Hampton Rovers suffered a low-point of the 2017 season on Saturday, going down to bottom-placed Kew at Boss James Reserve, while the Reserves continued on their winning ways.
A win was desperately needed by the Rovers and it looked on the cards at the start of the third quarter when a Shem Curry mark and pass to Lachy Cairns put him into space, he took off, had 3 or 4 bounces to pop through the goal from the top of the square to level the scores. Hampton had a run on and while we controlled the ball and the game for the next 10 minutes we could do no damage on the scoreboard. A few minutes later in what can only be described as dumb play, we gave away the free and the 25m penalty to gift the opposition an easy goal. Kew then banged on three more quick ones to effectively seal what was a low scoring game by three quarter time.
The boys kept on trying but simple skill errors and often what looked like a lackadaisical approach to the contest allowed the Kew boys to maintain their slender lead to the final siren.
Adam McNeil went hard all day and his mopping up around the packs was a strong feature of his game. Fletch was great whether on the wing or down back and his attack on the ball and sure hands showed many of his younger teammates up. Roland DeBiase continued his great form showing his drive and aggression at the ball all day. The skipper, off half back, was collecting possessions but perhaps he would be better used back in the pivot where he can use his strength and attack on the ball. Great to see Lachy Cairns back in form and his run and carry was something we had been missing this season.
A late change saw Josh Schmitz out and in came big Charlie Thorpe, back from a calf injury from before the bye. His size and strength around the contests was much needed, however unfortunately suffered a knock to the head during the game and was unable to continue. Ben Audige, back in after dislocating his elbow in a practice match, quickly picked up the tempo of the game and after last year carrying the ruck in Premier B, will quickly adjust to the pace of this year and be a valuable player for the side for the remainder of the season.
The 20-point loss maintains ninth position on the Premier C table for the Rovers, but just one game and percentage below Old Mentonians and Marcellin and out of the relegation zone. With eight games remaining, there’s still more than enough time to turn the season around and finish strongly. That starts this Saturday, when the Rovers take on Old Ivanhoe away at Chelsworth Park.
HAMPTON ROVERS 0.5 3.8 4.10 7.11 (53)
KEW 3.4 4.9 8.12 10.13 (73)
Goal Kickers: N. Jackson 2, S. Curry, B. Audige, T. Jones, L. Cairns, D. Merlo
Best Players: A. McNeil, C. Carnovale, L. Cairns, T. Chrisp, L. Fletcher, R. De Biase
The Reserves continued their winning ways with a 47-point victory over Kew. The Rovers jumped the opposition from the start, kept the pedal down for the second quarter to seal the game and then just quietly canter to the line for our easiest win of 2017.
There were highlights. The coach, Anton Duddy, pulled the boots on and notched up game number 250! A great effort when you consider the first year coach is also a triple premiership player with the Rovers! Good to see big Ben Theodore back in the green and gold, having missed a couple of months with injury. Add to the line-up Ned Fallon, coach of the Women’s team, under pressure to perform by his charges who were present and Ed Turner, back for another cameo and in the process slotted a bag of five for the day. His baulk, sidestep and stumble leading up to his first of the day was described by one Roverian as “similar to how I look leaving the pub on Saturday night!”
Ash Fisher, enjoying the presence of a couple of extra forwards, kicked another bag of five as well and is currently in third place with 27 goals on the Premier C Reserve goal kicking table.
Down back, the old timers were solid. Ben Kezilas marked everything that came his way, Wheels having overcome the broken toe was back, Rory Lynch was showing the form of his premiership years and Jack Lloyd whether on the ball or drifting back was solid. Interestingly BOG honours went to Jack Zaina, as assistant coach of the women, he too under pressure to perform!
As the coach said at the after game presser, “Super proud of the boys at the moment, they have been competitive in every game we have played this year. They don’t take a backward step and don’t leave anything out on the field, and best of all they seem to be enjoying their footy after a couple of tough seasons prior to this one.” If you watched them on Saturday you could only agree with Anton’s assessment. The Rovers now sit equal 4th on the ladder with a big chance to set ourselves up for a strong second half of the year.
Both Under 19 sides recorded losses. With the loss of the overage players, it was a new look firsts team that took the field against Old Trinity. It was a tight contest all day with barely a goal separating the teams for the whole afternoon. Unfortunately, at the death it was Trinity who had the 6 point break which gave them the 4 points.
The two’s had several players missing for various reasons and struggled as a result, going down to De La Salle. Great to see “overage” Corey Jones, forced down from the firsts, kicking five of our six goals in an outstanding performance. Young U17 fill in, Harry De Wolf in his first U19 game handled the challenge with aplomb and was a shining light in an otherwise disappointing performance. Great to see Ash Hoar continuing his great form at CHB and he put in a fine defensive performance. A surprise move was Adrian Hug from defence to the midfield and it worked and Huggy put in probably his best game for the year. Next week, the boys face another tough contest against St Bedes/Mentone who we need to beat to keep our finals’ chances alive.
The Women kicked-off the action for the weekend, playing under the Friday night lights at Boss James Reserve and recording a one-point win with a late goal. Click here to read the full report.
Saturday evening was the major whole-club function of 2017 with Casino Royale. It was great to see over 200 people pack the Brighton Town Hall for what was a fantastic evening enjoyed by all. Photos are available on the Facebook page.
