Kingscliff - 1 . 3 . 9
Ballina - 8 . 8 . 56
A glorious sunny and warm day for football, but with 7 players out the Dolphins scrambled to get a team together, and with some valuable help from the mighty U11 Dolphins we were able to get the required numbers. The Bombers also had a few outs but this didn’t phase them as they proceeded to hit the scoreboard regularly and dominate for most of the first half.
Ballina had a bit of a size advantage over the Dolphins, but the main damage was done with their structure and how their players could find space and quickly move the ball into their forward line. Once the Bombers broke away, they were doing some great passing and running and left our boys chasing behind.
The second half showed a much better effort from our boys, and they matched the Bombers’ intensity but still struggled to get on the scoreboard. It was great to see however, and shows promising signs for when we have a full team.
At training we will continue to work on defence and covering players after free kicks and turnovers, as this was a part of our game that was lacking. Fitness was also a bit of an issue as the Bombers appeared to run rings around our boys sometimes. So there’ll be more fitness work during training and we’ll push the boys more with their running.
Bohdi was our player of the week. He took some very strong marks, provided some great tackling and pressure, and was constantly winning the ball and moving us forward.
Mason also had a great game. One play in particular was very impressive and worth noting here: In a one on one ground ball contest with Ballina’s largest player, Mason used his body strength to bump and wrestle and prevented his opponent from getting the ball, which was no mean feat as he was a very big lad. And then when another Bomber came through to pick up the ball, Mason swooped onto him with a great tackle and was rewarded with a free kick for holding the ball. It was an amazing piece of play and he should be proud of himself.
Milan led the team well, cool and calm under pressure he was consistently winning the ball and getting it moving. Cooper also fought hard and got a lot of touches. And just like last week, Boyd and Billy both did well under heavy fire in the back line. And Otis kicked a nice goal under pressure to get us on the board.
A big thanks goes out to the U11 players Archie K and Orlando. They both stepped up in their first game against the bigger boys and looked comfortable out there. Unfortunately Orlando got ‘Coopered’ with some friendly fire but he’s a tough boy and took it like a champ.
And a big thanks also to the parents that helped out, as always it’s a huge help amongst the chaos of our ‘away’ home games.
See you on Sunday as we take on the Southport Sharks up the coast. Go Dolphins!
