Big thanks to Ben at www.thissaltylife.com.au for taking some great photos of the teams in action.
Sunday’s game was at home against Murwillumbah Vulcans who we beat only recently by 150 points.
From the outset we were never going to get close to that margin this time around as the opposition showed some great competitive spirit and they were kicking with a very strong breeze to the southern end of the ground in the first quarter. We were without Noah, Max, Preston, Jesse and Harvey - so, it was always going to be closer than the last time we played them. The boys were playing for Zac today who was playing his 50th game for the Dolphins – a great effort by this talented youngster and congratulations go out to you !
Joey Black kicked the first goal for us yet again – that’s the 3rd week in a row he has got us on the scoreboard first up. Despite the strong breeze our backline held up extremely well and held them to one goal in the first quarter and only a total of two for the game. In these match reports we always highlight the goalkickers and the midfielders, but it should be said that the backs always do a great job for us every week – well done to the likes of Levi F, Ty, Riley, Joe D, Nicholas, Sunny and Billy.
It was even at the first break , but we kicked away in the second quarter with the wind to open up a handy lead at half time. We outscored them in the third quarter despite kicking against the wind and brought it home with a great last quarter piling on the scores to win by 10 goals in the end. Luca was kept extremely busy up forward, not getting any majors but ended up with 7 points in total. Milan was getting touches all around the ground and was great when he went into the ruck. Taj was hard at the ball all day, tackling fiercely and getting his fair share of the ball and a number of shots at goal. Nicholas, Oliver, Sunny and Tommy didn’t stop trying all day and were all contributors.
Zac who was exhausted at the end of the day, knocked up getting touches all around the ground and kicking two goals, clearly deserved his best on ground award on this big occasion and Levi Baker picked up the other award showing a bit of dash breaking the lines, kicking two goals also and rucking well in the absence of Noah. Joey B kicked three goals and single goals to Taj, Oliver, Tommy and Joe D. In the end we scored 13 points, so if we had been more accurate (the wind did play havoc though) in kicking for goal we would have trounced them by even more.
Thanks go out to Ziggy and Mason who made themselves available for our game due to all of our “outs” - this gave our boys a chance to rest on the bench when needed. Also, a special shout out to Dave Berger – thanks for umpiring the game at the last moment – great job by you on the day. Tireless work by Earl also in goal umpiring – we must start a roster for some of the dad’s that are willing to do this easy task each week so that it frees up Earl to concentrate on other things. Great work Earl 👍
Tough day for our 10’s white on the weekend. However out of it comes some great learnings for our players. 10’s Whites have been fantastic this year and have been lucky enough to be on the winning side of things all year and now it’s our turn to experience the other side of the coin.
We have no doubt they will do this with a great attitude and look forward to a great training session on Thursday night. The tigers were just a bit to classy in their endeavour on Sunday and it caught the Dolphins off guard.
Against the adversity we saw our players pick themselves up and start to get back to their best in the 2nd half and especially in the last quarter where we played our best footy. We saw a number of individuals overcome some overwhelming emotion and apply themselves to the contest, tackling and defensive side of the game.
Jack Van Velzen who is always potent in attack was named our best player for a 3 tackle effort in the defensive half of the ground Kelley Brockman was named our most improved. Kelley was unbelievable in the way he approached the contest whilst being outsized
Archie’s contest work, Callum’s contested mark, Hedley’s ground ball, Lukas goal, Lenny's mark, Dash’s run on the wing, Parker’s contest work, Ziggy's run and carry, Lucians consistent impact on the game, Javier’s run and carry & Kalan's improvement & Joeys leadership every week are all good signs of a big bounce back this weekend from the 10’s whites.
Train well - Play well
Have fun!
Solly 🤛
What an amazing game the U/8 Blues had against the Murwillumbah Vulcans. Within the first minute, Lily Young won the ball in the midfield getting the ball to Mason Sinclair who marked it, to kick the first goal. The team were all pumped from such a great start and every single player was set to have the best game they have played. The talented team of girls Lily Y, Lily H, Indi, Georgia, Neve & Georgia were all over the ball all game with Lily H scoring her first goal.
Lily Young dominated in the second half scoring 6 goals and letting no-one get near her, winning the ball every chance she got. Alfie Cameron then got his chance in the forward line & shone kicking a few snags and showing lots of skill. Indigo, Levi & James took some great marks, each winning the ball lots with Tully getting his hands on the ball & doing some great hand-balling to other teammates, while Hudson is showing lots of improvement, especially in the midfield. What an enjoyable win, with congratulations to Mason Sinclair for winning best on ground and Neve Laughton for getting the encouragement award.
*Huge thanks to Simon Aalders who stepped into the Head Coaching role doing an amazing job while Jess was interstate. Big thanks also to Will Cameron for all his help assisting Simon
Another stunning day for footy and the mighty Under 10 Reds faced off against the Tweed Coast Tigers.
The boys were a little sluggish this weekend and went into the major break with only one goal having been kicked for the match. The boys wolfed down some oranges and really played some solid footy in the second half and kicked some great goals. We're seeing a huge improvement in the contested football and our game plan is starting to sink in. In particular we are super impressed with the usage of handballs and sharing the ball around.
Our Player of the Week award went to Kai. Kai applied lots of pressure throughout the game. His highlight reel involved a big mark in the forward pocket and he calmly went back and slotted a great goal. Go Kai!
Our encouragement award went to Archie. He always trains so hard and just loves the contest. We love watching Archie charge around and really wanted to make sure the boys are aware of the training standards he is setting. Keep up the great effort Archie!
Next week we travel down to Byron. We're expecting a tough match but I'm sure the boys will be ready.
Ben, Jono and Mick
