A bright sunny day for footy for the top two teams – but an early morning start meant that it was dewy and the ball a bit slippery. Ben Allan started well in the ruck and Lucas Sharp took first possession, but it was Kew who got the first score on the board. It was even for about the first 10 minutes with the ball being played in the middle of the ground. Kew started to dominate and the Rovers were forced to defend. Ben Crothers did well and Garbo (Michael Garbelotto) was in and under the packs. Then Ben Allan came off after being knocked in the knee and Max Leaver took over in the ruck. There were lots of turnovers and the Rovers’ inaccurate kicking started to cost them. Jacob Beams and Lachie Costello were getting possessions and Hugo Lay was kicking long from the defensive half of the ground. Seb DeWolf ran around two opponents and Langas (Luke Langdon) was going well across the middle of the ground. It was a difficult first quarter and the Rovers were unable to put anything on the scoreboard. Quarter time 2.4 – 0.0.
Kew started quickly in the second quarter, scoring a couple of early goals. Lucas and Joe Ecycles took some good marks but overall, it was the Rovers’ disposals that were costing them any potential advantage. Matty Spaziani was getting possessions and Zac Mackay was doing this best to hold the back line together. Max was starting to get his fair share of ruck taps but Kew had the Rovers’ measure, though their inaccurate kicking kept the Rovers in the game. Gradually the Rovers’ tackling improved. Peter Somogyi started to find the ball as did Goldy (Tom Goldsmith). Joey Wilson started to show his presence in the forward line and Ben Doolan was working hard in defence. Just shy of the half time siren, Mo (Salah)Labib had a chance to kick a goal but was just offline. Half time 6.8 – 0.1.
The third quarter was the Rovers best, and they showed true potential against a physically hard opponent. Joey was strong up forward and Hugo was giving off and receiving handballs. For the most part, the ball was in the Rovers’ 50. Peter S and Jacob B were combining well and our teamwork was starting to pay off. Ben D had a good quarter, kicking 2 goals, one from a difficult angle, and Goldy was delivering from half back. The Rovers were applying more pressure, Cam Carmemi was risking his body by getting over the ball and Peter Clarke was taking marks across half forward, while Per Bellarts on debut for the U19’s was gathering the ball cleanly and running with it before finding a team mate. Cries of ‘Sauce’ could be heard from everywhere due to Will Kervin constantly having the ball. Three quarter time 7.13 – 2.4.
There was still a chance for the Rovers in the final quarter provided they could keep the pressure on Kew. Zac got an early 50m penalty and Joey took two good marks and kicked a goal. Lucas took a few marks and tackled well and Ben C ran through a couple of packs before clearing with a handball or a kick. Mo was tackling hard, but Kew scored a goal and put a dent in the Rovers’ chances of a win. Cam C went down after a heavy knock in the back line but got up and continued playing. There was a great passage of play when Garbo hand-passed to Hugo who gave the ball off to Lachie C who in turn kicked to Joey resulting in his 2nd goal. Kew kicked a couple of goals and while we were close on the scoreboard with Kew in the second half, it was a 44 point loss to the Rovers. Final score 10.15 – 4.7.
Goal kickers J Wilson 2, B. Doolan 2
Best L Sharp, W. Kervin, J. Wilson, B. Allen, B. Doolan, Z. Mackay
Thanks once again to our volunteers this week, Goal umpire- John Allan, Time keeper- Brad Langdon, Runners- Harry Gower & Brodie O’Neill.
Report by Gavin Sharp
