Match Report

Round Two

Fitzroy U-14 Blue 12.6 (78) d Kew Rovers (41)
at Brunswick St, April 18, 2010

Playing at home when the pies are hot and the sun is out is the perfect start to a game of footy. And the Roys were set up and ready for the contest against Kew Rovers. Anyone who was there will tell you the boys had their intensity gauge turned to high, and the result was a fast, hard opening quarter that helped set up the Roys' pattern of dominance. Last week was a dim memory - it could have been last season. The ball started careering in to the Roys' forward line: first Connor snapped a goal under pressure, and then Josh followed up with another. Kew pulled one back but the ball went back down the other end and Jaquan was on the end of it in the goal square for Fitzroy's third of the quarter. Alex Hammo was back in the Roys' colours and was picking up some good possessions on the forward line but it was beautiful handball from Luke that found Charlie, who converted for the Roys' fourth to give the boys a good lead at the first change.

There was an air of confidence about the footy business this week and Nix took a towering mark in defence and fed it out expertly. Kieran was in good touch in the mid-field and had a purple patch in the second quarter. Wiz resumed his goal-kicking form from last week and snapped a major over his right hand side, while Diggers laid his trademark bone-crunching tackles. There were winners on every line and Will was making important contests in defence that helped nullify Kew's attack on the ball. The Roys though were fashioning something special, and found each other in space, whether it was Ahmed in traffic, Mo around the flanks, Ala through the midfield, Patrick running off half-back or Jesse's never-say-die attack on the footy. Mu had a long bomb at goal which Connor cleverly shepherded through and then Lochie evaded a despairing tackle and sent a perfect pass to Wiz who kicked another. Even when Kew pushed forward they met resistance: often it was Max standing firm or Andre, who swift and assured running it out of defence. It was a 31-point lead at half-time and the oranges and snakes were well-deserved.

There were some lovely passages of footy in the third term, where the Roys dominated possession. Hammo found Connor for a goal and then Sebastian took a strong mark that set up another forward move that led to Connor's second for the quarter. The Roys' hunger was obvious - they wanted it and they went in and got it. Diggers pumped one forward and Connor was on the end of it for his third in the term, and although Kew kicked two for the quarter, they were struggling to match Fitzroy's desire.

It was a hot day and Kew didn't have a bench but they bravely fought on, extracting some real bite from the final quarter. They dominated the opening minutes but when Wiz goalled again, and then after two straight kicks down the centre of the ground, Connor nailled his fifth, the result was not in doubt: the Roys home by 37 points and it felt that the boys' season was underway.