FITZROY 3 vs St Damians

MATCH REPORT

Another game at Ramsden Street, another gale from the north. This week Fitzroy played St Damians in what has become the usual blustery conditions.

St Damians had first use of the breeze and did not take long to demonstrate how much of an advantage it could be. One of their players grabbed the ball near the centre, ran towards goal and hoisted the ball high into the air. The wind did the rest, carrying the ball through the goals. Despite the wind the Roys managed to score two majors in the first term. Both were the result of players running, handballing and passing out of defence along the right boundary line. Connor received on the forward flank and kicked to the ten yard square where James handballed to Isaac who slotted it through. James got the second goal after a pass from Michael. The backs did an excellent job in extremely difficult conditions by restricting St Damians to just one more goal for the quarter. At the first break the teams were 13 points apiece.

So far so good, now the Roys had to make the most of the wind. Early on in the second quarter they peppered the goals, only to score a few behinds, posters and rushed. The breeze was proving a difficult ally. It took until around the seven minute mark before Michael crumbed a long kick to the square to get a major. Two more goals, one from Aleksander and the other from Mick in the shadows of half time, completed the quarter. St Damians did not score at all, a testament to the rock solid mid field and defence. At the long break Fitzroy led by 35 to 15.

Fitzroy took the field after half time to face the wind again. The third quarter proved almost a copy of the first. St Damians banged the ball forward whenever it could, scoring two behinds then a goal. The only way home for Fitzroy was along the boundary by hard running and great team work. Wherever a Fitzroy player went, one or two others were sure to follow, shepherding or running past ready to receive a handball. Adam, Darcy H. and every other player ran and tackled like there was no tomorrow.

Fitzroy went forward metre by metre, but it took just one kick from a St Damians defender to drive the ball back over the centre line. One time Hudson ran from half forward to half back to stop an attack. The Roys hard work was rewarded by a goal to Isaac, our third into the wind for the day. At three quarter time St Damians had managed to close the gap by three points.

Still, with percentage the only thing keeping Fitzroy out of fourth spot on the ladder, the team had to put in a big final quarter effort. This they did. First a goal to Himi, then one to Hudson and another to Connor. As the score mounted St Damians became more and more physical. The Fitzroy team responded as all good teams do – on the scoreboard. Five goals in all for the quarter including three in the space of 90 seconds. When the final siren blew Fitzroy had won by 77 points to 23, enough to put it into fourth spot on the ladder with three games to play.

Due to the conditions it wasn’t a pretty game. The ball was blown this way and that making it difficult to find targets or to take marks. After 12 games together the Fitzroy team has learnt the benefits of always supporting their team mates. In this way the team moved the ball into the wind and made the most of any opportunities.

Final score: