Round 6, Umpire appreciation round, saw the Pumas 16s up against the combined Kedron/Mayne at Lowe Oval on Sunday. It was a big game for us, an opportunity to consolidate a spot in the top group of teams against a team that had had some good performances throughout the season. Unfortunately as is the case for a lot of teams they had difficulty, due to some injuries and their Under 14s game conflicting with ours, in getting a full list to play. They turned up with 16 and so it was always going to be difficult for them from the outset. The bigger ground and fresher legs of our 22 players would always prove an obstacle for a Redlegs win. Make no mistake though they still had some very good players and we certainly had to be on the ball if we were to get over them.
We needn’t look too far for inspiration as out on the field our Div 1 Under 14s were running over the top of Caboolture to record their first win of the year in the toughest U14 competition there is. Well done boys great to see, even without about 6 of their stronger players they came from behind at half time to get the 4 points. Special congratulations to Matty, Dan, Craig, Andrew and their team of helpers as that is great reward for all the hard work that you are doing with both of the U14 teams. Which reminds me, what a great weekend to be a Puma with all 3 grades, 18s, ressies and seniors all beating the highly fancied Wilston Grange the day before. The seniors even gave up a 6 goal start so that was a terrific effort, first time ever that they have beaten Wilston Grange!!. Unbeaten on top of the ladder, who could have envisaged that a year or 2 ago!! Damien and his group of 18s doing beautifully as well, well done there to all involved.
Back to our game though and we welcomed Jai for his first game as a Puma and Omar for his first of the real season after a wrist injury and after a good warm up the boys were ready to go. Umpire appreciation formalities finished and it was game on. A good start saw us kick the first couple before our opposition found some run and some space and kicked the next 2 to show that they could play if we let them. That was maybe a good outcome as the young Pumas knuckled back down and kicked the last 3 for the term to go in 20 points up at the first break. A great start and plenty of good energy at the break, the boys knew they were good enough to win this one if they continued to work hard.
The second quarter saw the game start to open up, 16 a side on a big ground can tend to do that, and we started to capitalise kicking 6 goals to one and taking a match winning lead into the half time break. The problem with 16 a side soon becomes what to do with all those players sitting on the bench, of which we had 6. It is almost impossible to make sure they are all getting an even opportunity and enough game time to keep everyone happy and involved. Thankfully with such a good lead we were able to rotate off all of our players during the course of the second half, even the skipper and his deputies, for a decent spell and this gave more boys an opportunity to impress and stake their claims for a more permanent spot. A great example of this was Kurtis who played the entire second half up forward and impressed everyone with his forward pressure and his hardness at the contest, certainly had his hand in 3 or 4 second half goals, food for thought there now and that’s a good thing, well done Kurtis.
The second half passed without any major dramas although Kedron/Mayne certainly kept at it, even after losing another couple of players to injury and really giving us a numbers advantage. I was a little disappointed with some aspects of our 3rd quarter but that appeared to get rectified in the last and we came away with a very important win. We shouldn’t get too carried away with it though as I am sure if we cross paths with these guys again they will be a lot tougher to play and we will need to be at our best to get over them.
So 2 weeks to go before the holiday break and really important over the next fortnight that we keep trying to raise the standards of how we play and not let who we play dictate how we go about it. Kenmore this week and they sit winless at the bottom of the ladder but if we let that fact dictate how we approach the game then we will be in for a rude shock. It’s important that we maintain good habits and that will hold us in good stead for the season ahead, of which there is still a lot left and a lot of work still to do.
Final scores Springwood 16-12-108 def Kedron/Mayne 6-2-38
Best players were many but Jared and Jack proved a strong combination of targets up forward all day, Matty, Lachy and Mitch controlled the midfield all day and Rhys at chb had a day out with his strong body work and long penetrating kicking. Adam back to full back after a couple of weeks injury lay off was superb and started many attacks from deep in our defensive zone and Ryan and Jayden continued their ruck partnership, always giving us a good look in at the stoppages. I could mention everyone as I think everyone played their role and contributed in some way towards the win so well done to all.
Goalkickers: Jack Leahy 6, Jared Denny 6, Mitch Osland 2, Jack Rogers 1, Caleb Kennedy 1.
Thanks again to everyone who helped out on the day in all the myriad of roles required to have the game played, you know who you are and well done to you all.
Remember boys pool and review session tonight so see you all then.
Cheers
Steve
Last Modified on 03/06/2013 11:27