Round 15 Recap

Only winners this week were the Under 19s who got over the line in a Friday night game at the Boss under lights, while the Seniors fell away after half time to go down at home.

Next up, the Seniors are away to Old Melbournians at Elsternwick Park (VAFA HQ). The planned Lunch is no longer going ahead, so feel free to join a few Rovers supporters across the road at the Elsternwick Hotel prior to the game.

Upcoming Events: August 22 – Friday the famous Domino Luncheon at the Boss James Reserve starting at 12 noon, Guest Speaker is Tony Jones of AFL TV fame. Cost is $80 and includes a three course meal. Bookings close soon, so don’t miss out! Book Now. August 30 – Final Home Game Lunch for 2025. Put it in your diary and come along.

Now onto the action from the weekend…

Senior Men

At the half time break we had just witnessed the Rovers best performance for the year against a hard and tough Old Carey side. The coach was pleased with the way the boys kept on track and on task and it was only a brief let down in a couple of minutes before half time that let the opposition in for a couple of goals resulting in a 12 point buffer. He stressed the need in the second half to play with the same level of aggression, enthusiasm and flair that they had in the first half and to not relax.

For some reason this did not occur and probably the third quarter, while not our worst for the year, was clearly our most disappointing as we had shown that we could match it with the Carey boys. After we kicked the first goal of the quarter OC answered with the next six goals in about the first 10 minutes and it was game over. The 7 goal lead at the final break was insurmountable.

There were some bright spots. Zac Ziesing in the ruck continued his good form, Owen Bater battled hard against a high marking opponent and just kept on battling to the end of the game, the second gamers in Ollie Sutherland and Harry Block continued their development. The skipper kicked 3 goals in a polished display and along with Lachy Costello were both dangerous around the midfield. Two other youngsters in Will Rogacki and Cohen Friend looked the goods and Cohen capped his game off with a couple of classy goals. Speedy, Liam O’Driscoll and Pross all got a lot of the ball and delivered well but we just couldn’t take advantage of the opportunities we had. It seemed that every time we won the contested ball from Old Carey we just handed it back to them with a loopy handball or a sloppy pass. It must be frustrating for our forwards when our delivery is inaccurate.

Hampton Rovers Senior Men	3.3 21	4.7 31	5.9 39	7.13 55
Old Carey Senior Men	3.3 21	6.7 43	12.12 84	18.15 123

Best: Owen Bater, Christian Carnovale, Zachary Ziesing, Lachlan Cowell, Willem Rogacki, Ollie Sutherland
Goals: Christian Carnovale 3, Cohen Friend 2, Joel Melnjak 12, Corey Jones 1

Senior Women

HR 3.1 19
Parkdale 5.9 39

Best: Shae Raywood, Hollie Brodribb, Mandy Naylor, Bryanna Arnold, Tiara Annear, Isla Tucker
Goals Madeline Pearson 1, Amber Price 1, Hollie Brodribb 1

Mens Reserves

Hampton Rovers Reserve Men	2.1 13	2.4 16	3.5 23	7.10 52
Old Carey Reserve Men	3.3 21	8.3 51	12.7 79	14.7 91

Best: Damon O’Shea, Oliver Horigan, Samuel Horigan, Peter Somogyi, Bailey White, Darcy Merlo
Goals: Ollie Horigan 2, Sam Horigan 1, Ryan Leslie 1, Oscar Donald 1, Mo Labib 1 Zac Raghdo 1

Under 19s

The coach tells me that in a game that was a close tussle all night the difference was the sensational last quarter performance of Harry Ockerby who kicked 2 under the lights to get us over the line.

Hampton Rovers U19 Men	3.4 22	7.5 47	9.10 64	12.15 87
Oakleigh U19 Men	4.0 24	8.2 50	10.3 63	12.3 75

Best Harry Ockerby, Luke Boccari, Charlie Steen, Stefan Somogyi, Mason Carrigan
Goals : Harry Ockerby 2, Ben Mcgurgan 3, Spencer Hawkins 3, Jack Gibson 1, Charlie Steen 1, Lucas Civitarese 1, Luke Baccari 1

Thirds/Development Squad

James Young kicked 4 of the 7 goals and the boys battled hard but fell away in the second half to go down to Elsternwick on the EP2 postage stamp in the final game of the season.