It’s been 3 months since the Guns came up against the Bulleen Templestowe. They defeated us 79-8, and we never forgot it.
Today the Guns met eye-to-eye with Bulleen-Temp at Waverly Oval for an 11.40 match. We were ready and determined to come out harder than they’d ever expect. We were underestimated.
It was apparent within the first minute of the game that the Guns were in with a big chance.
Bulleen-Temp struggled through the DeLa defense, escaping with a point. The Guns, alert and quick to respond, delivered the ball to our scoring end with a beautiful mark by Podge (Paige Hinrichs) who, on a tight angle, matched the score, kicking a behind. Blackliners; Bruiser (Izy Catrice), Peddles (Luisa Marrollo) and JCole (Jess Coleman) had the set up down pat, pushing up and locking the football into the DeLa forward line. These three consistently read the ball, were able to rebound Bulleen-Temp’s attempts of getting out of trouble time and time again. Peddles, alone and out in space called for the switch, while JCole and Bruiser used their sheer strength to wrestle out of tackles, and boot the ball back into safety.
The heat was turned up when CB (Claire Brace) copped a nasty knock to the head, resulting in a concussion. CB’s return to the game from holiday was cut all too short, she is a reliable force in our defense and without her, we had to push back harder. Someone who never backs down is our very own Picasso (Jess Carson). She is an artist, the way she wrestles her way out of a tackle, the way she manages to be in the right place at the right time. Though she missed her opportunity to kick a goal, it was a tight angle, and we know she’ll get the next one. Just before the end of Q2, Bulleen-Temp took advantage of the DeLa backliners that had pushed up by sneaking in a goal on the run. We learned from this, and that was the first and last goal we let them get away with.
The third and fourth quarters were definitely our strongest, a testament to the endeavor of the guns who kept pushing right until the end. Bridie McConville, a new mum of 2 and reliable as ever, took numerous marks, and dominated in the ruck contests, a tough job done well. Beside her was Rachel Whitelaw who grabs the ball and RUNS. Needless to say, Bulleen found her irritating, perhaps because her speed and agility is unbeatable?
We had a special hand from Sally Fyfield today who came back guns blazing, she blasts out of the pack, she hangs back, reads the play and picks up the crumbs, assisting the DeLa backline. She is so valuable to us and we love her.
Another great help was Robbo (Emma Robinson), when she had possession it was a sigh of relief. I backed her every single time to win the football, regardless of how many oppo’s were around. She did a great job of neatly delivering the football to our forward line. Thanks Robbo!
Finally, a goal! I watched the football come into danger in the backline, and in the same breath, witnessed a chain of kicks and marks that went the whole way down the field until it reached Carso (Emma Carson) who, while being tackled, managed to get boot to ball, scoring 6 for the Guns. The celebration was sweet and it was a true team effort to link up, so seamlessly.
It felt like a win today, we showed Bulleen Templestowe just how far we have come as a team. The Guns have gotten bigger and better since round 2 and we all felt it.
Bulleen Tempelstowe 1.5.11
DeLa Salle 1.3.9
