been very different.

Second game was against a mostly Illawarra side mixed with a few guys from the Hunter where we put together a reasonable score. Fortunately we added Juddy, Johno and [first gamer] Mike Read so had the luxury of an interchange. Readie’s been threatening to play all year but ran out of excuses. Looked like he wanted to be anywhere else when he arrived but settled his nerves with a burst through the pack clearance at the first centre bounce and then practically repeated that bounce after bounce after bounce. Hate to see him with a few games behind him and with the right set of contacts so he can actually see properly!! Other highlights were:

• Georgie Harder trying to eat the footy at a full stretch from a high ball into full forward; and
• Beggsy ‘doing his beard’ late in the second half which unfortunately brought his day to an end.

By game three the only other undefeated side was the Wombats so our final game was the decider. Lyndon, Dan, Breaka, and Readie won 90+% of the centre clearances which meant the game was pretty much played in our half and when the Wombats did get it forward, our back six [minus Dags] made sure it didn’t stay there long. While we missed a few early, eventually numbers, pressure and desire just ground them down to allow us to win by a reasonable margin. Highlights were:

• Wazza’s statement making tackles down back when the Wombats were trying hard to get back into the game in the second half.
• Dag’s making it clear he doesn’t like playing of half back by spending most of the game in and around the ball or down in the forward line. You can ruck rove next game mate.

In summary, we played some good footy, had a laugh, and in the end got the job done to give us back to back titles but unfortunately the Trophy is still MIA!