Eagle Talk ROUND 4, 2016

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Suzanna Walsh
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1 Eagle Talk ROUND 4, 2016

2 Under 8 Peter Molloy Round 4 Coaches Report Under 8 Gold V s Brunswick W Round 4, the Mother s Day Classic, commenced under grey skies and light rain. Fortunately though, the predicted 20mm downpour hadn t arrived and the worst of the rain had gone by the start of the game. However, the ground was still soggy and the boys were soon to get their first taste of wet weather footy. Coming off a victory the week earlier, the team was keen to keep the good form going, but all acknowledged that the soggy conditions and greasy ball were going to be a challenge. Winning the toss, new captain Billy Halbish elected to kick to the Ruthven Street end and the teams took up their positions to get the game under way. From the outset it was obvious that Brunswick had come to play as they jumped out of the blocks and posted a major from the first centre clearance. Was this an ominous sign of things to come? Responding to the challenge set down before them, the centres linked up brilliantly and sent the ball rocketing forward to the chest of Charlie Dore, courtesy of the nimble foot skills of Casey Turnbull. Charlie split the big sticks and the scores were tied at one goal apiece as the quarter time siren rang. The second quarter was played in equally spirited style as both teams contested hard for the ball. Our backs were put under pressure on a number of occasions, but responded in fine form each time. On one such occasion defence was turned into attack, as a telling mark on the half back line by Joel Molloy was sent forward to find the chest of Casey Turnbull at centre half forward. Casey kicked truly but we were still a goal short as the first half of the game came to a close. The third quarter produced some of our most industrious footy to date. In a true captain s performance, Billy Halbish ran himself into the ground chasing the ball all over the back line and limiting Brunswick to no score, while Jasper Walsh turned the opposition inside out with a brilliant performance up forward to post Macleod s only major for that quarter. It is fantastic to see all of our young stars growing in confidence each week. As the third quarter ended, the scores were all tied up at 25 apiece. While the endeavour remained strong, it appeared as though we had spent all of our petrol tickets as Brunswick skipped away in the last quarter. Fighting hard till the end the boys tried their best and we are really proud of them for this as that is what footy at this level is all about. Coaches Awards: For his fantastic work ethic and great team play, Casey Turnbull has been awarded the Coaches Medal for this round. Special mentions must also go to Billy Halbish and Jasper Walsh for their continued improvement each week, which really stood out in this game. Well done boys. Goal Kickers: Charlie Dore (1), Casey Turnbull (1) and Jasper Walsh (1)

3 Special Mentions: Thanks to Matt Dore (Assistant Coach), Sebastian Leeder (Central Umpire), Tom Kovco (Ground Manager), Simon Knight (Team Manager) and John Turnbull (Goal Umpire). Thanks also to the parents who chipped in at half time with the oranges and at various other times throughout the match with all of the odd jobs that need doing. A really big thanks also to Amber Boag for organising the flowers for all of the mums. I think the players got a real kick out of handing them out to their mums after the game so thanks heaps for that. Regards Pete Molloy

4 TACKERS - U8S Trent Boag MACLEOD B Excited to again be playing at the nest, the rain eased in time for our pre game warm up. Kai, as captain led the side to a high scoring first quarter that saw us with a staggering seven shots at goal three majors thanks to Tom, Harry and Ben. The return from the first break saw us again have plenty of opportunity to put the ball up forward. Evan continued to throw himself on to the ball in his trademark style. Luca layed a memorable tackle, which led to Sam s second scoring attempt that this time resulted in a well deserved goal. Further down the ground, Tex with his flowing locks, booming kick and speed on the ball, saw turn the play to Macleod advantage numerous times. As such, he was the deserved recipient of the Coaches Award. The third quarter saw us struggle to get our hands on the ball up forward. Sienna bagged a swag of possessions and led a strong defensive side with the help of Kai, Tom and Ace. Her efforts earned her the admiration of the Banyule side and the coveted Opposition Medal. Coming in to the final term, the sky darkened over and the rain from the morning threatened to return. Despite this, our team could not be deterred. Xavier, with the help of Stefan, was strong in defence and instrumental in limiting Banyule s attempts for goal. It seems that our side rose to the challenge and donned the Macleod colours with pride this Mother s Day! On that note, a special thank you from our team to all of those mums who braved the wet conditions and gave up a relaxing morning to instead cheer us on...thank you! MACLEOD 44 BANYULE 12 Goal Kickers: Best players: Ben (2), Harry (2), Sam and Tom. Tex, Sienna, Harry, Ben, Kai Opposition medal: Sienna Coaches Award: Tex

5 UNDER 9 NATHAN WINDEBANK (Macleod vs Preston) After some steady rain overnight we cashed in our last lot of credits with the weather Gods and got handed some calm and relatively dry conditions for the game. With Oskar and Lucas playing for the under 10 s this week our squad was down to 11. Preston was good enough to support us with 2 players each quarter who also contributed well to their credit. Come bounce down (courtesy of our stand-in resident umpire superstar Nick) our boys were switched on and again delivered a complete full ground effort. Game summary below; Our Midfield This week saw us return back the midfield combination we started the season with three weeks ago and again they dominated both center clearances and defensive rebounds for the full four quarters. Cooper W again impressed with a solid all round performance (his words in a text to my mum after the game was outstanding so humble). Aiden turned on the speed once more to chase the ball down in space and make great field position to receive the ball from both directions before sending it on its way. Sam V also put the burners on a number of times with his run and bounce game which also pushed us forward and challenged a number of the Preston players in a foot race (most of which he won). Mitch extended on his pack extraction efforts this week by nailing numerous rapid fire hand passes out of congestion to hit one of his running team mates on the edge of the packs. An A grade effort boys!! Our Forwards & Backs This week saw us achieve our most balanced scoring result to date with everyone in the forward zones hitting the scoreboard a truly amazing effort guys!! Special mention to Ryan B and Tom for kicking their first goal for the year and Cooper T for taking out the best goal celebration award for the second week running. Both Riley and Sam B continued their tremendous form from the previous week with plenty of possessions and a couple of goals each while Ryan H played a great captains game putting himself in the perfect position all game whether defending or attacking. Finally, Max built on his great tackling pressure this week by taking some great marks in traffic and kicking a goal a performance that earned him the coaches award this week well done mate!! Thanks as always to our fantastic team of parents for helping out and providing such positive support from the sidelines. Particularly to all the mum s who hopefully got spoiled for the rest of the day.

6 Under 10: Shane Doherty On Sunday we travelled off to the eastern suburbs to play Glen Iris. The rain came falling down however it didn't faze the boys as they were all raring to get out there. The flow of play started off as one of a wet day as the ball moved slowly in large packs. The boys started to separate well and get the ball moving more fluently although we couldn't match it with Glen iris once it hit the second quarter as they got on top due to what I perceive to be a lack in discipline. Our structure folded and we got caught up in the game. We often talk about progression in our football being our main aim so it was pleasing to see the boys improve out of sight in the last quarter after a fairly average start. Winning the last quarter, not only in score but in overall plan was a really positive way to end the game. The boys won the contested situations and then controlled the ball from there by both foot and hand. Now we look on to round 5 as we plan to improve again! Goals - Lachlan F, Oskar Best players - Oskar, Jimmy, Charlie P, Tom, Harry F, Lachlan F, Lachlan M, Lucas

7 Under 11 Mark Medley Macleod v Fitzroy Hope all the mums had a lovely mothers day. This week we played against Fitzroy at home. With the overnight rain, I was expecting a pretty wet track and some rain throughout the game, but the weather held back for the Mum s today. Fitzroy had some tall players which meant their ruckman were able to win most of the taps but our ruckman were then able to capitalise and win more of the ball around the ground. We saw some great smoothers by Markovsky. Coldrey continued his good starts by keeping in front and getting his hands on the ball. Our backline was once again strong led by Henderson, who at one stage beat 4 players to the ball. We held Fitzroy goalless and had a lead of 12 points at quarter time. 2 nd Quarter we saw more of our players start to get in and under and get the ball out rather than leave it to 1 or 2 players. This allowed us to get first hands on the ball and move it quickly. Our teamwork lifted where we had players running pass for handballs. One great piece of play started with a Jones smoother (half backline), Tsitsis receives handball who passed to Hall, Markovsky, Stewart-Walsh and then Halton kicking the goal. Serifoski started to get involved which resulted in a couple of team goals. At the main break we had increased our lead by 32 points. 3 rd quarter, we changed the team around to give everyone a chance in the forward line and/or in the middle. We got caught leading to the pockets during the game which made it tough. We saw Karavas centre the ball a couple of times which resulted in goals. Atkinson took on 3 players and beat them. Some big tackles by Laifte, Medley & Thomas. At the last break we continued to keep Fitzroy goalless for the game and increased our lead by 46 points. 4 th quarter we slightly took our foot off the pedal, even though we still played some good footy. We continued to support each other right to the end which was pleasing. Fitzroy didn t give up and it was pleasing to see them score their only goal and keep us goalless in the last quarter. Overall another great win by our team, with a winning margin by 42 points. It was also nice to hear the Fitzroy coach say we will be very competitive against Canterbury and Camberwell teams and we should be at the pointy end of the season. I m very excited to say we are now the only Gold team who are undefeated for the season after 4 games! Goals: Stewart-Walsh x 4, Halton, Karavas & Stapleton x 1 Best Players Atkinson, Coldrey, Karavas, Markovsky, Medley & Stewart-Walsh

8 UNDER 15 MARCUS HILL Last week we went down to face Kew in the last of our grading games for this season. Although the weather was far from ideal, the guys were still really positive and excited to play. From the outset, the focus was to be switched on and ready to go. The boys responded well and came away with an early lead after the first quarter. From then on the guys continued to play solid footy throughout the game, stretching the lead a bit more each quarter, finally beating the comets A great effort by everyone, hopefully we can keep up the momentum and get another win this week! Goal Kickers: M. Cammareri 5, C. Brown 2, D. Dmitrovic 2, J. Popovic 2, M. Rust, J. Corelli, A. Salanitri Best Players (in no order): J. Corelli, M. Cammareri, T. Cockle, D. Dmitrovic, B. Mcgregor

9 Colts Dean Harrington Macleod defeated Parkside Round 4 saw us travel to Parkside to take on what has been a bit of a bogey team for us in recent years. With the weather looking a bit dodgy, we asked the boys to be careful of over-using handball and to aim to use the ball better going into our forward line. It soon became evident that this was going to be a day for tough football, as the greasy conditions made it harder to handle the ball cleanly which led to more packs around the footy. Bailey started well in the middle and had Jack and Brae helping him to win the ball inside the packs and give us the drive. Adrian was hard at it early on and the scene was set we had to be strong. Parkside were busy as well and had our defence under pressure, but Matty was up for the challenge and was repelling their attacks early. Lachie started well at CHF but it took us a while to get one through the big sticks, with Jack snapping truly to get things going. Thanks to a steady backline Jorge and Tom Weir held firm we held a one goal lead at ¼ time. In the second quarter we were controlling the general play much better, but our direction going into our forward line wasn t working as we went in too wide. It wasn t until Mount centred one to the top of the square, that Declan was able to shark for a goal that we got reward for effort. Brae s perfect square up kick found Lewis who kicked our third goal. We were still throwing players around to try and get a better combination, but things weren t clicking as we had in previous games. Dhiraj was great in the last line of defence and Craig was playing a solid game at full back. Evan was sweeping the half back line nicely and using the ball well. A nasty shoulder injury to Lachie meant we had to change our forward line set-up, but we had a three goal lead at the main break. Parkside came out in the third quarter full of fight to get themselves back in the game. It was willing football with bodies crashing into packs and it was worrying to see that Parkside were outplaying us in this area for the majority of the quarter. Brae continued to burrow in and give us chances going forward. James was rucking well and his follow up play around the ground was good. It wasn t until Jack was put onto the wing that we found a spark again and he burnt off would-be tacklers to launch attacks for us. Tom Jeffs gave a great contest that saw Mount kick to the spine in our forward 50 and Lewis courageously marked and then kicked a steadying goal. We were only a goal in front at ¾ time and the boys were given a timely reminder about the need to harden up and play a stronger brand of football if we were to win this game. The last quarter was a real battle, with Parkside drawing level. The boys responded with really tough contests as bodies were thrown in at the ball. Brae and Mount were playing with injuries but soldiered on and it was Mount that roosted a great captain s goal to get us back into the lead. Jack was under every pack and Ethan, who had been moved to defence, was like a rock down there repelling attacks. Craig and Matty kept Parkside at bay and a scuffle broke out as Parkside became frustrated at our resilience. The ball was pumped high into the Parkside forward line and Evan showed amazing courage to sit under it, then launched an attack that saw Milky streaming into our forward line himself. He marked and ran on before kicking the

10 sealer for us with great composure. The team song was sung loud and proud as the boys enjoyed a great 10 point win after playing some really hard and tough football. Goals: Lewis 2, Jack, Mount, Milky and Declan Best: Jack, Brae, Bailey, Matt, Craig, Evan and James

11 SENIORS MICHAEL LOVETT From the outset it seemed like we didn t come to play as a pumped up Greensborough seized the early initiative and we were forced to play catch-up footy. Not enough four-quarter contributors and to kick only seven goals on a perfect day was not up to our usual high standards. Hayden Seivers certainly gave his all across half-back. The reserves had a chance to make a statement against the top side but failed to take their chances. Young gun Liam Wanders continues to impress and is putting his hand up for senior consideration. The under-19s tried hard against one of the better sides in the competition but fell short by 52 points. Charlie Smythe was again among the best players. BUSINESS LUNCH, Friday July 29: Melbourne s best-known funny man and Richmond tragic MICK MOLLOY will be the special guest at this year s MFC Business Lunch at De Winton Park. The lunch will also feature another well-known Tiger JAKE THE PUSH-UP KING. $75 includes 2-course lunch, and pre-lunch drinks package (beer, wine, champagne, and soft drink). Book with Michael Lovett or Michael.Lovett@afl.com.au SOCIAL DATES: June 25 annual Gala Ball at Abbotsford Brewery $100 (under- 19s $90, couples $180); July 2 women s lunch; July 23 beyondblue lunch; August 13 $5000 draw; September 23 presentation night at Watsonia RSL. NEXT HOME GAME: Saturday, May 28 v Whittlesea

We were blessed with ideal weather for footy no wind and Webb Oval again looked a treat with the coffee and food winning rave reviews!

We were blessed with ideal weather for footy no wind and Webb Oval again looked a treat with the coffee and food winning rave reviews! Unley Black came with a great attitude and a well structured game