After two heartbreaking losses in a row, the Colts boys were absolutely pumped and ready to get a win in a big prime-time 2pm match against struggling MHSOB. MHSOB had been smashed by injuries and were unable to field a full side. In the name of sportsmanship and fairness De La decided to also not field a full team.
From the first bounce, De La really started to get control in all areas of the ground, allowing De La to build a significant early lead. Vice-Captains Tom Welling, Angus Sheedy and Conor O’Meara led brilliantly from the front, dominating in the air and on the ground. Allowing De La to go into quarter time leading by 5 goals.
The second quarter continued in much the same fashion, with De La looking comfortable and asserting itself on every contest. Ethan Hele used his athleticism to stand out across the midfield and half forward line. Although De La were cruising towards victory, they began getting a touch ill-disciplined, especially defensively, allowing MHSOB to score a couple of cheap late goals. This caused coach Declan, to challenge them to keep their standards and professionalism high and prevent them from scoring at all in the third quarter.
The Colts not only stepped up to the challenge but surpassed it, leaving MHSOB scoreless for the entire second half. Joel Tyquin dominated all day, his workrate was impeccable, leading left and right and all over the place. Tyquin kicked the biggest bag in recent De La memory, ending the day with a massive 9 goals. Overall, it was a big win for De La and can hopefully be the catalyst to a long winning streak and potential finals campaign. With the win, De La moved from 8th on the ladder all the way to 4th. The match was not without disappointment though, key players Andrew Kim and Bryce Loughnan both went down with serious dislocation injuries, hopefully we can see these important players return come the pointy end of the season.
Next game is at Waverley Park at 9:20 against arch rivals St. Kevins.
