Well, the boys have been working on their team skills over the past few weeks and thankfully on Sunday, they finally found reward on the scoreboard for their efforts.
Whilst there were plenty of individual efforts throughout the game, it was the boys' movement of the ball and sharing the load that really impressed. Strong tackling pressure from everyone in the team was another highlight and the major cause of their opponent's indecision and fumbling of the ball. Aussie, MacKenzie, Patrick, Ferg (two goals) and Frank had terrific opening terms, really putting pressure on the home side. Seann was having his best game yet, going in far more often for the ball and chasing his opponents down - keep up the good work Seann! (Excellent opponent distraction technique employed too!!)

Second quarter saw a couple of goals which helped extend our (narrow-ish) lead but it was the tackling/second efforts from Michael and Lachie that were particularly inspiring.
I also have a sneaking suspicion Matt put some glue on Jimmy's hands at quarter time because in the forward line, if the ball was in the air and anywhere remotely near him, the ball was his! Our pressure training drills are clearly working too with Connor spinning beautifully out of a tackle with his arms up high and getting a kick away for a great goal (one of two for the day).

Second half tightened up a little with St Pauls keeping us off the board for the third term but solid ruckwork from Oscar, supported well by Felix, Patrick and Aussie kept the battle in the midfield fairly even. Luke and Michael were excellent in defence, dropping back where needed and they both played very disciplined defensive football. Frank and Ferg (3 goals for the game) were both battling hard for the 'Mr Everywhere' award (with Patrick not too far behind them).
Last quarter was a belter - Felix outstanding in the ruck, Jimmy Larkworthy was on fire, taking marks everywhere, over everyone! Mitchell kicked a great goal thanks to a flawless pass from Jimmy and Callum was at his ferocious best, tackling hard with excellent second efforts. I was also really pleased to see both Andre and James going in far more for the ball and laying some pretty decent tackles too this week - well done!

Benny showed us that the Umpire really does protect the player going for the ball with a free (and extra 25m penalty for nearly having his head torn off by his opponent). In fact, St Pauls frustration was rising with every Rovers goal and poor Aussie copped a pretty big belt as well, forcing him (unusuallly) from the ground. No doubt a few bruise amongst the boys at the end but their intensity at the ball and particularly their opponents certainly paid dividends in the end!

Thank you to everyone who helps contribute in making our game-days go smoothly and particularly to Oliver this week who came and helped us with scoring and stats - while he may be injured and unable to play for a few weeks, it was terrific to see him there, supporting his team-mates and always having his hand in for the pre-quarter 'Go Rovers' chant! Love it!!

So, plenty of positives to take into 'The Local Derby' this week but still plenty to work on at training boys - so bring your 'footy brains' to training on Friday and leave your chatter at the gate so we can build on what was achieved last Sunday.

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