Pines Away

 Pythons De-fanged by Relentless Stonecats, reCOIL in Shock.. Back to The Snake-pit !!

5 June.. Stonecats v The Pythons at The Snakepit..Weather Freezing, Gale force winds, Torrential Rain  ……… ( No hassle, just your typical Melbourne Footy weather)

Lewis Roberts was one who found the conditions to his liking.

Pines were to be faced coming off a 90 point thrashing by Karingal, before which they had a 4.1 scoreline, and were touted as a possible finals contender after good wins against Bonbeach,Eady/Asp, Seaford and Langwarrin which showed a great improvement in their 2009 record. Just how much they could have improved in 6 games however after last years near last place finish, was however a moot point in which I had some doubts.

However we were going in with a major setback with Ducky Waddell off the playing list for some time with a ACL rupture, suffered in the Langwarrin game requiring a knee reconstruction and an extensive recovery period. In this he joins Sharkey Roberton and Steve Aldons who have both suffered similar injuries.  Adam Smrdel came back in to cover the loss and provide some speed aroundthe ground after a 40 possession game in the 3rds against Langwarrin and Poole came strait back in after his week off .

In overcast weather with the threat of worse to come the game kicked off in wet ground conditions which made ball handling and marking difficult to the extreme and the game settled in to a typical wet weather slog-fest with scrambling football and stoppages aplenty. Ycw however adapted quickly to the conditions and with Poole in charge of the centre mud and Tellis and Roberts being treated to a feast of ball from Eames at the ballups the Q saw us starting to take control at 5.3.33 to 1.2.8 thanks to goals to Chaplin, Ulms, Poole, Smrdel and Tellis.

Dylan Hoare shows skill in the wet

With the 2nd Q came the cyclone, the dark, and the torrential rain which cut vision to a minimum and sent the fans scurrying for shelter, however the boys in the centre seemed to be enjoying it as the best backline in the league kept the Pines score to 2 goals thanks to the efforts of Byron Barry, Nankervis, Blake `The Snake` McCormacck and Andy Douglas. Benny Tellis chipped in for 3 goals for the Q and Steve Roberts and Rhyse Johnson finished it with singles to go in at the long break, a commanding leader 10.9.69 to 3.2.20 with the game over and won.

The third Q saw the conditions deteriorate further with the lights being turned on to help distinguish the Cats from the Snakes but it didn’t help Pines however as Ycw continued to win the ball out of the centre courtesy of  a brilliant display of wet weather football from Benny Poole, Steve , BT, Bundy Barry, Andy , Rhyse and Kyle, whilst the human battering ram Zannan Daff relished the conditions which brought everyone back to his speed …slow !!   The Q finished 13.11.89 to 5.3.33 with singles from  Poole, Lew Roberts and Kyle.

The last Q saw Pines loose interest and fade right out of the game, not crossing their centre line, whilst in a sea of water The Stonecats continued to attack  unabated with 2 goals from Poole and singles from Ulmer and Tellis finishing what had been a masterful display of impassioned wet weather football that had encompassed the whole game. Final scores were a % boosting ( 12%) 17.15.117 to 5.4.34 to give us our 6th 100pt + score, best backline now by 77 pts and best forward line by 137 pts

What came out of this game ?? 

Our backline held up admirably despite Ducky’s loss.

Our wet weather game is perhaps out forte, certainly as good as our dry ball game!!

Despite the weather, the future looks very bright !! ….I’m Excited !! 

Jie, The Unit and Smurf hoping not to be carried away in the sunami !!

My best;  It would be churlish of me to hilite anyone in what was a great team effort, in which no weakness was evident and everyone played their part to perfection..but I will. Poole was a standout in the centre, Tellis with 30 + possessions and 5 goals in those terrible conditions was at his very best, Rhyse continues to show what a top player he is, Blake has cemented his position in the side andthe Barry Boys are proving a godsend to the Club…but lets not be churlish !!

Lost in the rain and the dark the siren sounds

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Coming off a 2 point loss last week against Langwarrin, Schneider’s Scintillating Seconds had a must win scenario to keep up in the finals mix. With McNamara, Exner and Jessie Coghlanback from injury the side regained some of its strength around the midfield. In light rain the first half was a battle of the backlines with neither side gaining an advantage, the long break seeing The Magoo’s go in 7 p0ints up 5.3.33 to 4.2 26. The 3rd Q saw a continuing rerun with each side putting on 2 goals for the Q to retain the status Quo..

The Orange break proved to be the turning point however with Strico, Hegars and Herby on fire anddelivering good ball to the forwards, Bods was supreme in the key kicking 3 andPaul 1 to put the game beyond doubt as our backline shut out Pines, keeping them goalless for the Q. Every one’s best on ground was David Bodley who ruled supreme in the ruck closely followed by Paul Wintle starting to make gestures he wants to return to the big time, whilst those hardy perennials Herby and Besley notched up more votes in their battle for B & F.

This week 8th placed Chelsea and perhaps a bit of a breather ???

Bad news for the day was the fractured Jaw Steve Meagher received in the third Q . He had his jaw wired and he wont be having steak for Dinner for some little time..unless its pureed ??

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Thursday nights selection table for the Under 18 side, put Coach Reidy in to paroxysm’s of despair, as he found himself sans 6 of his best players for the Pines Game.  With these losses he found himself with just 18 players fit enough to take the field, with no bench to call upon.. No wonder the Coach had nightmares…18 players vs 22 just doesn’t work theoretically…..but that didn`t allow for the resilience of Reidy`s Raiders.

In overcast conditions, the Dew Cutters went absolutely ballistic, kicking 9.6.60 to zip in the first Q, and continued in similar vein in the 2nd Q kicking 17.13.115 to zip again. With Zac Longham on fire kicking 12 goals and rocketing to the lead in the League Goal Kicking ladder with 27, Ben Buckley slotting 7 and Ryley Hodson 5, the Pines side were outclassed and overwhelmed, showing up in the 12 individual goalkickers.

With Kevin Lylak, Marcus Roberts Trevor Cumming and the onballers providing the feed the 3rd Q saw another 9 goals poped  thru with a finishing Q  of 10 goals to finish the day 36.19.235 to…yes ! 0.0.0.

That is some finish, and it has to be one of the biggest wins, if not the biggest for an under 18 side, certainly keeping a side to zip is a thing of rarity and deserves some delving in the the record books for a possible YCW record ( I’m Searching).   % by the way leapt 70 points !!!

 All I can say to Coach Reidy is stay cool, `from the greatest obversity does success often flow`  !! (et Rocky 2010)

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Apologies for the quality of some of Saturdays fotos..but rain is rain and to make up I have included some fotos of last years Pines away game which was much drier.

Also catch up with some old faces !!!

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