“Outclassed” from ‘The Outer Eye’
Norwood slumped to its 4th defeat from 5 games in season 2016 on Saturday at Mullum Reserve, beaten comprehensively by a superior Balwyn outfit to the tune of 78 points. Looking to atone for last year’s Grand Final drubbing, our boys took the game right up to Balwyn until quarter time, but were thereafter handed a lesson in precision movement, run and spread as Balwyn careered away with the game. The loss leaves us in a precarious 10th place on the ladder, just percentage between us and the two teams at the foot of the ladder, Sth Croydon and Knox.
Winning the toss and kicking down the hill with the advantage of a healthy 2-3 goal breeze, our boys were up and about early, harassing Balwyn into mistakes while generally moving the ball quickly with run, zip and overlap. We dominated possession and field position, but could not make it count on the scoreboard. Our conversion let us down badly, by quarter time we had amassed 1.7 with misses from Matt Bate, Darin Stewart and Dean Poynton particularly hard to swallow after previous good work up the field. Fordy was our only goalkicker, whilst Balwyn, from limited surges forward, kicked 2.2 to hold the most slender of leads.
What was to follow for the next 2 and a half quarters was, to say the least, unpalatable, as Balwyn’s game clicked into gear and our own disintegrated. Our pressure around the ball disappeared as Balwyn began winning more of the contested ball, spreading quickly to all parts of the ground with their precise switching by foot, their leg speed seemingly far superior. By contrast, when we won a ball at half-back, we were unable to find any loose men or options for a switch, Balwyn’s zoning defence more than a match for our laboured transition. Our forced kicks down the line allowed for more stoppages, at which Balwyn’s victories were far more damaging than our own. Balwyn’s precise kicking and transition from defence to attack swept us aside as the game quickly became 1-way traffic. Goalless in the 2nd quarter, we trailled by 32 points at the main change. Any hopes of revival in the 3rd quarter after what the supporters hoped was a good old-fashioned “bake” from Denis at half time were immediately dashed by Balwyn, who, despite us having use of the breeze again, kicked the first 4 goals of the quarter to balloon the margin out to 60 points. A long goal from Bater drew muted applause late on, but was immediately answered by Balwyn, who indeed, had all the answers. At 3/4T the deficit was 62 points and with Balwyn having their tails up and kicking with the breeze, the Norwood faithful could feel a hammering coming. So it transpired as Balwyn kicked the first 3 of the last quarter, seriously threatening a 100+ point walloping as the margin blew out to 96 points. Mercifully, we were allowed the last 3 goals of the game to reduce the margin to 78 points, but this was still a serious pasting, we were outclassed in all aspects of the game.
We really had no four quarter contributors, most worrying was the continued very bad habit of us fading badly in the 2nd half of games. Is it fitness, confidence?? Perhaps both. Jordan Ceppi at least tried to take the game up to the opposition early, his pace and field kicking a standout in a team which appears to have lost its mojo. Matt Bate worked hard in a what appeared to be a high half-forward role, while Pearso Hilly and Matt Aver tried their best to plug the gaping holes which appeared in our backline after quarter time.
The only bright light on a dark day was the win of the development squad, who held on to win by 5 points. Disappointingly, Balwyn are not fielding an U19 side this year, again. This doesn’t help anyone, least of all our U19 team, who were denied a game.
Last Modified on 10/05/2016 08:55