Old Carey vs De La Salle

Match Report

A disappointing day for the Guns both on field and off field, as a 6 minute blitz at the end of 2nd quarter by Old Carey saw them run out 18 point victors.

A serious knee injury to key defender, and Guns stalwart, Michelle Bourke in the first minutes of the game put a significant dampener on proceedings early, and Old Carey were able to capitalise on this with 2 quick goals. We were able to re-set, thanks to Rosie Sheppard taking on the role of full back on a dominant forward, Scarlett Hilliard marking everything that came her way, and the midfield starting to get on top. Thanks to a goal of the year candidate from Sass Walker and another from Jess Carson, we were able to pull the scores back to level at quarter time, both teams going in to the first break on 2.2.14.

Old Carey kicked the first goal of the 2nd quarter, but once again we were able to fight back thanks to the work of Izy Catrice in the ruck, ably supported by Jemima Nash and Mollie Osborn. Both Jemima and Mollie had never played in the ruck before, but with only 1 recognised ruck in the side, they both provided excellent contests when called upon to give Izy a chop out. The middle third of the 2nd quarter was a stalemate, with Paige Hinrichs joining in the backline aerial dominance, but we were unable to hit the scoreboard despite multiple Inside 50s. Claire Brace was moved on to Old Carey’s major playmaker and did an excellent job in shutting them out of the game.

However the final 7 minutes of the 2nd quarter proved crucial in the final result. Old Carey were able to take advantage of three opportunities late in the quarter to kick goals, including one right on the half time siren which saw them take a 26 point lead in to the main break.

A few structural changes were made for the 2nd half, helping  to stop Old Carey being able to get the ball inside their forward 50 as easily as they had late in the 2nd quarter. Whilst the Guns started to get on top around the ground, Old Carey were able to slow the game down and create repeat stoppages, impacting our ability to get good chains of possession into the forward line. Estelle Ashkar continued to provide options up forward, our midfield battled through increasingly wet conditions, and Charlotte Jansson provided the highlight of the 2nd half with her first ever goal, but ultimately we were unable to reel in the half time deficit.

Pleasingly, we were able to keep Old Carey scoreless in the 2nd half. But the damage had been done late in the 2nd quarter.

A lot of lessons were learnt by the coaching team, and we look forward to taking on Old Carey again in the final round of the home and away season.

GOALS: Sass Walker, Jess Carson, Charlotte Jansson
BEST: Scarlett Hilliard, Poppy Palma, Claire Brace, Jemima Nash, Rosie Sheppard, Paige Hinrichs