The Olinda weather gods did everything in their power this week to make the day as miserable as possible for those out on the oval.
With the fog preventing them from even reading the weather forecast, let alone playing footy, it was pretty diabolical conditions for the magnificent U11s. Play was delayed for close to an hour and in the end, the game was shortened to two quarters until the umpires were satisfied it was safe to play. Normally, the kids relish these conditions, but it was Mt Evelyn that got the jump on them this time with an early goal. They say possession is 9/10ths the law, and in this game it was no different.
When Olinda had it and could use it effectively, they strung together some great passages of play with strong marking and clever ball use, but it was a tough ball to win and hacked footy was the order of the day. Mt Ev kept surging the ball forward and was able to use their entries effectively to score where Olinda couldn’t.
In the end, Mt Evelyn has been the stronger team all year and they proved it again this week. With Healesville being knocked out in the upset of the season, Mt Evelyn will back themselves to do well in the Grand Final next week.
The boys and girls playing in the U11s have seen enormous growth in the team as the season has gone on and it’s sure that they’ll be a tough side to play against next year. Well done to Stuart and his team for putting together such a great season.
The next game was the U13s match between Mt Evelyn and Woori to decide who Coach Spider’s legends face next week in the Grand Final. I think Spida was pretty happy with Mt Ev getting up and they’re pumped for next week.
Following that, the U15 Boys hit the track for their knockout semi-final against Woori Yallock. With a hard-fought win against Woori late in the season, Coach Scott and the boys went into the game confident they could do well, but the weather and the condition of the ground meant that polished football was going to be hard to play. As with the earlier games, surging, pressure football was going to be the winning formula on the day and Woori had more runners more consistently getting to contest after contest. Cass Hine continued his dominant form of the season managing to mark and kick in defiance of the conditions, whilst Charlie Hooper was damaging up forward and through the midfield. Campbell Hutchin bombed long for a goal that skidded past the opposition, while in-and-under runners Zach Seal and Lenny Barry got too many contests. In what was a good, tight tussle until late in the game, Woori was the better side in having more runners around the ground getting to better positions.
Congratulations on a great season this year. From a side that was barely scratching enough numbers to field a side, but still managing to dominate the second division, to being re-graded to the top division, still recruiting players late in the season and making it deep into finals against clubs with teams in multiple divisions, you are a credit to Bloods footy.
Then came the U17 Boys against the dominant Woori side who have not been beaten this year. With a few injuries and some illness, but knowing they had a second chance if they lost, the boys came into the game with nothing to lose. Coach Paddy’s goal was to build the belief that they could match it with the best sides in the comp.
By this stage in the day, the oval was absolutely sodden and clean football would be impossible. Coach Paddy set the oval up fairly defensively to prevent early Woori scoring and in these conditions, the game was a tussle. Some players, such as Lachie Bates, seemed impervious to the conditions as they still managed to use the ball well, but generally hacked footy was the order of the day – the game often more closely resembling soccer. At the halftime break, only two points had been kicked between both sides, further emphasising the soccer-like qualities of the game. Blair Wilson’s return to the team has been invaluable with him playing in defence this week, with Isaac Tonkin also restricting opposition scoring.
After the break, however, Woori was able to better control the ball when surging forward and managed to intercept Olinda’s plays forward. Marking was almost impossible, but Woori was more often able to control the footy where Olinda couldn’t, scoring a valuable goal in the third whilst chipping away with a few behinds. In the last, Woori was able to break the shackles with a couple of goals to take a comfortable win, but this is the closest we have got to them all year and the Olinda can take some confidence from the game that they can mix it with the best.
The coaches also noted the efforts of Tim Rickard, Lachie Smith and Quinn Forward in the match. The boys take on Belgrave next week for a chance to play in the grand final and their best football will give them a fighting chance to have another crack at Woori for the silverware.
