Match Reports - 23-24 June 2012

Division 3

Camberwell 30 def Chadstone 11 

Upon arrival to the Chadstone grounds, we found the umpires and coaches huddled around a cement man hole located within 10m of one of the goals. A quick dash to Camberwell for alternate grounds was ruled out but the goal was moved away from danger. However this resulted in skewed grounds, which while not a game decider, did make the life of the defensive line harder.

We began slowly, which seems to be the pattern lately and the first quarter finished 4-2 in our favour. We effectively out the game away in the 2nd with an 11-3 quarter. Our defenders stopped chasing sticks and our attack, which was boosted by Adam Holmes (on load from Div 2) and his 9 goals, started finding the gaps.

By the end of 3 periods we were 24-7 up and the 4th quarter was just a formality. Zappa led scorers with 10, Nick had a cool hat trick and Tallon, while only scoring 4, dominated the face and dished out 7 assists.

Final score, 30-11 Camberwell.

Under 16 boys

Camberwell 30 def MHS Gold 0

We began the 2nd half of the fixture against MHS Gold. Our opponents are still only new to the game so we stressed to the boys that we are now entering the pointy end of the season and we have our sights on a finals berth. We encouraged them to play hard and win big but to do so as a team not a collection of individuals. To provide some carrot I offered a prize to whoever has the highest assist tally.

The game was largely uneventful and we dominated MHS Gold thoroughly, as is evident from the 30-0 victory. As it turned out, the boys were paying attention. While the opposition did not test us, so it is hard to say how much they took to heart but they passed the ball well. They played with heads up, looking for their teammates for a pass and out of 30 goals scored, 23 were assisted, just shy of 80%, which is a phenomenal effort. Even Ben in goal got one, from a long release. Winner of the prize was Jimmy who notched 7 assists.

Camberwell 13 def. Williamstown 11

Playing the second team on the ladder we anticipated a tough match, however this week’s fixture against Williamstown was the antithesis of the previous weeks match.

The opening minutes of the game were dominated by Lincoln (#7) from face off to goal, but with a new stick in hand his shooting was too high and four opportunities went begging.

Our defense was loose and Willy got a jump on us, by the end of the first term they had six goals to our two.

Our team lifted in the second quarter and matched their opponent’s goal for goal. Lachlan (#40) scored two times from close range and we could have even out scored them if not for an offside infringement.

Williamstown turned it up a notch towards the end of the quarter, but their increased physicality was the catalyst to put some fire in the bellies of our team. We were down five goals to nine at the bell but playing better ball.

After the long break The Chiefs really gelled as a team, with some strong work from Lincoln to take the ball from face off, drawing in the defense, looking up and passing to Colin (#19) who scored twice within ninety seconds.

Harrison (#21) digging in to the pack for ground balls and getting involved was good to see. Ben (#13) has developed his game skills and has started to become increasingly physical with good body checks and explosive runs down the wing.

Andreas (#15) moved around the back of the cage, always there to clean up after a shot on goal or to rotate the ball when The Chiefs were probing the defenses. As goalie, Jerome (#34) kept Willy scoreless saving three times for a third term shut out and kept up the good work into the final session.

From four goals down to one goal up, the game was on a knife-edge heading into the last fifteen minutes. Ben (#9) stepped up to repulse the Williamstown attack running the ball out wide then down the wing to ease the pressure. Tommy (#17) fought hard for ground balls, bursting away from defense to drive the ball deep into our half.

With the score line reading Camberwell 12 Williamstown 11, a time out called and the last two and a half minutes saw some intense play from both teams. In the end, Camberwell scored once more in the dying moments to secure a memorable victory.

The boys will gain a lot of confidence from this game not just because we won, but by the way it was achieved. We now need to carry the lessons learned into the second half of the season.