Opposition: St Kevins
At this point of the season, where most teams have played each other once, we sometimes assume that previous results will provide an insight into the outcomes of re-matches. And then there’s the unknown factors which can have an impact on these outcomes – I guess that’s the beauty and intrigue of team sport, and in particular Aussie Rules.
The Colts headed over to Righetti Oval to take on St Kevins. Conditions were windy, in what could only be described has horrendous. But, as we know, both teams had to play in the same conditions, and it was simply going to come down to who could handle the conditions better.
DeLa commenced the game by kicking with the wind. Most of the quarter was played in our half with an extremely clogged forward line with seven shots on goal. Only one major as a result, the wind played havoc with our kicking, and quite possibly our heads.
Second quarter, DeLa defended very well with our backline working super hard. We won some critical clearances and were able to work the ball by hand and by foot into our forward line. A great snap from Sheeds was a much needed goal.
Another chance to hurt the opposition on the scoreboard by kicking with the wind now presented itself in the third quarter. The wind was howling to the southern pocket, and unfortunately most of our attacking was on the wrong side of the ground which resulted in a huge amount of sideline throw ins – simple reason, poor decision making by our boys, and good defending by St Kevins. Another area where our team let themselves down was lack of clean hands, both at ground level and in the air. Mainly a result of good pressure from the opposition.
Heading into the final quarter 9 points up against a howling breeze, and only 17 players on the field was a big ask, but achievable. We had our chances again up forward, but our kicking and ball handling let us down. St Kevins fought hard, and even though our backline were again solid in defence, they were able to sail a couple of goals through.
Positives from this game is that the boys fought hard and demonstrated good effort, particularly with only 17 players on the field. Some lessons of composure and decision making could be learnt from today’s game, which may be a timely reminder for this group heading into finals.
Score: St Kevins 5-8-38 def DeLa 4-9-33
Goal Kickers: Lyngberg 2, Stephenson 1, Sheedy 1,
Best Players: Lyngberg, Martin, Dannaoui, Zitzen, Prezens, O’Meara
