My Aussie Rules Rd #5 2008 Match Report

After my first Ressies game of the year in Rd4 where I kicked a couple of goals and earnt some praise, I thought I might be a shot at another Ressies match. Unfortunately I wasn't selected.

Gary told me I was very close to selection and my name was thrown around but it didn't get me home. Basically there were two spots left on the bench and Gary suggested my name but due to the existing team lineup they wanted other varying body shape/position players. They thought they had my shape/position already well covered.

So it was that Round 5 saw me pulling on the boots in the 3rds for a match versus the club our club loves to hate... University. We have a long and chequered history apparently and from what I saw last year there was certainly more to it than a bit of talk. They hate us and we seem to hate them.

The game was @ University and started @ 10am. We were scheduled to play Uni the night before @ home but swapped games with them because our Seniors and Reserves were playing them @ their ground the next day. So we had a 3 match day vs Uni @ Uni instead.

10am isn't a fun time to be playing footy. You could tell we were all a bit bewildered to be at the ground before 9am on a Saturday. Not an ideal time to play. Also by the time the match was over it was quite a hot day and it was peak time for the sun @ 12 by the time we were finished. I didn't envy our Ressies having to play from 12-2pm that day in that weather.

I started the match @ FF and within the first minute the ball was heading in my direction. I got out on a lead and presented and just as the ball was about to land in my hands it rocketed away from me in the opposite direction to which it came thanks to a punch from behind. That was as close as I got to it that quarter from memory. Uni dominated the quarter and my guy played quite tight on me and was a good challenge.

In the 2nd I played FF for a while and was told to play CHF for a bit too. Basically we lacked a Half Forward structure that was working. The Uni ground is quite short and we had identified earlier that CHF would largely be bypassed in favour of going direct to FF but we just needed something up the ground more for us to kick at across the HF line.

One highlight that I remember is getting involved in a scrap just in front of our goal square. With a crowd around the ball I ended up on hands and knees with the ball in my hands. Through the tunnel of bodies around me I saw our FF standing clear in the goal square. So I handballed it through along the ground to him, he gathered and spun and snagged a goal.

The only other highlight I remember is leading out to a centre wing position and screaming for the ball. It was kicked over my head and I had to turn towards goal and run on to it. As I did so I saw an opponent running at it from the other direction. This is one of those times where, last year, I probably would have soft cocked out. But this year I am making an active effort to go hard at it so I kept running and dived on it as he was almost on it. I can't remember if it was him, or someone else from behind, but I ended up getting crunched in the back for my trouble and earning a free kick. Nothing really came of the kick, just kicked it to the top of the square, but remember being happy to have put my body on the line and winning a free.

Avid readers of my match reports will remember I kicked my first goal of the season in the 3rds against Aspley off a past from a mate of mine Matty (actually not sure I named him in the previous report). In the 3rd I managed to return the favour. Playing FF the ball ended up in our forward 50 deep in the pocket. I managed to snag the ball out of the back of a contest but ended up facing out of bounds a mere metre from the line looking out to the pocket. I thought briefly of a wild snap but in the end decided to try and centre it towards the goal square and hope for the best. I spun and kicked around my body in what I hoped would be the general vicinity of the goal square.

After I kicked I turned and watched it's trajectory and sure enough it had curled beautifully into the square. Even better I saw Matty charging on to it with an opponent in hot pursuit. It bounced and sat up for him as he ran on to it and from the square kicked a goal. So I repaid him for mine... Vossy still owes me one for the handball earlier in this game though! In his defence the 3rds haven't played since though.

Basically in terms of a match, it wasn't. Uni dominated the entire match and apart from only being about 2 goals down @ half time we were never really in it. I can't remember anything report worthy from the last but I know I started it on the bench and ended up @ CHB. Tried to provide an option out of defence a number of times and at one point after a long lead from CHB found myself on the CHF wing. Problem with doing that from defence is the long run back to your guy when you realise we've turned it over.

Only other things worth reporting is just how many hits Benny copped. At one point I saw the best shepherd I've ever seen in my time playing Aussie Rules. That includes watching Seniors and Ressies games too! Benny was hunting the ball and was whacked legally and beautifully into the turf. As Benny will tell you he was running and "the next thing I know I'm on the ground looking up at the sky". He had no idea it was coming and I heard the contact from deep in the forward line and it was in the middle of the ground. Benny copped a few more and ended up being diagnosed with concussion on the Monday after seeing a GP.

Our Ressies got hammered in their game but our Seniors grafted out a very tight and exhilirating win for the 2nd week in a row. The Seniors match has to be some of the worst behaviour I've seen from a club though. Uni are a rabble, plain and simple. Their supporters were providing a constant stream of abuse and nonsense the entire match. At one point a Yeronga player was tackled over the sideline in front of their supporters and a brawl started. The players were involved, spectators got involved, their runner was involved and even their bloody boundary umpire got involved. I can't say anything else except for... they're a rabble. Our runner even got manhandled by one of their players after the incident. Their officials getting involved in brawls and our officials being manhandled by their players crosses the line in my opinion. But that's just part of community level footy sometimes I guess... as much as it shouldn't be.

Needless to say it was very, very pleasing our Seniors got up.