"The End of The Road" from 'The Outer Eye'
Norwood Football Clubs Senior team's largely unfulfilling season came to an end at Montrose on Saturday with a strong win over the home side. Fuelled by 8 majors from Leroy, the Wooders motored away in the 2nd half to win by a very comfortable 58 points. Kicking down hill and downwind on the unusually graded Montrose oval, we started beautifully with a free and excellent conversion from Leigh in the first minute. However, each time we would goal in this quarter, Montrose would find an immediate reply. Jordon Clarke added a goal and Leroiy his 2nd from a very friendly free against the Montrose fullback for brushing the umpire!!!, however at 1/4 time it was Montrose with a slender lead 3.2 -3.1
Early in the 2nd quarter Montrose controlled that game and it appeared we might be in for a long day. Happily, their kicking for goal was off, a feature which would haunt them all day. From our few sorties forward, we goalled through Fordy Leroy and Clarke, while Montrose returned just 1.7 for the quarter. Towards the end of the half we began to exert some control of the game as our run and spread from the contest appeared for the first time. At HT we led 6.6 - 4.9.
The 3rd quarter saw us put our stamp on the game. We bagged 5 for the quarter, extending our lead at 3/4T to a significant 28 points. It would take a super-human effort from Montrose to get back into the game. This did not eventuate however as Montrose did not kick a goal in the last quarter, registering only 6 behinds as their poor conversion continued. At the top end of the ground however, it was more fun for our key forwards in Leroy Stewie and Clarke, creating havoc and marking just about everything that came forward. Leroy finished with 8, Clarke 3 and Stewart 2 in possibly our most cohesive forward line performance of the year. Service up the ground came from Blair Hudson in a 'break-out' game, while Michael Pearson continues to blossom as a footballer. In the end it was one-way traffic for the Wooders, kicking 17.11.113 to Montrose 6.19.55
And so that was that, the season coming to an abrupt end, and it was impossible not to have the feeling of "a season lost". Despite finishing the season with a 9-2 win/loss ratio from our first 11 games, our appalling 1-6 start effectively cruelled our season. Looking back to the game that really cost us, some hubris against Doncaster in Rd 2 was fatal, and our effort at East Ringwood in Rd 6 was probably the low-point of the season. If and buts etc etc, but this feels like a wasted season.
Not so for the development team and Colts however, who both qualified for finals. The development team face Montrose in a return bout in the elimination final after lowering their colours on Saturday, however should be boosted by the return of 4-5 players from the senior team. The Colts finished with a strong win to qualify 3rd on the ladder, a QF against Noble their reward. Good luck to both sides.
Go Wooders
Last Modified on 24/08/2016 14:25