Women’s Senior Footy
Don Road looked spectacular on Saturday morning as the senior women headed out to see how their game was developing against the ladder leaders, Healesville.
Still without a chunk of the midfield, and losing another young ruck in Jacqui (The Giant Slayer) Ring to injury during the week, we were going to be tested in the middle and for height. Getting Lucy (Goose) Hilton back would provide some drive into the forward line.
It’s a big oval out at Don Road and the space tested Olinda’s players from the outset with Healesville able to score two early goals. After re-grouping, though, Olinda closed the game down and stopped the Healesville runners. Anja (Onions) Hulston continued her great season of bringing tears to the eyes of her opponents with her pressure around the ground. Never having rucked before, she needed a quick run through to get a feel for it before embarking on challenging an ex-Ranges six foot ruck.
Laser Lily Carlin continued her run of form with precision passing, crunching tackles and clever movement to intercept opposition run. It was this run and gun in the second quarter that saw Olinda move the ball quickly from defence into the forward line, and will prove the recipe for success against the top teams moving forward.
Defensively, the team continued development of the Olinda Press which has been instrumental to restricting the top sides to low scores. Young defender Paige (The Rage) Robinson continued her incredible defensive work as she figured out how to stop the clever opposition forward pocket. Casey (Sugar) Seymour continued her miserly approach to footy although in recent times has been spotted up the ground, receiving the footy from deep in defense.
Kyah (The Missile) Barry continued her great run of form hitting targets and zeroing in on opposition from distance. Starting in defence but also getting an opportunity in the midfield due to rotations, she enjoyed a bit of freedom to hunt and win the footy for a BOG performance. She was clean below her knees where others weren’t and repelled many Healesville charges forward.
The current spell of injury and illness has given many of our younger players opportunities they might not have otherwise had and Chloe (The Smiling Assassin) Kanally is no exception. She’s been getting run-with roles against some of the best players in the comp and has been relishing the chance to learn and develop her defensive game in the middle.
Tayla (Swift) McKay made a welcome return with limited minutes but it was great to see her pull on the jumper and re-start her football career, whilst we also saw Emmalee (Bruce Lee) Keegan back from holidays and working hard to win the footy at ground level.
Captain Courageous Claire Hyett, despite battling fatigue, stamped her authority on many contests around the ground and continued to win footy wherever she pleased.
The coaches were pleased to see that our ball usage was much better this week and this enabled quick movement that Healesville had to work hard to counter. The players used the expansive width of the ground very effectively.
This brings Olinda to the end of a tough little period in the season playing the top two sides back-to-back-to-back. The side goes into the well earned break looking forward to resting some tired bodies and getting Chelsea (The Big Kohoona) Wilson and Amalia (Mars) Kostich back against Monbulk in a couple of week’s time.
Juniors
U13 Boys Whites v Woori Yallock
Olinda’s under 13 white team have been eyeing this game off all week. With a team mixed will under 11s, lower aged 13s and top aged 13s working together we knew we had a good chance for the side’s first win.
Having this side let us set up some field structures that helped develop the younger players with the guidance of the top aged 13s.
The boys were all pumped and ready to play, some strong centre work let us get first hands on the ball and win the clearances. With the speed these boys have they were able to spread and use the space around the ground to lead strong and present themselves for the ball carriers. The forward line was a big focus leading into space and using the ball well inside the 50 line to score. The mids and back line communicate all day to lock the ball in with a wall across the square.
With the side focused on development it is a huge credit to the younger players who have really stepped right up with their confidence over the last two to three weeks and taken control of the game. Great work by all the players to finish the game with a 20-point victory.
U13 Boys Reds v Woori Yallock
After a week off with the BYE, the Under 13 boys were a bit “slow off the mark” in their clash against Woori Yallock with Woori out muscling us in the first quarter.
To the credit of the boys, they responded well with some quality finishing from out forward line to apply some much needed scoreboard pressure.. Xavier Grimes hit the scoreboard with two goals and it was pleasing to see Edward Pattinson being rewarded with a goal.
The boys went on to secure an impressive victory in another great team performance..
Olinda 12.6.78 def Woori 3.2.20
U14 Girls v Mt Evelyn
Olinda’s girls came down to a sunny Mt Evelyn oval fired up and ready to go against the Mt Evelyn outfit. After a couple of quick Mt Evelyn goals, the first quarter saw us work the ball quickly forward, starting from pressure around the contest to score two goals; a stunning start to the game to go in to quarter time with scores level. The second quarter saw Mt Ev pile on the pressure and they skipped away. At half time, Olinda re-grouped with a focus on tackling pressure. Led by the intensity of some of mosquito fleet, the side tightened the game right up in the third and final quarter. Every week is seeing this mighty young team get better and better and this week we saw some of the quieter girls get stuck right in and apply pressure around the contest to get the ball out where they could move it effectively.
Olinda U15 Boys v Woori Yallock
Round eight saw Olinda’s boys playing away for the 6th time this season, against a very strong Woori Yallock.
The opening quarter saw Woori kick two goals straight to Olinda’s 1.2, but it was possibly Olinda’s best quarter for the year.
Olinda were mostly first to the ball but even when they weren’t, their tackling pressure was top notch and showing that at their very best they can match all comers.
Woori however, are a very good side and the second quarter saw them kick five goals to Olinda’s nil ,effectively taking control of the game.
Olinda’s boys worked hard defensively in the second half, keeping Woori to six goals but not able to score and the game getting away from them.
Rio Neish and Lenny Barry were excellent in their run with roles on two of Woori’s best while Mitch Hirst displayed courage and skill down back.Tom Ford(1 goal) was a standout with his physical contest,aerial dominance and hard running.
Final scores.
Woori 13.4.82 – Olinda 1.3.9.
Olinda U17 Boys vs Seville Round 8
Olinda travelled out to Seville under sunny skies and great conditions for quality football. In what was a competitive match the boys showed their class to come away with a good solid win. It was great to see the improvement in run and carry which is something the boys have been working hard at.
