Friday night football came to Bargo Sportsground as Campbelltown Monarch Blues Reserve grade took on Wollondilly Knights. The Blues were quietly confident going into the match after coming off an impressive win over Manly whilst the Knights were looking for two home wins on the trot after toppling North Shore, the competition front runners. In front of a rugged up local crowd the Blues were going to be up against it.
The opening term saw the Blues take the bull by the horns as they opened with the first two majors of the match. J Hickey was once a again a notable target up front who could not be stopped early and with the Shock inclusion of B. Yakamov the blues forward line was in full flight as they out marked the Knights shaky defence. Goals to Yakamov, Yzo, Charlie and Hickey showed The Blues were out to play and by the time Wollondilly realised they were in a contest the blues had done damage to the score board. The only thing which kept Wollondilly in the contest were several dubious decisions which saw Wollondilly receive 2 x 50 meter penalties which left Blues coach ropable on the sidelines. Never the less the blues had come out of the blocks and were firing on all cylinders to lead 4.3.27 to Knights 2.2.14.
The second term saw the two teams get physical. In a bruising quarter both sides where hitting hard although the Blues bench at one stage resembled a boxing casualty ward, players were coming off with Blood Noises, Sore Jaws as Wollondilly resorted to somewhat of a bodyline tactic as they went in for the undetected cheap shots. This done nothing but steel the blues too continue playing football and football they played. Yakamov once again found himself kicking his second major for the game as the blues kept the home side to 1 goal for the second term leaving the half time score reading, Blues 5.6. 36 to the Knights 3.4.22.
Conditions for AFL football quickly deteriorated as fog and due set in. The ball now resembled a bar of soap and the ground was covered by an eerie layer of fog making it hard for the spectators and players alike. In the conditions the Blues had the better of play Experience players C. Fretwell along with J Wright helped steady the Blues ship as J Fretwell & Billy once again sharing Ruck duties helped the midfield gain the upper hand. A sneaky off the ground goal to Bods, had the Blues up and about, and with Hickey grabbing his second the blues were edging away from the knights. C Green in his second game for the year found his way through the sticks to give the Blues 3 goals for the Quarter. The knights only managed 2 majors for the quarter leaving the scores at 3 quarter time Blues 8.8.56 to Knights 5.7.37.
The final quarter the blues knew they just had to control possession and the victory would be assured. The knights having been outplayed for most of the game had to give something and a ground assault began. With the local crowd baying for Blues blood the Knights piled on the pressure as they kicked two early goals to leave the blues reeling. The knights looked to be pushing for victory albeit for frantic defending by the blues which pressured the knights into wayward kicking which saw the knights kick 5 behinds. With the game in the balance the Blues found a way to goal C Green getting a classic Green goal once again giving the blues a handy 11 point lead with only minutes remaining. But this was not all she wrote; A Blunder saw the ball restarted without the blues midfielders being ready and Wollondilly found themselves with a goal from the restart. The game went down to the wire with the blues defence holding as the knights pressed for the winning goal. The first Campbelltown Wollondilly Derby had not finished writing its script as the most controversial moment was yet to take place. A free kick was awarded to Wollondilly 40 meters from goal, on a 45degree angle, on the siren. Wollondilly had just been gifted a get out of gaol free card. Would this be the greatest escape since Houdini? Or would the Blues be rewarded with a major upset and their third win on the trot. If the AFL gods exist, they surely wouldn’t allow such an injustice and with all the weight on his shoulders D. Hockey lined up the shot and kicked true, only to see the ball sail wide and through the behind posts setting off wild Celebrations as the Blues staged the bravest win of their season.
Campbelltown Blues Coach was heard praising his back six defenders as they played unchanged for the final two quarters. It was an epic team performance. All 22 players gave it their all and it is hard to single out any players. Once again the team song was sung with raw passion as the blues recorded win number three for the season.
For the record Campbelltown 9.11.65 defeated Wollondilly 8.12.60
Among Campbelltown’s best were J. Duncombe, J. Quick-Nadin, J. Harris, L. Bradley, L. Deering, and B. Smith with goals to B. Yakimov 2, C. Green 2, J. Hickey 2, N. Tyerman , L. Bodeker , and C. Ford
Next Saturday Campbelltown Reserves take on UNSW at Village Green @2pm.
Last Modified on 03/06/2014 18:34