Match Report Round 8

Sunday 5th Jun, 2022

Round 8

Colts U12's vs Mordi-Brae Bowles

What a fantastic afternoon of footy on a chilly and windy Murphy Reserve. Great to see us play some competitive footy against a very good footy team in Mordi-Brae.

Firstly, we were so pleased to have Taj back with us, and to have him back as Captain gave us a huge lift. He leads from the front and plays with heart and soul every time he puts on the Port Colts jumper, and today was no different. 

We started the first quarter into the wind and with pretty much the first passage of play kicked a well worked goal through Angus! Just the start we wanted. With Captain Taj in the ruck and Ashton, Luke and Luca, patrolling the midfield we knew we had a great chance to get our noses in front. Whilst we kept their score down in the first quarter, we did make some uncharacteristic errors in not manning up in defence, missing tackles, and the coach killer - not forcing the ball through for a behind. Mordi Brae were able to score two goals in the last few seconds of both the first quarter and the second quarter because we couldnt kill the ball or get it over the line when we had the chance. Certainly a chance to improve.

Having said that, we had the wind in the second quarter, and were starting to use the footy a little better. Luke got a fantastic clearance out to  Liam who kicked a fantastic goal from distance. Luca tackled hard, and Jacob and Connor chased up and down the wings, while Alex did exactly as he had promised pre-game, and got the ball onto his boot! George was once again having an impact along with Jack and Sage back in our defence. Archie was another who took his opportunities with some good tackling and defensive pressure.

We were back into the wind in the third quarter, and now that our tackling pressure had improved, we did make life difficult for Mordi Brae. Ethan P continues to make goal saving marks and defensive interceptions, and was kicking the ball long out of defence at kick ins. Ashton took a fantastic mark this quarter and kicked a well deserved goal. Jacques was another at full back that made life tough for the opposition, and with good support from Hamish, Jonas and Ethan B, we managed to stay competitive and kept the game in our hands for a big last quarter with the wind.

We got just the start we hope for with a huge effort from Taj, not only winning the footy himself, but shrugging tackles to find his trusty left foot for an excellent goal. We were then rewarded for some great forward pressure in the goal square from Daniel and Luke, for the ball to end up with a free kick for Jacob who kicked another great goal for us! We were now right back in the game and momentum with us. We then gave up an unfortunate goal where our lack of defending at the crucial moment hurt us, though Luca did get fantastic goal back for us on the final siren.

All in all, a much improved effort and a game played with great spirit right to the end. Only a narrow loss, where those two goals on the siren in the first two quarters aside and we might have been singing the song ourselves. 

Well done Colts, and more to look forward to over the season. It does look like the fixtures have come out on the SMJFL website, so these will be added to Team App soon. Remember no game next weekend forthe long weekend, but we will still have training on Wednesday.

Cheers,  Wazza Go Colts!

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Colts U9's vs Bentleigh

This week we played at home against Bentleigh and our team captains were Jake and Jacob

1^st quarter

Bentleigh were kicking with a strong breeze. We started off really well but found it hard to get it deep into the forward line due to the strong wind. Jack started the game really well and attacked the footy, like he has been at training. Leo, Max and Stella really attacked the footy and the opposition. The backline held up really well to contain Bentleigh to just one goal. The highlight for the quarter was Hugo, he kept running all quarter and dominated in the midfield.

2^nd quarter

This time we had the wind. Dylan did really well applying tackles and getting the ball. Our captain Jake did really well in defence getting plenty of the footy and putting on a tackling clinic. Lachie took a brilliant overhead mark and moved the ball quickly. Charlie and Benji also executed some excellent tackles. The highlight for quarter was Kahn, he really wanted the ball and displayed this with a terrific goal by winning the ball out of the back and dodging past Bentleigh's backline.

3^rd quarter

With Bentleigh kicking with the wind again we made a few changes to strengthen our backline. The backline had an amazing quarter. Max, Jack, Stella, Charlie and Hunter really came into the game and made it very tough for the opposition. Hugo played really well also controlling the backline.

4^th quarter

We asked for everyone in the team to play their roles. If they were in the backline then to man up, if they were in the mids then to run and if in the forward line to kick goals!

The last quarter was a dominant team performance from the colts. The backline held strong, the mids didn't stop running and kept getting the ball into the forward line and the forwards what a quarter! Jake, Lachie and Hudson (2) all kicked goals. Jake and Lachie worked really well together in the forward line. Deio laid a great tackle and Hugo finished off an amazing game.

I was really please with how well the team all played the roles they were asked. If they had to sit on the bench, they didn't complain, they instead barracked from the sideline. 

It was great to see the team rise as they start to play tougher competition.

Well done Colts!   Jason