By Frank Seal
Round 16 of the 2022 season saw Olinda’s seniors face their biggest challenge for the year: Narre Warren away from home.
Stung by Woori-Yallock in the previous week, the Magpies were coming off their first loss for the season. Olinda entered the match with a positive mindset and a plan to hopefully take down the beast to continue their run of good form. 100-game milestones to Dale Rohrmann and Cam Horner gave Olinda a little extra motivation for the battle and the Bloods were ready to go.
Unfortunately for Olinda, Woori Yallock had “poked the bear.” Narre came out angry and ruthless and began charging the ball forward at will from the get-go. The Magpie midfielders were clearing the ball cleanly and quickly, putting the Olinda backs under some seriously intense pressure. They started piling on goals in quick succession, leaving the Bloods in a 45-point hole by quarter time. It was a reality check for the group, and immediate response was needed for Olinda to gain any hope of a comeback against such a quality outfit. The second quarter saw Olinda’s midfielders start to win territory thanks to some persistent fight from Tyler Belloni, Kelsey Currie and Pete Lucas.
The forwards struggled to get clean hands to the ball but a running roost from Nick Keegan finally gave the Bloods their first major to get on the scoreboard. Matt Scharenberg was an opposition target all day but still managed to take many of his trademark intercept marks anyway, while small defender Isaac Tonkin was providing positive run and ball use out of D-50. Another goal came from agile forward Noah Desta. But the skilful Magpies were devastating with their ball use, adding 5 of their own goals for the quarter and leading 77-16 at the half.
Hamstring injuries to Nick Keegan and James Belli were ominous first-half setbacks for Olinda. The third quarter was a Magpie onslaught. Narre Warren was determined to put the game to bed early, slotting a whopping 10 goals for the quarter. Young gun Ned Ford was trying his heart out for his club, helping the Bloods down back with his precise ball use and high work rate. Offensively, Lachy Taylor was gallant in his efforts to add to Olinda’s score, managing to boot two goals for the second half: a testament to his ability against Narre Warren’s brutal and miserly backline.
The margin had exceeded the 100-point mark by three-quarter time, but Olinda still couldn’t be faulted for effort. The final 30 mins were about character. The Bloods refused to give up, maintaining their effort and persistently trying to execute fast play through the middle of the ground. Key defenders Dale Rohrmann and Callum Beattie deserve credit for their efforts under intense heat from the Narre Warren midfield who repeatedly delivered the ball inside their forward 50. The Magpies piled on another 8 goals for the term to run out victors by a massive 27 goals.
It was a football lesson for the Bloods as they look to make the necessary adjustments at the business end of the season.
