A Grade report

Coming up against the top side this week in Pooraka was going to be a huge test for us. Pooraka have clearly been the best side in the division so we needed to be on our game early to match it with them. Having Lachlan Jones back in the side this week was a huge lift as he's been spending some time back in Adelaide with work. Losing Jason Robertson to a knee injury was not great but hopefully it's only a 1 week injury.

The conditions were not good for football with lots of rain overnight making the oval quite boggy under foot. On arriving at the oval it was noticeable that the wind was going to be a factor also as it was blowing quite strongly towards the southern end. We won the toss and kicked with the wind hoping that we could get a bit of a break on them early in case the wind either stopped or swung around. The first couple of minutes was dominated by stoppages as no one wanted to give an inch. As the game started to break we noticed that Michael Batten was not over his illness that came up before the game so he needed to head to the boundary for the rest of the game.

We moved the ball well and were very direct heading forward, giving Lachlan Jones and Ian Perrie lots to work with. Our midfield were pushing deep in defense and pushing forward at every opportunity. A the first break we held a 3 goal lead. The second quarter we knew we needed to run the ball into the wind as delivering by foot was very difficult. We managed to do this well, continually pressuring Pooraka into making mistakes with our fierce attack on the ball. At the main break they held a slender lead of only 1 goal.

We had to continue that sort of attack on the body and ball for the last half to stay in the game. The last half was a shoot out between two sides - we had the wind but didn't use it the way we would've liked. We kicked a couple but also allowed them to kick goals as well. Half way through the last term we were right in the game still holding a 1 goal lead, but turning the ball over a couple of times in terrible positions on the field cost us late allowing them to kick away to a 3 goal lead and heading into that breeze, we had no chance of stopping them.

Even though we went down I was very pleased with the performance by the lads. It was possibly one of the best performances of the year, playing very competitive football for the majority of the game.

Chris Barrie and Josh O'Connell had stand out games for us. It was very hard to separate them for the awards. Bazz was super all day in the midfield collecting tonnes of the footy while Josh was solid in defense repelling many forward threats. His kicking was a huge part of the game with the wind, breaking lines continually. Ian Perrie again was dominant up forward kicking 3 goals then controlling the ruck when needed late in the game. Forwards Joel Aish and Andrew Pettigrew had great games also delivering the ball well to Sarge and Michael Krawczyk (3 goals).

Having the division so tight now we have dropped to eighth position but still equal with the sides fighting for fifth spot. Our finals chances are still alive so we need to keep pushing ourselves hard on the track so we can deliver on Saturdays. This week we come up against our arch rival in Westminster OS so let's all turn up for a great contest.

Best Players: Chris Barrie, Josh O'Connell, Ian Perrie, Joel Aish, Andrew Pettigrew.


Adam Silvy
Head Coach

Reserves report

It was pleasing to see some old scholars come back into the team to lend us a hand in putting a team together. Tom Martin, Ben Meyers, and Ryan Bamford made their debuts for this year. Thanks guys. Thanks also to Ryan Thompson who had a pretty good individual game despite our drubbing. Sam Baida needs a mention as well – he really should not have played but true to his grit he did and regrettably paid the consequences doing a hamstring.
 
What a year – and it’s still not over. Somehow we keep losing players at a rate un-seen (by me anyway) ever in any club I have played with. If anyone knows of any player (ex player ((in any sport))) can you please let me or Aaron Bahr know? With only 5 rounds to go – we are struggling badly to fill a side.
 
As to the game – On a special day where we celebrated our lady friends, partners, and wives of sponsors and past players, I was deeply embarrassed at the undisciplined pathetic carry-on by some of our players.  Prior to the game a strict instruction was issued for all players to simply focus on the game as the Amateur League had made it clear it would no longer tolerate idiots on the field back-chatting umpires. In response to this Club wide directive, players from our team took it upon themselves to throw childish hissy fits that resulted in not only numerous 25 meter penalties awarded against us but also resulted in players being sent off the field.

What made this even more ridiculous was that this lunacy left us with 17 players on-the-field when we did not have a bench for the game. Not smart.
 
On behalf of all members of the Club and patrons that witnessed this shame, it falls upon me to issue an apology for this disgraceful exhibition of selfish rubbish. At a time when we should be banding together to try and exact some respectability from this disastrous year, we instead have players whose over inflated sense of self-importance went counter the Pulteney culture. In future (and I hope never to see a repeat) players carrying on like they did on Saturday will be asked to go directly to the showers. I am confident that the majority of my playing group are made of the right stuff.
 
On the positives – whilst being smashed by a much better opposition and indeed a more disciplined opposition, I thought the following players should be proud of their contributions – Damian Doolette-Cox: fantastic display of courage, execution of instructions, and despite his lack of total understanding of all the rules, he shined. Interestingly I had his brother next to me as a runner and whenever I made positive comments in the coach’s box, Heath kept on butting in saying he could do better. I expect nothing less.

Tim Wyld: again a captain’s game and again showed all the hallmarks of a true leader. Luke Gray: this guy has a heart as big as, if not bigger than, his behemoth body frame. He tried all day to support in the ruck contests and I thought won his lot. Watching him try and bend down in the goal square to pick a ball up for a goal brought tears to my eyes. Ryan Thompson: young ex scholar on holidays from Melbourne. His youthful exuberance and speed was great to see. Ryan Marsland: coming back from an eternity lay-off from injury he played a really good game off full forward. Lack of match fitness did not stop him from making an impact with two good gaols.
 
Two other notables – Alan Jacobsen: good crack mate. Could not have asked anymore of you. Luke Flesher: picked up lots of touches running all day.
 
Moving forward – we must really try hard to get another win(s) on the board and finish the year with something more than one win. Respect.
 
Peter Hamam
Reserves Coach