We kicked off the year with a few ins and outs to the team list.
Two of our star players, Jonah Campigli & Luke Travers went to the U10s, and with the usual attrition we were in position to add seven new players to the squad. They were Ned Gray, Jamie Delaney, Jack Palmos, Jed Zammit, Matt Hill, and the Tuffley twis, Jack & Will.
In 2012 the theme was you never forget your first footy team.
This year the emphasis was on now we really play as a team.
Early training saw a number of boys step up and show that they had really improved over the Summer break.
Round 1 saw us win comfortably at home against Murrumbeena. More wins against East Malvern & the Brighton East Vampires had the boys right up and about. Round 4 we travelled out to Wheelers Hill & gave the Waverley Hawks an absolute towelling. The teamwork and handball skills were becoming a joy to watch.
We had a couple of scares against Ormond and St Kilda City, but every time the side got behind on the scoreboard, our boys always put in a huge last quarter to win the game.
Wins against the Beauie Great Whites and arch-rivals Sandy Zebras saw us eight our of eight. A 96-point drubbing of Mordi-Braeside was our ninth win on the trot, and we cruised through the final three games to wrap up the season with twelve wins out of twelve.
The Lightning Premiership was always going to be a test when we were drawn to play against the two sides in U9 East as well as our old foes from Sandy. We beat the Zebras but got a bit of a footy lesson from Prahran. A narrow loss to Mordialloc wrapped up the season.
Overall, this was as good a bunch of kids (and parents) that anyone could ever want to coach. All our new players performed well throughout the season and many of our old players stepped up to improve on their 2012 form. Jules Lohan and Dan Hall were our hard running ball carriers through the middle; big Zach Ziesing was the best ruckman I saw from any side all season; Zach Bowen is a natural athlete who always has time to do what he wants; Ned Gray attacks the ball like a man possessed at every opportunity; Sam Marshall was our best inside player, continually smashing into packs & emerging with the footy; Luke Nixon-Smith took speccy after speccy, and his lethal right foot can kick a ball as far as most 14yos.
Jack Tuffley continually broke the lines with his pace, and his brother Willowy Will was a good driver through heavy traffic, always managing to get the ball onto his left foot. Our other set of twins, the Hopes waxed together most games in true Krakouer brother fashion, with both often kicking vital goals; Matt Hill and Marshall Hunter were dangerous forwards, often slipping into space to take crucial marks. Mitch Gathercole showed that size doesnt matter, and his fierce attack on the ball was a constant. Olli Hotton showed his AFL genes with his high marking and is a definite one to watch in years to come. Fraser King put in another great season as a running half back; and his backline mate Harry Llewellyn once again showed he is courage personified. Despite breaking a thumb at training, Jed Zammit made a great comeback to the team, and together with Big Max Morris, was always dangerous around goals. Kai Forbes kicked some miraculous goals during the season, and his height and reach were always handy in the centre clearances. Jack Palmos and Hamish Conden were always handy, whether in the middle or running out of the backline, and Jamie Delaney showed pace to burn and a very clean pair of hands.
All in all, a sensational season. Twelve out of twelve. You gotta like that.
Personally, I would like to thank Assistant Coach Darren Forbes who was tireless in his efforts all year, and Team Manager Andrew Hope who did all the not so glamorous stuff effortlessly week in and week out. Finally, my thanks to the parents. This group were sensational, filling all volunteer spots in minutes each week.
Awards:
Best & Fairest: Jules Lohan
Runner Up: Zach Bowen
Coachs Award: Dan Hall
Best Team Player: Zach Ziesing
Most Courageous Player: Ned Gray
Best Player Lightning Premiership: Sam Marshall
