Round 6, Saturday, 24th May
"A" Grade v Aberfeldie
"A" Grade threw away a great chance to consolidate their position on the ladder with a poor performance last Saturday. Aberfeldie came out pumped up and were more desperate, ran harder, tackled harder, backed each other up and wanted to win more. Our disposal, attitude, shepherding and talking was terrible. The players will have to have a different attitude this week when we tackle top of the ladder, Keilor. Aberfeldie 13-15, Strathmore 11-16. Best: Bugg.
"A" Reserves v Aberfeldie
Thursday night at selection of the teams, Peter billed this as a danger game, so I must admit I went along thinking we may get beaten, but of course hoping like hell we wouldn't. The boys knew they were not to be beaten and took the lead early delighting their small stalwart group of supporters. Great play from Mark (Gillie) Gillman, Anthony (Cat/Catta) Cattermole and Stephen (Blackie) Black set the Reserves up for a good win. Adrian (Nails) Harders was back in the Reserves after several weeks of injury and also played well, but I must admit at times the supports had difficulty distinguishing between Nail and Travis Wayman and I ell for sanity reasons these twins must be separated. Mrs Gowland must have been wondering what she had done to deserve such back luck, Nic had taken a nasty knock in the Under 18's and was at the John Fawkner receiving treatment, when big brother Scott decided he wanted some special treatment too and left the ground with what seemed a nasty injury. I am pleased to report neither were as serious as first thought and the boys were both home recovering on Saturday night. Hope you are both back on track soon, although I'm sure your Mum can certainly deserve a rest. Campbell (Wedge) Wenlock was having a bad day being tagged closely by the FB when he also had to leave the field injured. Bad luck Wedge hope you're also fit again as quickly as possible.
The rest of the team were having a field day, Anthony (Diffa) DiFlorio and Anthony (Annie) Palmer superior, ably supported by Chris (Butch) Bell who I believe always puts in a solid game week in week out, Barry (Blakey) Blake, Nails and Jason and Nic Mazzeo were also trying hard. Backline in my opinion always seems a hard place to play, however, I thought when they were tested they all stood up to be counted and even though one of them didn't get many kicks neither did his man. Well done Brendan. Mr Ozzie of course does have his favourites but tells me Damien is one of the best kick-outs from FB that he has seen as he always seems to find a target.
Brad Perry has found the answer for his white shorts and was proudly showing them off after the game, bad luck Brad they were quite dirty then, next time show us before the game. My best: Stephen Black, Mark Gillman, Anthony Cattermole, Anthony Palmer, Anthony DiFlorio, Damien Gillman. Congratulations to Nic Jones on 1st selection and in my opinion you were stiff not to be in the best. Also good to see John McKeown back after his injury at Airport West. Well done Irish. Next week we take on Keilor at home, let's have another great win and afterwards enjoy your dinner in the rooms while you watch the A's take on, and trash Keilor.
Sunday, 25th May
Under 14 A v West Coburg
Our Under 14 training is RAIN, HAIL or SHINE. Footy is an outdoor game played in winter. Boys must get used to handling wet weather conditions. I am very disappointed to see only a small number at training when it rains. If conditions become too adverse we will train indoors. There are many games and tactics which we can do with the emphasis on fun and developing footy knowledge. Most Under 14 teams train in the rain. Special thanks to Ken Pridham, the greatest coach I have witnessed, for taking the Under 14's while I was away in Perth. Our team was unlucky to lose by a goal with many things going against the team, but maybe we can have another go at them in the Finals if we can make it. I know we are a lot better than West Coburg if we click and can get our full team on the field. This week we hope to see Jurassic Park II. See Dick Teminghoff or myself for more details.
Under 12 B v North Fawkner
Strathmore ventured down to North Fawkner last weekend knowing they were in for a big game, but it wasn't to be. From the word go Strathmore out-classed their taller opposition with hard tackling, great skills and great team play led by Laurie Grail up forward and the running brigade of Tim Rankin, Jordan Young and Paul Italia, ripped North Fawkner apart. Des Jones was good in the ruck and Peter Focone was unstoppable at HB, Yakka was great as usual and Eddie Clark was at the bottom of every pack. All in all it was a great effort by the team team. Keep it up.
Under 12 C v Aberfeldie
When the umpire gave the Strathmore ruckman out, leg before wicket at the opening bounce it was destined to be a long and frustrating day for the Mores in their clash with Aberfeldie. And so it was. Tight defence and good play-on football allowed the Mores to make plenty of chances up front in the early going and as the game progressed good tackling and handball was creating space for the forwards to work in. The Supercoach had the moves coming thick and fast and with the Marathon Man moving like a gazelle the team was starting to get on terms with their opposition. The following division was giving plenty of drive around the ground as was the running backline. At the final break, although behind, the Mores were still in it with a show, and the Supercoach urged the boys to persist and contest every issue. The final stanza saw the ball see-saw from end to end with neither team able to gain a decisive break until a few baffling calls broke the game open. In the end the Mores fell a few points short but can hold their heads up with a never say die performance. The challenge is now to learn from this game and come back more determined and stronger than ever.
Under 10 A v West Coburg
A perfect autumn morning greeted the boys and it was obvious when we won the toss that our Captain, Tim Humphries was going to lead by example and "take no prisoners." The first half of the game was without doubt the highest standard our boys have attained this season and at the long break the scores were Strathmore 2-0 to West Coburg no score. The 3rd quarter saw the Mores by using great teamwork and continued backup-up slowly take the initiative and extend our lead to 22 point at the orange break. Despite James Watts being injured our boys, brilliantly led by Tim Humphries, were able to overrun West Coburg and record a strong win. Once again it was the strong teamwork and the following of Coach Carey's instructions that enabled our bous to win. Well done. Strathmore 6-1 to West Coburg 0-1.
Under 10 B v North Fawkner
A nice sunny morning, soft ground and a hungry opposition, saw the scene set for an entertaining game of football. Our undermanned team of boys took on a full strength North Fawkner team who gave us a very entertaining game of football. The Strathmore boys continually attacked the goals in the 1st quarter, however, we were unable to put the score on the board--firstly through inaccurate kicking, and secondly through some good defensive work by North Fawkner. The 2nd and 3rd quarters were very even with both sides enjoying plenty of use of the ball, however, scoring was difficult with both sides defences well on top. The scene was set for an exciting last quarter. North Fawkner goaled early from a 'mark' which was taken from a ball which travelled one metre! With 2 goals required to draw the game, our boys rose to the challenge and achieved this with seconds to spare. The outcome was probably a fair result because, as both coaches said, it would have been unfair for a loser to have eventuated from this game. All in all it was a great game with the highlight being that the boys refused to give in when faced with the possibility of defeat.
Under 10 C v Aberfeldie
With the sun once again shining in the early morn the Morelings made the trek over the tram tracks to take on Aberfeldie in a 'must win' contest. After the injury to Josh Walker during the week the boys were determined to keep his spirits up for a hopeful return during the Finals. The Big O had shaken off the effects of the Ball the night before to have the boys fired up and ready to play. The opening bounce saw the Mores boring in for the ball with Jarryd Rogers, Michael Tanner and Johnny Bassi showing the way and Daniel Slevison, Shane Gourlay and Chris Dansie tackling and working hard to keep the ball in the forward line. Good tight defence from John Patyrowski, George Kritharis and Matthew Horne wasn't allowing Aberfeldie any opportunities up front and with Andrew Horne, Chris Hughes and Michael Loverso taking advantage, the Mores had slipped away to a handy lead at 1/2 time. The 3rd quarter saw some of their best football of the year with great drive from Brad Busuttil, Scott Robinson and Alex Williams around the ground and James Saville, George Portou and Oliver Bruton running and tackling hard. Chris O'Haire, Drew Trevaskis and Nic Abbey were creating problems for Aberfeldie up forward and the Mores dug deep to finish the game off and keep the opposition scoreless. The Big O was pleased with the positional play of all the boys and their willingness to run and help their team-mates when the opposition had the ball. With the Phantom and the Marathon Man twitching every time someone mentioned the word "ball," and the Club song sung it was time for everyone to go home and have a cup of tea, a Bex and a good lie down.