Kingscliff - 4 . 3 . 27
Surfers Paradise - 3 . 6 . 24
It was back to Surfers Paradise for the Dolphins U13s as we entered Division 3 on a sunny afternoon that was perfect for footy. We spoke to the boys about being switched on from the first bounce, and they listened and came out strong with a dominant first quarter but couldn’t get on the scoreboard, with the Demons last line of defence holding out and stopping us from scoring.
The Demons managed to get on top in the second and third quarters as they found space and broke down our defence who were often caught out of position. In the 3rd quarter the Dolphins were looking a bit cooked in the warm weather and the Demons came on strong, but to the boys credit they hung in there and kept the scores close. We went into the final break 9 points down and the boys were starting to look a bit tired.
With a few position changes, we asked the boys to stay positive and really dig deep for the final quarter. The response from the whole team was huge. They all lifted and with a combination of skills, pressure and desperation, they managed to continually attack and get us in the lead by a few points with 2 minutes left on the clock.
The final 90 seconds were very tense as the Demons broke away with a player running into open space, having a couple of bounces, and then taking a shot on goal. From the coaches (and parents) view at the other end of the ground it looked like it was on target, and it was a huge relief when the ball went through for a behind. Then on our kick out the Demons managed to keep the ball in their forward line and drew a free kick just out of scoring range. Our boys managed to defend the next pass and shut the play down, and they desperately got the ball out to safety just as the siren went. It’s an amazing feeling to win a close game and it was great to see the excitement on the boys (and coaches and parents) faces.
Cooper was our player of the week. He continually found the ball and applied pressure when it mattered. He’s been putting in a lot of effort at training and is very keen to learn and improve, and the results are showing on the field.
Milan was dominant for the entire game (even receiving a tag in the last quarter) and worked very hard for some crucial scoring shots when the game was on the line. Daniel and Andre played brilliantly in the midfield and were relentless with their running and attack on the ball for 4 quarters. Both Tommies had a huge impact in the final quarter - Tommy H with his attack on goal, and Tommy B with some desperate bodywork and pressure to keep the ball in our forward line. And Billy was a rock in defence with some great tackling and shutting down a lot of the Demons play in our backline. Every boy played well, the list could go on.
This weekend we are off to Byron Bay to take on the Magpies which will be a huge test for our team. See you all there, go Dolphins!
