Coach's Match Reviews

YEAR 4 RED August 14

What a great way to end our first season of real footy! Port Kennedy fielded a terrific little team, complete with some really handy girls who got in there with the boys and put their mark on the game. Today’s game was one of the most enjoyable days we’ve had all season, everyone had a good time and it was good to see our boys showing the new team a clean and exciting style of footy. The one low point was some of our boys trying to “be the coach” and openly criticising each other on the field for mistakes, and having a go at the player with the ball for being a “ball hog”. Hopefully next year they will start to realise it’s about “team” and the efforts of players are for the team. They need be encouraging each other or not saying anything at all. No one wants to see any of the boys getting criticised after gaining possession or getting involved, and feeling like they shouldn’t be having a crack. We really need to work on this.

We didn’t worry about keeping a score today so the result is officially a draw! There were some outstanding displays of skill and courage today so I will mention some of these. Travis took a heap of terrific marks in the centre, and was busy at full-forward providing a target. Jaxon roved the packs and got away quickly to move it forward. Toby took some clean marks in the forward line and had a few shots. Reife charged into the packs and knocked it out to our advantage several times, despite still sporting a glued-up head.  Jacko provided a tall option on the wings and cut off a few in the backline. Ben showed off his much improved skills, picking up awkward balls, getting in packs and kicking it along. Connor provided plenty of run down the wings and moved the team forward. Harley applied a ton of strong tackles and took some strong grabs. Matty contested hard in the packs and emerged with the ball several times. Chad showed excellent discipline to hold position in the backline, and took some handy marks to cut-off certain goals. Liam scored a few on the run down the wing. Jayden S provided his usual exciting display of dodging and weaving in traffic and scored from these great efforts. Seb showed his grit, contesting the hard-balls and passing it to running team mates. Cody stood up to take a few marks and laid some strong tackles. Jayden C stuck to his man and rebounded it to our advantage across half-back as well as providing close support in contests. Sascha made some good leads as full-forward and got a few quick ones from set-shots. A great team effort!

Thanks to Rod and Ben for umpiring today, it was some of the most consistent, measured and sensible umpiring we saw all season. Thanks also to everybody who pitched in with other tasks and for making sure Pt Kennedy got plenty of support from the sidelines. See you all at the club wind-up on September 11^th.

ROUND 15: 15's - Steve Pascoe

Where has the season gone? How do we measure success? It only seems like a few weeks back we were finishing our preseason and getting ready for our first games, how time flies when you are having fun and fun is what I have had. Seeing this team committing themselves to training, the discipline of letting me know when they can't make it, working hard and supporting each other, their "want" to learn, their tireless efforts on the field and their homour has been really rewarding, thank you guys. This season we have shown we can mix it with the best, regularly out playing our opponents for much of the games, making the ball our focus, but just falling short of the win. That win-loss ratio we look forward to changing next season, already.

The game started with another major milestone game with Liam playing his 100th game for the club, his reward was to play on their best player in the centre, he didn't let himself or us down. Quarter time scores were even in what was a great standard of footy, second saw them take a 2 goal advantage into the main break, unfortunately one of those was as a result of an umpiring mistake where a kick back into play from an out of bounds on the full next to the point post was kicked back and ran over the line and mistaken for a point kick in, by the umps, just one of those things that happen occasionally at our level, although I must say thanks to all umps who do their best, we know you do not intentionally make mistakes.

The third quarter saw Warnbro stretch the lead to 3 goals 5 points, at the final break I reinforced the positives shown in our game where we had worked hard for each other, our run to space and use of handball was good but our checking in the 3rd had let us down allowing them to dictate too much play. The final comment heading into the final term was "it's just 4 kicks to win". The final quarter for the home & away season was fantastic with many passages of run and carry as well as some real gutsy efforts. The 4 kicks? We had 10 shots at goal to their 5, unfortunately we only scored 2-6 and fell short of the win, dissappointing but no one could have asked or seen a greater effort, well done guys.

In what was truly a great team effort, where again there were no passengers some outstanding footy from Rhys, Liam, BJ, Jordan, Zac, Mason, Leon, the 2 Lukes and Jack, well done ALL! As for now, like just about everyone else in the comp we are unsure if we are in plate finals or not until Monday, either way roll on more footy.

I will take this opportunity to thank all those parents who have helped out during the season especially Kath Winters our team manager and Pete Gregson our assistant coach, you have made the season an absolute pleasure. THANKS !

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ROUND 14: 15's- Steve Pascoe.

Our 3rd road trip in as many weeks saw us return south this time v Halls Head at Merlin St. Milestone game for Matt playing his 50th game. In the change room the mood was not great, numbers were down with sickness and injury taking its toll, we would go with just the 18 and a few of those not 100%. But as was written on the coaches board "no excuses" it's not about who's not playing but who is playing. Several players were asked to take on greater roles and thus challenges, all showed they are all about "team" and took on their tasks well.

Early in the first quater Josh took a god one to the nose and sprung a leak and came to the bench to stem the flow, it took me some time to realise we could get opposition to even up and take a player off until he could resume, that delay cost us a couple of goals being outnumbered and them going with a strong breeze. By half time Halls Head had a handy lead and were dominating the marking duels around the ground, they were just taller, why is that? traditionally Secrets are the smallest teams in the comp, but what we lack in height we make up for in "heart". We were getting our share of the footy but some of our decision making was letting us down.

In the third I overheard one of their players "comment" on a passage of our play as "embarrassing", not true but ammo for my 3 quarter time talk. With the win out of reach we would work on some play to take into next weeks game and hence take something from the final quarter, and we did there were some great passages of footy and some good goals scored and reached. Look out Warnbro next week!

Some notable efforts from, Daniel. Nathan, Jarrad, Ben, Jay, Leon, Zac, Lewis, Mitch and Liam, again no passengers.

The Guys backed it up and helped out at the Quiz night that afternoon and night, well done Guys.

YEAR 4 RED  August 7^th

It was our last official fixture for the season, so we were looking to go out with a bang! Having only lost 2 games by narrow margins for the whole season, we wanted to run out on a good note. We did come away with a really good result.

After a few problems by some (myself included) finding Warnbro Swans Home ground, Jayden Clark stepped up as captain today and won the toss. We were kicking into the rising sun, which saw some parents move so that they were not staring straight into it. The first quarter was promising, we had most of the play in our forward line. However, the ball was locked up most of the time due to Warnbro not holding position and allowing a dozen players down to jump on it.  We only managed to squeeze a point for the quarter because of this ‘tactic’ while Warnbro managed to break loose and score a clear shot.  The second quarter was different, the boys adapted and started moving the ball quickly so that Warnbro couldn’t get their whole team onto the ball in a pack. As a result, Connor Rich scored a running goal, Jayden Smith stabbed one through from a set shot and Liam Allen snapped one through banana-style on the run. We also added three minors, although one of these was kicked from Liam’s boot after he had been shirt-fronted and slung out in a dubious tackle. No free-kick though, so a point it is. We started the third with a 16 point lead, Reife Stewart extended the lead, Warnbro’s ‘tactic’ of not manning-up backfired when there was no one on the mark and he ran in for a Ballantyne-style crowd pleaser. Two points also added, although Liam’s was a definite goal, given a point by a goal-umpire, who thought he would have a go at helping his team, so we are claiming that one. 20 points the difference going into the final term, and Toby Dodds added a major to his tidy tally for the season. Warnbro’s goal in the final term was seen to be a point by our runner and coach but their goal umpire decided to “just pay that one” to Warnbro, despite the fact that it wasn’t even close, so we won’t let that one trouble the scorer. After a tumultuous game, we came away with a 28 point win over an opponent that didn’t always play in the spirit of the game. As manager I had a few discussions with their manager throughout the game.

Today the boys got another glimpse of playing an opponent that uses off ball tactics to affect the game. Intimidating comments were common, and an undisciplined pack-style of play was adopted. Obviously this team is used to winning using these types of tactics, and this was more obvious as the game went on, they weren’t pleased at all to be losing to a professional outfit like the Reds. We didn’t let them change our game plan or style of play, and in the end we could hold our heads up high knowing that our teamwork, skill and sportsmanship led us to fantastic result. Congratulations boys, and thanks to all our supporters for (as usual) setting such a good example for the boys to follow. Also, thanks to Brad who allowed to boys to work independently today, preparing them for next year when coaches aren’t allowed on field during the game. Brad was in the thick of it on the field discussing incidents with the opposition coach and helping the boys keep their composure by setting a very professional example.

“Team Man” is Matty Morfitt. Today, Matty showed the sort of leadership we ask of our older boys. He led by example and demonstrated the type of composure, sportsmanship and strength typical of our team. He was one of the first boys to fall foul of the intimidating tactics used by the opposition. He took it for the team, reported it to me as the boys had been asked in previous games, and then went back out and played his normal, consistent style of footy. Matty’s example steadied the boys, when he could have dropped his head and given up, he went back onto the field to finish the game Red-style, and the effect of his actions can’t be underestimated in a game like the one we had. Thanks, Matty!

Thanks to Spence, Rod and Vicki for the usual game tasks, and Jo for helping me out with manager’s jobs. Thanks to everyone for your support of the coaching group, and for keeping your boys positive.

Looking forward to a “friendly” next week against Pt Kennedy, should be fun!

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15's Round 13: 31st July.-Steve Pascoe

Travelling down to Falcon to play Sth Mandurah, the showers cleared in front of us and we were welcomed with a fine day, although the oval was very muddy and slippery as we found out later.

As part of our team "ownership" I put the game board in front of the players and asked them to put their name in the postion "they wanted to play", even if there was already someone else in that position, I would rotate them during the game. In doing this I reinforced this was part of something we have worked on from day 1, their ownership of the team, placing themselves in a position meant they would have a greater commitment to the team to perform in that role. It was no suprize we would have had to go out with only 3 backmen, with this in mind I highlited this fact that they all believed they could kick goals and that is what they had to do. I had to move a few around to get some backmen and then pushed a couple to on ball roles, on the board the team looked pretty good.

On the ground it looked pretty good as well, at half time we were in front and playing well, with good pressure at the ball and some good creative play, although we were turning the ball over too often. I have been pushing this fact for a few weeks that turnovers were killing us, I had asked one of the Dads to take simple stats, total posessions - effective posession. The stats backed up what Peter (assit coach) and I thought, we were running at 50% effective fore the first half, but with a solid work rate we were doing well abainst a team that beat us convincingly earlier in the season. Everyone was giving 100% and we were sticking tackles which put pressure on their ball carriers and helped us to tern the ball over regularly as we were doing well at ground level.

The third quarter started to show signs that the work rate was dropping off but sveral players stood tall and kept us in front into the final term, many players were finding it hard to tern and keen their feet in the black mud. Rhys copped a knock to his elbow and BJ was forced from the ground with a painful hip knock which saw him take no further part in the game, his creative efforts were missed in the last term. At 3/4 time I asked for our workrate to pick up and continue to run and create also to continue our at the ball pressure.

The final quarter saw Souths kick 3 unanswered goals in short time and you could see we were now chasing not creating, our workrate had dropped and we were second to the ball. To the guys credit they ran out the game with a couple of late goals to go down by 3 goals. After the game the stats told the story of our demise, 3rd quarter only 33% effective and poisessions down, the last was worse with inly 25% effective and even lower posessions. Where we had "finished" better in the past we had dropped away, a bit dissappointing but the game showed we are a much better side than when we first met. Some notable efforts from BJ, Jordan who went to full back and had a solid game in unformiliar teritory, great to see him wanting to expand his game, others to perform were Leon, Zac, Jack, Luke S, Lewis, Mason, Darren, Mitch, Ben, Hayden and Liam, again no passengers and a solid team effort.

YEAR 4 RED Round 12

Home for the last time this season and we were hoping it would be a good day out. Toby Dodds captained the team today and we were kicking towards the ocean end. We defeated Baldivis Blue earlier in the season and we were keen to keep the upper hand. This team is a very tall group so our match-ups would be a bit lopsided. Sportsmanship would also be a key factor as today’s game unfolded.

Our form from the last few weeks was clearly still firing, with all the boys playing an important part in the team’s progress. We only managed one goal for the first quarter, with Toby Dodds slotting one whilst under pressure from a hard tackle. Our defence was rock solid, Baldivis were unable to move anywhere without a Red making their presence felt. This constant defensive pressure had Baldivis looking over their shoulder for the whole game. The second quarter was fruitless for us, Connor Rich took a great mark to have a set shot, but what looked like a goal from a comfy chair on the sideline was only given as a point. Jacko Cramer was terrific in the centre, making his mark on the game with some strong possessions followed up by effective disposals. At half time, the scores were even, the oranges were devoured with gusto and that must have been the lift the boys needed (top fruit!). The third term was our “grand final term” and we surged forward both on the field and the scoreboard. Liam Allen went for a run and bounce, and then a bit more of a run, before steering a major through. Toby snatched another from a set shot. Reife Stewart, playing with headgear as a result of an incident with a pole during the week, was being rested in full forward due to a “hammie”, when he had the ball pop-up for him, he stuck his boot into it for a six-pointer. We would have been further in front had the ump watched the game a bit more closely, Liam had another run and bounce and kicked it through but ump hadn’t seen the bounce and called it “too far”. Baldivis were without a goal thanks to the defence doing its job, Seb Dobbs and Sascha Vaughan returned quite a few from the back line. The fourth quarter was a ragged affair, packs were forming all over the place and possessions were hard to come by. Baldivis had most of the play, but the defence of our boys didn’t let up. Baldivis managed two goals for the quarter (one from a freaky bounce after a mongrel punt kick). However, our boys saved about six at least. Liam held his position on his tall opponent and cleared it out several times, but we just couldn’t get it forward. Finally, a determined effort from Travis Parkes saw him chase up his own spoilt kick through a pack, wrench the ball off an opponent, barge his way through and kick it home. Unfortunately tempers frayed for one opposition player, he was issued a Yellow Card for pushing Toby and then punching Harley for their tight defence work. Level heads in the Secret Harbour team prevented it getting out of control, thanks Harley for walking away and not retaliating and thanks to the rest of the boys for focussing on the game. Connor Rich took the free and cheekily played on along the boundary before the siren sounded to end the game in a timely fashion.

Cody Quinn was “Right Place, Right Time” player of the day. He managed to get himself in the way of the Baldivis forward movement throughout the game, either knocking the ball to ground or tapping it on to our running players. He stood up to take a couple of important grabs and hustled his opponents off the ball to the benefit of the team. He was unlucky not to be paid a few marks, but he didn’t stop getting in the way and really had a crack. His efforts won him one of today’s awards. Congratulations Cody!

Thanks to the usual suspects, see you at Warnbro next weekend.

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JULY 24th:

15's Rd 12- Steve Pascoe

Preparation and anticipation, two aspects essential to a successful game. Well the prep - later start 1.45 instead of our usual 11.45 then we find out game is set back even further to 2pm, then the earlier game is running 10mins late so we are to start at 2.10pm, this we can work around and must adapt, but filling in half an hour when our aim this week was to carry on where we had left off last week, result prep not "ideal". As for anticipation yes there was that for our game BUT more for several of our my guys who were off to Albany with the Comet Bay football development camp, bus leaving at 4pm, our game wouldn't even be finished then, even though Thommo was made aware and the guys new the bus wouldn't leave without them, it was obvious some minds were wandering elsehwere.

This showed in our first quarter, 5 goals down at the break. The second quarter saw us go into the main break still 5 down and starting to show signs of playing footy. Something lacking in our game has been our physical presense and sticking tackles, this was up and that is what was keeping us in the game, tackles were sticking and our pressure at the ball was being rewarded, creating free kicks and turnovers. The second half we outscored baldivis but the damage had been done in the first, a dissappointing result from another winnable game. The good thing to come from the game is the guys do not accept losing as OK, it hurts. Other positives included the "hard ball gets" and our hardness at the ball. Brenda our "trainer" was kept busy trying to stem the "blood flow" from Josh-nose, Lewis-cut eye, lucky we had a full bench, but no whinging as soon as they were right they wanted back on , Liam layed a good old fashioned hip and shoulder shepperd in the 3rd but was victim to a forcefull retalitory tackle in the last where he thrashed around trying to get back up which was taken as retaliation by the umps and he was yellow carded. The resulting skirmish saw the team rally around Liam which showed real team spirit, understand the umps view as the game could have turned ugly at that stage and the send off was a calming measure.

Again many good players, Leon, Zac, BJ, Jack, Luke S, Mason, Rhys, Luke G, Josh, Jarrad, Lewis, Jordan as well as solid efforts from Daniel, Mitch, Nathan, Ben, Matt and Stace. Really no passengers.

We are still looking forward to the 3 remaining rounds with new opportunities for some players to challenge themselves in new positions. Hey where has the season gone, time flys when you're having fun and we certainly are having a good time.

Year 4 Red Round 11

July 24^th

We played Safety Bay Blue at Stan Twight reserve on this cold morning. With only 16 on our list now we were worried that we would be short of players or have to ask for an even up. Almost at the last minute our fifteenth player rolled up.

Captain Jayden Smith led the team today, the toss went Safety Bay’s way and they went with the icy breeze. Kicking into the sun we got a quick goal thanks to some fast hands and a straight kick by Sascha Vaughan. Matty Morfitt got another clean tap in the ruck and after some hard work on the wing Reife Stewart moved the ball forward through Jayden Clark and Connor Rich put it between the big sticks for our second. In the dewy conditions the ball had turned into a bar of soap. Matty Morfitt got another good tap in the middle, Ben Townsend got two hands on it, moved it forward and Sascha Vaughan scored another. Some of our forwards were waiting in the clear for glory as Sascha worked hard in a 5 to 1 contest and came out with free. It was a top opening term.

The ball got “slipperier” in the second and the only way to get it was with the head over it and two hands on it. Travis Parkes scored two quick majors. One from a “centimetre perfect” pass by Liam Allen and the other crumbed out of a huge pack and he floated the burley straight between the tall ones. Safety Bay fought hard in their forward line but our backs stayed alert preventing them from scoring. Jackson Cramer kept the biggest opposition player off balance with some cunning defensive work. Connor Rich almost pulled of a tricky one with a left foot snap.  A short while later Liam Allen finished off the Second with a six pointer out of a pack in the goal square.

The message at half time was “don’t bounce it” we had handed it over many times from failed bounces in the slippery conditions. Not sure if the listening ears were on as the boys enjoyed the oranges. We would see!

Liam Allen burst out of the centre pack with the ball and pulled off his only successful bounce of the day (good listening?) then booted into our forward line. Safety Bay tied it up in our forward line for some time before Toby Dodd’s crumbed a great goal. The ground was still wet and the ball was hard to get. Hard work in the centre of the ground from Ben Townsend, Harley Copping and Chad Booth kept the ball in our possession. The boys linked up for some good ball movement all over the ground. Liam Allen marked a great pass from Seb Dobbs and kicked a huge goal from the junior equivalent of fifty metres, which is a long way!

The fourth quarter was almost a re-run of the third with Safety Bay fighting hard in packs. This made us work very hard for it. Toby Dodds took a great mark From a Jaxon Shehan kick and lined up directly in front to put it through. Travis Parkes pulled up sore from some fearless pack work but still managed to take a free kick to notch up his third for the game, right at the end of the quarter.

“Longest Approach Ever”

When Toby lined up for his goal in the fourth he showed us that a good approach could never be too long (is there a limit?). The mark was taken about half way between the goals and the centre. Our half forward had to move as Toby backed up almost to the centre.  He never lost his focus however and showed us that a good kicking routine can pay off as he steered the ball through for a goal. Well done Tobes

Rd 11 Yr4 Green- Jeremy Wilkinson

 Another fine winters day back on our home turf  and we were keen to build on our good performances to date. Safety bay started the game with 2 short and a big thanks to Cam Brown and Declan for volunteering to play for the Stingers. Our aim this week was to move the ball quickly. We didn’t want to see anyone taking on to many players and trying to break tackles which has been costing us a lot of turnovers in the past weeks.

 Our slow starts continued in the first and we let Safety bay pinch a couple of early goals. The forward line was busy again with little reward. Harry Jones was roaming away from full forward and was burrowing under packs as usual. Jacob was putting plenty of pressure on the opposition trying to cause a turnover, Jaxon was tackling hard and Joel got himself free for a great shot at goal that unfortunately just missed. A lovely handball by Ethan to Harry J whose shot on goal just missed. Once again we finished a first quarter goaless after having plenty of the ball.

Harry W was getting to the contests in the backline taking good marks and running it out of defence. Ben was helping out to with a great mark at half back. Thomas Allen was again moving around this quarter providing a target  and after some great team play scored our first goal. Adam Hester was busy in the packs on the ball while Sean was again in everything and after a great mark 20m out kicked another one for us to finish off a much better quarter of footy.

 Some great efforts came out in the 3^rd. Some great one, two plays were starting to come off with the boys now realizing the value of running past and second efforts. Play of the quarter was Jacobs kick to Ashley who then passed to Kalum whose shot on goal just missed. Erik was having a great day in the ruck with some clean taps to our advantage.

 With 17 on the field due to safety bays late starters things were getting a bit conjested. Declan who was playing for the stingers kicked a nice long goal, we will claim that one though. Cambell Glover had a good day in the backline manning up and staying in position all day. Brandon was put into the middle to get some touch and was lively. Ji was involved in some great passages of play and finished the day with some great marks and quality possessions. Cam Ashfold had another good day adding to his run of good form in the past few weeks.

 Really pleased this week that we only had one or two holding the ball decisions go against us. We were moving the ball a lot quicker and the more we practice that the better footy we will play in the future. Well done boys. Thanks to all the weekend helpers. Things run a lot smoother at home and it is a credit to everyone who pitches in each week. Thanks.  

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JULY 18th: Subiaco Oval, Dockers Curtain raiser:

CURTAIN RAISER SUBIACO OVAL 18^th JULY

After a hard game the night before, we had a few tired Year 4’s but nothing was going to dampen their enthusiasm for playing in front of a crowd at the Freo vs Demons game. Mums and Dads and the many family-and-friends went one way, and the team went another, and the excitement began!

The boys ran out to a huge cheer from the crowd, and went straight onto the field and matched up with their opponents. At the sound of the Subi siren, we were underway and it was clear that nerves weren’t going to be factor. The boys looked fresh and keen and it wasn’t long before we had a few goals on the board and ran out winners against the Ellenbrook 1 team.

During the break between games, the excitement was all about various Dockers players roaming around the ground, and Peter (our manager) made it his mission to talk to as many of them as he could. Pete had somehow managed to be given an Access All Areas pass to wear, so he was allowed to wander about wherever he wanted. The fact that it said he was “Josh Gibbons” (Gibbo) didn’t deter him. “Gibbo” freely took our boys over to a number of AFL players who happily let them have their photo taken. “Gibbo” even managed to persuade Alex Silvagni to come over to say hello to the many brothers and sisters (and a cougar) we had in the crowd, so everyone was happy. Top effort Gibbo!

The second game started and Ellenbrook 2 had suddenly kicked two goals and we couldn’t work out how they were finding so much space. Like a streak of purple, 4 of our boys appeared from the players race, frightening the life out of the Ellenbrook boys, to steady the flow. They had been in the toilets and had missed the first couple of minutes! (If “Gibbo” hadn’t made them hold on during celebrity photos it would have been a lot different) A quick head-count also proved important, Ellenbrook had 16 on the field and hadn’t bothered to “even-up” with us, so our interchange ran on to plug the gap. With the numbers finally even, the score soon caught up, not sure if we won that one in the end, but once the numbers were even, Secret Harbour took control of the game.

All the boys had terrific games today, but probably the most important thing we all noticed was that our boys actually are a great little team. Seeing them outplay two teams from another club was a great confidence booster for the boys and their coaches and we all just loved being part of it.

Today was a great day for everyone, despite being long, and all the families and the boys were able to have a fantastic time together as a playing group, and as friends. Thankfully the Dockers didn’t lose the match although they could learn about kicking goals from the Year 4 Reds!

Massive thanks to Peter McClay and his hard-working group who not only keep the footy club running smoothly, but obviously had to put in a ton of extra time and effort to make today go so well for the boys. Thanks on behalf of everyone from Year 4 Red, we really appreciate all the time and energy you volunteer for the club so that our kids can have the best possible time in junior footy. Thanks!

 

JULY 17th:

15's ROUND 11: v Pinjarra - Steve Pascoe

Firstly thankyou to all those who bought raffle tickets from our 15's today, with proceeds going towards their melbourne trip next year, thanks for your support, one of the Year 4's won the jumper and has asked for a long sleeve dockers jumper, good for training and cold games when they put his number on it.

Here we are into our "return" matches against teams we have played earlier in the season. Round 2 v Pinjarra was probably our worst effort for the year and after that game I mentioned we would use that game a "gauge" to see how we are travelling we we meet them again. I reminded the team in our pre game talk about this and mentioned it was time to see how we had improved as a team, round 2 we only scored 2-4, and were comprehensively thrashed.

Unfortunately Pinjarra only had 17 players, it was agreed we would play 1 short instead of lending a player, personally I don't like this as I would rather see everyone getting more game time and play a "complete" game. Anyway the game started and it looked like the team had resolved itself to the fact this game was out of reach from the start, really dissappointing. We went into the first break with only a couple of points on the board and several goals down. The second quarter wasn't much better, it was looking like another thrashing was heading our way, this really annoyed me as I know this team is much better than that and has improved immensely during the season. The half time talk reminded them that the only way to enjoy footy is to walk off knowing you have had a crack, at this time they hadn't, time to do something about that and start doing the basics, we needed to step up or we would be totally embarrassed. To the guys credit they lifted to the challenge and started playing the type of footy we are capable of and put a few goals on the board and out scored our opponents, everyone had a different attitude at the last break and they went into the final quarter full of confidence realising they could match it with them. Well not just match it but actually totally out play them, we had our best quarter for the season with 6 goals and several points kicked and only one against, but unfortunately the score board damage had been done in the first half and we went down by a few goals. The realization was we could have won this game if we "played" 4 quarters and that quarter showed we could match it with any team in the comp, when we are at our best.

Some outstanding efforts again from Zac and Leon who were both moved up the ground in the second half to wing and centre proving they are not more than 2 of the best half back flankers in the comp but 2 of the better players in the comp. Others who put up their hands were Mason, Jordan, Luke S, Jack, Josh, Lewis, Hayden, Nathan, Daniel and especially Ben who showed a new aspect to his game by becoming a "general" and directing a lot of the defensive play, well done Ben for a full game effort. In the end again you couldn't find a passenger especially in the second half. Again phsycology plays a huge part in our great game, our goal is to take the last quarter form into next weeks game, stay tuned for the result.

YEAR 4 Green: Round 10

 Nobody thought it was possible for the second derby to be as good as the first but Saturday night was a fantastic spectacle for all the the players, coaches and families watching from the sidelines.

 Both teams were commited to the footy early and although the play was fairly even the reds got a few early goals to get themselves clear in the first quarter. The boys were fighting hard in the packs and getting plenty of the footy but could not get a score on the board.

 I asked the boys not to drop their heads because although we hadn’t kicked a goal we were well and truly in the game. The message was to keep working hard and the rewards will come. By half time we had goals on the board and were playing great footy, but were still a few behind.

 In the final quarter it was going to take a special effort to come back. It was our finest quarter of the year and as the boys consistently attacked the footy we started to break free into space. And then the goals started to come. 4 goals for the quarter was a fantastic reward to the boys for such a great game. Everyone contributed all night and it was far to hard to single out any one player for an award.

 Both teams played a hard fair game and another close one was very fitting. The crowd was loud and excitable and by the end of the game everyone was buzzing.

 A big thanks to Peter McLay for organizing Sunday. We had a great day at Subiaco Oval playing on the big Stage. Trying to herd 18 boys around Subi oval was never going to be easy but we managed to get them all back to their parents in one piece thanks to our manager Mel and Rolly Hester. It was a huge effort so thanks a lot.  

YEAR 4 RED July 17^th  Peter-Manager

Our first Tangadee/Rhonda Scarrott home game and we were all wondering where the jumpers were. Brad quickly ducked off home to grab them, obviously the tactics and field placings he had been concentrating on had caused him to forget them! All good though, the boys were happier for the extra five minutes warmth.

Harley Copping won the toss and we were kicking towards the clubrooms. The first quarter was by far our best regarding attacking play. Travis Parkes continued his goal-kicking juggernaut, adding two goals to his season tally, while Liam Allen put in some hard work in the centre to get himself a set-shot and a massive goal. We remained goal-less until the third, when Seb Dobbs scored a terrific goal-on-the-run, assisted by a clever shepherd from Matthew Morfitt. Our only other goal came in the fourth, when Travis finally got us clear to kick under pressure, scoring a neat little trickle through from 20m out.

Our defensive play tonight was outstanding, and from the spectator comments, I think it is fair to say that our players have improved their skill-base over the season. They are holding position better and two goals saved by our full-backs holding position are a great example. Well done Liam and Chad. Our boys are trying to resist the temptation to jump on the ball in packs when the opposition does and are using running players to feed off to. Reading the play and getting in there to intercept were players like Connor Rich, Jaxon Shehan, Jayden Smith, Liam  and Travis. Providing pressure in the packs were Toby Dodds, Reife Stewart and Jayden Clark. Keeping to their man were Cody Quinn, Chad Booth and Matty. Chasing hard were players like Harley and Seb. Providing options on the wing were Ben Townsend and Jacko Cramer.

The lesson tonight is that you have to keep giving it everything despite the umpire’s decisions, we weren’t awarded marks in the same way that the opposition were, but we still need to keep going at it. This is where sportsmanship and pride come into play. In the last quarter, Liam ran his guts out, Jay. S scrapped in when we thought he could be hurt, Harley tackled like a Wallaby (hopefully he doesn’t convert) and Travis roved like Haselby. Benjy Townsend played his best game of the season and he only has better games to come.

“Ripper Game Night” was enjoyed by Chad Booth and Jayden Clark. Chad played his heart out in all the positions the coach gave him, all night long and never gave up. He took several key marks and passed to leads allowing others to score. His performance in full-back was strong, and he took a massive mark in the last line of defence to save a certain goal. Jayden had a huge impact on the packs and contested possessions. His tackling was outstanding, catching several players in clean grabs. He also took some terrific overhead marks, popping into gaps to cut off the opposition’s forward movement. Top job, Chad and Jayden!

Thanks to all the helpers, Spence as usual did a flawless job of keeping the players hydrated, and young Mitch looks like he could have a career in flag-waving! See you next week at Stan Twight Reserve.

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JULY 3rd:

15's Round 10: Steve Pascoe

A great part of playing team sports is "milestone games", the bad part is when we cannot be in 2 places at 1 time. My son Ryan played his 50th game in the 12's at Secret harbour Oval at the same time the 15's started at Safety Bay. I am very lucky to have Pete Gregson as an assist coach who took on the role of getting the team sorted so that I could take photos and watch Ryan run through his banner, which was great, thanks Pete.

I arrived during the second quarter to find to find Pete quite dispondant as many of the team were "off with the fairies". Again phsycology plays a huge part in our game, we had beaten this team in our first game and obviously some players thought this would happen again. Unfortunately a lot about winning is a combination of many factors which have to be worked at for a whole game, they don't just happen without effort and commitment. The reminder about commitment was given at half time, with us being a few goals down we took on the position that we would "start" again now and play the way we should and get back to our game plan and do the hard work needed to enjoy the game. All players responded and the second half saw some great footy from both teams played in great spirit, final score we went down by 3 kicks. Good signs from many players trying to take the opposition "on" and good passages of "run to position" and "run & carry" which is what we are all about. The only thing letting us down at times is our disposal, which we are working on like every team and our failure to man up and defend with real purpose, this is where teams are killing us, again we hardly stuck a tackle all day.

Some notable performances from BJ, Zac, Leon, Lewis and Jack and promising signs from Ben, Hayden, Mitch, Tom, Dylan and Darren, again no real passengers just a bit more needed in the discipline department.

Time now to reassess our goals for the rest of the season and deliver new challenges for individuals and team.

YEAR 4 RED 3 July  Peter-Manager

Back at home and the weather was much like last week, absolutely freezing! Warnbro Gold was our opponent and the boys were raring to go.

Sascha Vaughan won the toss and we were kicking towards the courts. Today’s game was a great display of teamwork that any AFL coach would be proud of. Despite that fact that four players kicked our nine goals for the game, it was the result of teamwork moving the ball forward to the leads, that put the scores on the board. Travis Parkes had a terrific day scoring 3 goals, while Harley Copping, Connor Rich and Liam Allen each scored 2 goals. I can only praise the boys for their discipline in looking for a team-mate rather than individual glory today.

Today’s game highlighted the “One Percenters”. Jaxon Shehan and Jackson Cramer showed just how much a team needs its tireless workers, and their impact was seen across the ground. Jaxon.S continued his usual display of tough, efficient footy and worked the ball out of packs countless times to the advantage of the team, as well as taking some hard grabs and laying some effective tackles. Despite not scoring a major for himself, he managed to rack up 4 behinds, showing his grit and determination. Jackson.C, returning from a foot injury, showed great decision making skills, spotting players on leads, as well as looking to use the handball to running players so that the team could move forward. These are the type of players who can often be overlooked but a team needs 15 players, and these boys don’t just make up the numbers, they have an important role in all our matches. Their hard work is what gets the ball up to the forwards who were able to convert, and the team couldn’t have had the same outcome without their consistent effort. Top job, Jaxon and Jacko!

Thanks to Spence and Tara, and a special thanks to Rod Morfitt, who we have been calling “John” for the last few weeks! Thanks, Rod, for all the games you’ve helped us out by doing the goal umpiring with uncanny accuracy, your flag-waving is clear, symmetrical, efficient and second to none!

Enjoy the bye, we will be up against the Green Machine after the break, they say derby matches are always the hardest!

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26/6/10

15's -Rd9; Steve Pascoe

Another fantastic milestone game for one of our guys, Jack Winters playing his 100th game, well done Jack (see photo section for banner shot). I get a great buzz seeing players achieve milestones in our great game, in these "modern" times where everything is "instand or throw away" seeing this form of longevity is rewarding to us old diehards.

Anyway after last weeks "loss" the team trained hard this week and put forward their own ideas for areas of improvement and accountability was at the top of the list. The game v Centrals was played at the usual cracking pace with good passages of footy played by both teams. Although it was dissappointing to see this level of footy (15's) playing what I consider a non developmental game style, namely setting up a "wall" defence accross there half forward line to block the ball in their forward line. I (and the development gurus at the WAFC where I am doing my level 2 coaches accreditation) believe these sort of tactics are not beneficial to the development of players but more to do with the result of a game. To be quite honest, what I saw was a team clogging their own forward line hence actually reducing their goal scoring opportunities, as many of the shots were in heavy traffic because we just "manned up" hence 30 players in their 50m zone, UGLY FOOTY!

Unfortunately we were beaten on the day but I am pleased to say we played some great footy with many passages of run on play and again many players putting in fine efforts and all putting in for the full duration of the game. Now that is something I am really proud of, these guys have never dropped their heads for a single minute this season. Our "accountability" was good although we hardly "stuck" a tackle until nearly the last quarter, too late then, perhaps some tackling sessions coming up soon.

A true hilite of the game was perhaps, nay, definitely "goal of the year" by BJ, taking the ball just back of centre he took on the oppostition pack, emerged out the other side and unloaded a flat "torrey" from the centre circle which bounced a couple of times and split the big sticks, to jubilent celebrations by all there, and yes that is centre circle not square it would have been a good 70metres, now that will be hard to beat for goal of the year.

A challenging week coming up with players doing work experience and others not well. A special get well to Nathan who didn't feel too flash last week, was taken to the Doc's and a couple of hours later had his appendix in a jar instead of in him, tough little suckers these kids.

YEAR 4 RED Round 8 Peter- Manager

The sun was out but it was freezing cold when we headed to Anniversary Park to test our skills against Rockingham. The oval was quite big for today’s game, so a lot of running was required to cover ground quickly. A lot of running would also keep everyone nice and warm!

Matthew Morfitt conceded the toss and we were kicking away from the sun.  Brad got everyone into position and we were away. Harley Copping was in the thick of it in the first few minutes, getting himself all over the ball and having a couple of snaps before finally managing to grab himself a goal. The second provided some good running plays, strong marks and passing in the forward line. Harley made some good leads and got on the end of some good passes from Liam Allen. Jaxon Shehan was providing plenty of spark to move it forward to the leads allowing Liam to kick a goal from a set shot on the far side. We also racked up a couple more minor scores. The third quarter was mainly played in our forward half, with our full-back and centre half-back sticking to position and cutting most of Rockingham’s forward movement off before they were in range. Up forward, Sascha Vaughan was busy, picking up a goal for his efforts. Travis Parkes and Jayden Clark were getting involved where they could. The start of the fourth caught us by surprise, and Rockingham scored their first two goals for the match. Thanks to our defence tightening up, and some hard running out to the open spaces to pick up loose balls, the boys were able to get it up to our forward line and Bradley Smith added another 6-pointer to our tally. The packs tightened up, and Connor Rich and Reife Stewart made some great clearances. Jayden Smith once again showed his nifty footwork to get himself clear and kick a major to finish off the game. This game was a good clean game, both sides showed good sportsmanship and eagerness to play and have fun. The size of the ground highlighted the need to keep position, because often the ball found itself all alone in an empty paddock where players should have been. On a positive note, it also allowed our hard, fast runners to show their skill and fitness in getting to the ball first. The game also provided plenty of ground-level play, allowing our crumbers to get themselves involved.

“Hard Days Work” was Sascha Vaughan’s game. Sascha was one of our harder running players, getting to where the ball was quickly and effectively. He again showed his overhead strength in packs and also contested many loose balls at ground level. The highlight for Sascha was a massive overhead mark in the third quarter allowing him to line up for goal. Unfortunately he missed that attempt, but then ran hard to cut off the kick-in and have a snap to put it through the big sticks a few seconds later. Top effort, Sascha.

Thanks to John, Spence and Di for helping out with the usual tasks. Also thanks to David, who stepped in to help out with the Assistant Coach’s role for today’s game, the team really appreciated your contribution. See you all next week at home against Warnbro Gold.

Year 4 Green Rd 8

 Great day for footy. Our first game on the big oval ended up a low scoring affair for both sides but it gave the boys a chance to work on their passing by hand and foot and was probably the best display of teamwork for the year. We set up a little different with 5 in the middle and things were flowing nicely.

 The first quarter was an even contest with Harry Jones working hard for us in the middle. Ben Hester was getting involved and pulled in a great mark at half forward. Erik was good in the ruck but Baldivis was making life hard and not letting us get away from them. Seans pass to Tom, Who passed back to Sean closer to goal ended with our only major for the quarter.

 Our focus in the second was to move the ball quick and MAN UP. A great team effort got the ball forward and Harry W finished with a goal on the run. Jacob was playing a great game up forward moving around and giving the boys a good target. Campbell in the forward pocket was on the end of a great passage of play and goaled from right in front.

 The 3^rd was an arm wrestle with neither team troubling the scoreboard much and although there were some great passages of play we just couldn’t get another goal. Teamwork though was excellent and Cam Ashfold, Declan, Ben, Cam Brown and Harry J were doing an outstanding job in defence making good decisions going forward, not letting Baldivis in. A lack of concentration let Baldivis kick the only goal for the quarter from an uncontested mark in the goal square.

 The boys finished the game off strongly and and though we didn’t manage another goal we had plenty of chances. The forward line of Jaxon, Ji, Sean, and Campbell worked well with Tom Allen providing good leads in to space. It was a great way to finish off the game against our hardest opponents this year (except for the reds). To see the boys working as a team and putting our training into practice is very satisfying.

 All the boys had a good day with Callum Lisle, Ben Hester, Brandon, Sean, Harry W, Erik Brough and Ashley Garner all making good contributions. Awards this week went to Harry Jones for a tough effort around the ground, Tom Allen for his clean skills in the forward line and Jacob Hodson for a lively performance on the half forward line. Well done boys. Thanks to all our helpers. See you next week.

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19/6/10

15's-Rd 8 Steve Pascoe.

Special thanks to one of our players, Jay who volunteered to go accross and play for Safety Bay, as they were a player short. This is a great thing to even up teams so that a "complete" game can be run, we should all applaud these players, well done jay.

This week we have been working on "running and creating into space" this is a difficult part of the "modern" game for players to grasp, as it often involves running away from the ball and current play, which has traditionally been the opposite of what has been taught in their earlier junior footy. So that was a "Game Plan" for the day- run to space and create options. Our first quarter has been hit and miss, so far this season but not today we hit the ground running and creating, playing a really good style of footy with many parents questioning "what was in the water?". In reallity it was the result of many weeks of hard training, working on a style of footy the guys will enjoy and then hopefully prove rewarding with good results. Leon, Zac, Lewis, Darren, Jordan, Josh and BJ to name a few were making great runs and creating opportunities all around the ground, our game plan was being followed to a "T", we hit the break with our highest scoring quarter of the year. The second quater was much of the same with more players getting in on the act, the two Lukes were firing as were Daniel, Nathan, Mason, Hayden, Ben and Jarrad, not a single passenger to be seen.

We went into the second half, full of confidence and still with the lead, the game was being played hard but fair, great to watch for our spectators. Just into the last term the stingers kicked a couple of goals and it was at this stage (watching there jubilation) I realised they had hit the front, they had worked their way back into the game with "persistance" and we had "allowed " this to happen by dropping our guard and letting up on the "basics", not manning up or running with our opponents when needed. The result we "lost" our first game. What I mean by that is, we have been "beaten" in previous games by better teams and circumstances but today we "lost" the game and must take full responsility for the loss. This point we reinforced after the game, regular readers will know from my previous reviews there are times we walk from a game and can hold our heads up knowing we have done our best even thougth we have been beaten BUT this was not the case this week. To leave this game with anything less than total dissappointment, knowing you should have won, even taking the many positives of our developing game style into account, leaving this game feeling OK would be possibly accepting a "loosing mentality". This may be hard for some to follow as you all know I am not about "winning" but at the same time we should not settle for "loosing". I am looking forward even more to our upcoming games on this rollercoaster we call footy, you have to love it, it IS the greatest game on the planet.

Yr4 Green Round 7- Jeremy Wilkinson

Fresh after a week off  we arrived at Stan Twight for our game against Safety Bay Blue. We started off a bit slow in the first quarter and SafetyBay were winning all of the footy early. Some good defensive work by Kalum, Brandon and Jaxon stopped them getting to far ahead. Our run forward was constantly coming to a stand still as the boys tried to bounce on the wet ground but it was a good lesson in adjusting to the conditions.

The second  quarter was a different story with all the boys getting going. Harry W was alive in the forward line and a great run along the boundary and goal gave him 3 for the quarter. Adam Hester was also in the action with a great mark and snap for goal a highlight. Campbell Glover was again playing well in the backline and was doing a great job staying in position. Ji finished off a great first half on the wing winning plenty of  the ball around the packs. This was our worst effort in manning up for the game and it is something we all have to keep drumming in to the boys.

Our 3^rd was outstanding. Tom Allen took a brilliant diving mark in front of goal and finished truly. Sean was as usual having a great game and was involved in everything. We were winning the contested footy and were starting to sneak away to a good lead. What is great to see at this stage of the season is the boys confidence in going for their marks with Joel, Erik, Adam, Harry, Sean and Brandon taking plenty around the ground.

 The 4^th qtr started with a sensational long goal to Ashley near the boundary and we were away again. Harry W wasn’t finished either and a couple of big efforts got him another 2 goals. Harry Jones was again in everything and wrestling the footy off the opposition to set up plenty of chances for us. In the end it was a great game against good opposition and one of the most enjoyable games of the year to watch.

Harry W finished a great day with 5 Goals, with our captain for the day Brandon, Cam Ashfold and Ashley Garner also putting in excellent efforts. Awards this week went to Adam Hester for an excellent day up forward, Sean Vanderust  for his huge appetite for the contest and finally Ji Maciejewski for finding plenty of the footy over all 4 quarters. 

Thank you to all the helpers and parents who are pitching in week in, week out. Everything goes smoothly on the day after a lot of organizing, thanks to you all. If parents could try and get the kids to the game as early as possible it would be much appreciated. A lot of time goes into setting a fair rotation system and any player not there at the start of a game throws everything out. Thanks.

YEAR 4 RED Round 7 Peter-Manager

We were back at home after a few weeks away and the broken glass looked like it would be a problem, but thanks to our families all pitching in, we managed to get the ground clear and ready to host Baldivis Gold. The game was a fantastic day out because the boys were really playing as a team and looking to get the team over the line by working together in all their roles across the ground.

Ben Townsend won the toss and we were kicking to the ocean end. After the first bounce we moved the ball forward. A powerful kick down to the goal square clean bowled the opposition defence and Cody Quinn snapped the ball up right on the goal line and toe-poked a goal within the first minute. Harley Copping chipped in with two goals for the quarter, both out of tight packs, tickling one over with his toe, right on the line to put us in front at the first break. The second had some really effective passing, players were looking for team-mates and making good leads, and good decisions were being made. On the end of some of these outstanding passages of play were Toby Dodds and Jayden Smith who each scored a goal and put us further in front at the “oranges” break. The third saw a few field changes and Liam Allen quickly had two goals from his position in full forward. Travis Parkes sneaked one in just before the siren after taking a strong mark. The fourth quarter was a tight affair, Baldivis looked to put a few on the board but Liam Allen managed to take a couple of good marks right on the goal line as full-back, denying them two certain goals. On the final siren we had kept our lead despite a good push from Baldivis. Jaxon Shehan had a good day out, following the ball and taking some important possessions. Bradley Smith had some good touches on the wing and got himself involved in some tight contests to help our team forward, and took a great pack mark in the fourth. Sascha Vaughan took a terrific grab from a pack, showing strong hands and good height. The main positive from today’s game was the team work. The boys were looking to use each other rather than take the opposition on themselves, and the use of handballing was fantastic and resulted in some fast and accurate passages of play. The coaches were pleased to see the boys making a massive effort to hold position and look for the clear way forward by using their team-mates.

“Free-kick Festival” is the way to describe the game for Jayden Smith and Toby Dodds today. Jayden showed a lot of courage going into the packs. He only had eyes for the ball and as a result he was rewarded with numerous free kicks when infringements occurred. Toby showed similar hard play at ground level and received a lot of attention from the opposition. Whenever the umpire blew his whistle, no one was surprised when Jayden or Toby were handed the ball because they were always going for the ball in the packs. Great job, Jayden and Toby!

Thanks to John, Jo, Michael and the canteen helpers. I would especially like to acknowledge the parents team effort, helping to make the ground safe before the game. The importance of this can’t be underestimated because it is all about the safety of our boys, and the teams that play after us, and as the Manager I can’t sign off on the insurance form if we are not happy with the state of the ground. Thanks for helping out.

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12/6/10

15's-Steve Pascoe

Football presents us with many challenges, playing the undefeated top side, Rockingham, who are winning by obscene margins, away, is one of the greatest to confront us. How we meet them tells us a lot about our character and how we are travelling on our journ

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