Kingscliff - 2 . 7 . 19
Tweed Coolangatta - 3 . 4 . 22
A nice warm evening welcomed us at Coolangatta for our Friday night game under lights. There was a good crowd with the Kingy Dolphins U9 girls playing before us, and then a Cooly seniors game afterwards, which made for a good buzz around the ground.
The Dolphins U9 girls gave the boys a great cheer and a guard of honour as the team ran onto the field, and we also had Kingscliff Dolphins club president Fletcher Davies in the coaches box and watching the game, and it was great to see the support from the club.
After several weeks of getting smashed all over the field, we were finally playing an evenly matched opponent and the boys were pumped to get in and have a crack. The focus in the pre-game chat was for the boys to step up after the last few rounds, and to play the game on their terms and to have some fun moving the ball around and getting on the scoreboard.
The best thing from the coaches perspective was that every player put in and played to the best of their abilities. Even the boys who don’t usually see as much of the ball were getting stuck in and making an impact. It was a very even match for all four quarters and both teams were playing some great footy. Hard tackles, long runs, fast ball movement, big marks - it was all on display and the coaches and parents had a great time watching.
In the end we went down by 3 points and it was our own inaccuracy that let us down, but that is what happens in close games sometimes. Some other small things come with experience such as shutting down play in our backline to stop the opposition from scoring in the dying seconds of a quarter. And quite often we broke down entering our half forward line with the Blues having a few good defenders who were intercepting and hoovering up the ball. But there were so many positives and we let the boys know that even though it was a loss, we were very very happy with how they played and it was a great night of footy by the U13 Dolphins.
Andre was our player of the week. He was seemingly everywhere, constantly getting the ball and using his speed to break open the play.
Bohdi also had a very strong game, and along with Milan, dominated across the half back line and midfield. These 2 boys have been the backbone of the team for the entire season and their constant hard work and skills are impressive to watch.
Birthday boy Cooper had a good game playing some hard footy and snapping a great goal. Zac also was impressive with his reading of the play and strong attack on the ball. And it was great to have Ollie back in the team with his mix of speed and strength after several weeks off.
Thanks also to Megan for bringing a birthday cake for Cooper so that the boys could replenish sugar levels and celebrate after the game.
This Sunday we play Pacific Pines who are another evenly matched team, so the boys will get another chance to test their skills and get on the scoreboard. Go Dolphins!
