Round 9 saw us travel to Fitzroy in what was a classic 8 point game. Both teams 3 wins and 4 losses coming in, we knew we were in for a hotly contested game.
Blustery conditions ensured a scrappy first half. Both teams really struggled to move the ball with any real efficiency and struggled to get any uncontested possessions. We were able to wrestle momentum for large portions of the first half but failed to capitalise on our chances in front of goal. Both teams failed to convert making for an extremely low scoring first half. We took a 3.6 to 1.6 lead into the major break.
At halftime our players were challenge to embrace the grind and enjoy the contested battle. We knew it wasn’t going to be pretty football, but we felt we had control of the game.
Unfortunately our third quarter was poor. A drop in intensity and some poor efforts on defensive transition saw Fitzroy wrestle back momentum and get the game on their terms. We managed to scrap 1 goal for the quarter but conceded 3 goals, which resulted in us trailing by 2 points at 3/4 time. It could have been worse, but our back 6 held up well under severe pressure.
The final quarter was again, a heavily contested, defensive game. Plenty of numbers around the ball, and the blustery conditions ensured the ball was trapped on the outer side of the ground. Lots of stoppages made it difficult to get any of our flow into the game. Unfortunately for us, we were unable to take our chances and in the end, the Fitzroy mids got on top and managed to scrap 2 goals to our 1, which saw us go down by 7 points.
In the end, a very disappointing and frustrating loss. Again we were in a position to win, but some lapses in concentration proved costly. We must learn from this. We look to regroup, refresh and set ourselves for Old Carey away after the Queens Birthday bye weekend.
