Opposition: Williamstown
Today was one of those games that would be great to watch again on a replay. We could then appreciate DeLa’s skill at winning contests all over the ground, we could applaud some slick team ball movement, and be dazzled by some individual brilliance. Unfortunately today’s game was not recorded by camera, so a written match report will have to do…..
The Golds last encounter with Williamstown was a somewhat one sided affair which saw them win comfortably, but a number of factors have changed since then. Today we had healthy player numbers (a shout out to Dean, Bryce, Jude, Angus and Shaun who came in from the Colts), and we have been in good form over the last few weeks. We headed over the West Gate to Willy’s home
ground and were greeted with a smooth deck in slippery and wet conditions.
Theme of the day was to play with confidence and perform your role. The game started well for us by winning a number of clearances and competing well at contests. Our backline was terrific when Willy surged forward using a slight breeze, we limited them to only 2 goals. Pleasingly we were able to match them on the score board, all even at the quarter break.
Second quarter started with a bang – Sheedy’s skillful hit up to Billy resulted in a lovely goal. Ando and Kami were great across half back and our wingers used the ball with some great link up play with our mids. Great goals from Jude, Brett and McClean now had us 4 goals up at the main break. DeLa kept their work rate up (did I mention we had a bench this week), and started the 3 rd quarter strong. Mids and backline were super impressive with their ability to win contests, but also with their composure and skill in using the ball. Boscacci was working high off his opponent. In one magical bit of play, he won the ball across half back near the boundary line, he then used 5 different team mates by hand in succession who all honoured his hard running. In getting the ball back near the boundary line about 40m out, he then slotted a brilliant goal. Many highlights in this quarter, but Reedy’s smoother, gather, spin with ball behind the back, then hitting a target by foot (all without the ball hitting the ground) was very special. And McLean’s hard ball gets were also very inspirational.
Willy showed some fight in the last with a couple of quick goals, but a goal on the run by Nids, and a clever goal from Hopkins from an impossible angle ensured that DeLa got the points. The Golds have shown terrific endeavour and effort all season, so it’s incredibly pleasing to see them get rewarded with a win over quality opposition.
Score: DeLa 11-6-72 def Williamstown 5-11-41
Goal Kickers: Boscacci 5, McLean 2, Duncan 1, Dannanoui 1, McNidder 1, Hopkins 1
