Sat 23rd June - Arriving at the ground this morning I couldn't help but feel worried that the day would not be going Monty's way. Here I was turning up to a home game in the rain, the last thing I want to see when you need a big crowd to pay the bills. Fortunately the rain was gone before the bounce of a ball and by the senior game the day was a cool still perfect day for football.
The U/19's had a hard task of fronting up to a team that has lost only one game for the year to date. Until half time the game on the scoreboard was tight, though Bundoora were the stronger team but just couldn't shake off our determined side. After half time however Bundoora showed why they are second on the ladder and blitzed the game winning by 99 points. A disappointment for the boys I'm sure, but all is not lost, they have a week off now with the bye to regroup and start the second half of the season.
Hoffy's reserve team had a scare that probably upset the old man. At half time he had an 8 goal buffer with Bundoora only kicking 1 goal for the half and things were looking good for a huge win. Bundoora's coach then gave his players a half time spray that I think they even heard back at Bundoora's home ground. The Bundoora players responded, taking Monty apart in the third term, and if they had kicked straight, Hoffy's team would have been in trouble.
As luck would have it, Monty was never headed by Bundoora in the last quarter and as Bundoora closed in on the kill, the boys stepped up and snuffed the Bundoora challenge. A very pleasing and for that matter relieving result that puts the boys back in the top 4.
The senior game was one that in all circumstances was strange in the way both teams dominated the game for long periods, but neither team had complete control till mid way though the last quarter when Monty took control.
The opening quarter saw Andy Owen, Daniel Sage Brett Hayes and Matt Cusack all kick goals before five minutes had ticked on the time clock. Monty had stunned Bundoora to such an extent that it took a fifth shot on goal by Monty that resulted in a point before Bundoora got their hands on the ball. All the opening onslaught did was provoke the sleeping bull and Bundoora kicked into gear kicking 5 goals to end the quarter with a narrow 5 point lead.
The Second quarter saw Bundoora kick the next 3 goals to kick in total 8 unanswered goals. The Monty coaches must have been wondering what was going on, how could Monty be so dominant at the beginning to now being error riddled and behind by four goals? Late goals to Derryn Stanley and Wayne Pavitt brought the half time siren with Bundoora taking a 10 point lead to the main break.
The third quarter often referred to as the championship quarter started with a centre clearance by Bundoora and mark by Harrison in the goal square. In perhaps one of the more significant turns of the game, Harrison played on from his mark in the square only to be run down and nailed in a tackled by Andrew Pepyat. The Monty crowd loved it, the roar was deafening, and for it to happen at the crowd end was bad news for Harrison. The resultant free kick ended up though the Monty Goals as Pee Wee Pavitt closed the gap on Bundoora. Monty took the lead with the next goal to Sage and the game was anyone's for the taking. Bundoora immediately hit back to regain the lead, but three unanswered goals to Stanley, Gutterson and Pavitt gave Monty a handy lead. The remainder of the quarter was played in the centre of the ground before Bundoora scraped 2 late goals. Then in an incident that should never have happened, the boundary and field umpires argued with one another on the field over a decision. Brent Gutterson had taken the free from a Bundoora out of bounds on the full, kicked the ball only to have the boundary blow his whistle and call the ball out of bounds. Point 1, Gutto never came into the field of play, Point 2 He never went around the mark and Point 3, the video clearly shows Gutto did a one step kick. How the boundary umpire came up with his decision is bewildering. Thankfully the field umpire stepped in and corrected the call, much to the boundary umps dismay. From the rabble and confusion Derryn Stanley marked 40m out and as the siren blew for half time Dizzy's kick sailed through for his third to give Monty a 9 point lead into the last quarter.
Much like last week the final quarter was set up for a tight battle. Bundoora kicked the first of the quarter only for Matt Neill to swoop on a loose ball to goal for Mont. Bundoora again responded to keep the margin under a goal and the game was getting tight. Then in a five minute burst Brent Gutterson stepped up and kicked the next three goals to take the game from Bundoora. Daniel Keenan then slammed home from outside the 45m arch and the game was ours. Bundoora got a late consolation goal but the game was done.
Ryan Lonie and Daniel Keenan were standouts for the day. Andy Owen, Tim Watson, Daniel Sage and Ben Finnan were dominant. The game had no passengers and was a fantastic team effort. Now we have only the undefeated Heidelberg to go to get to the half way mark of the season. This is going to be a big game now, so get down to Mont early, get your seat and get your coffee as the game of the year so far comes to Mont.