State League
Eltham at Eltham Win 12 to 9
Always a tough ask to play an in form Eltham on their home deck and they were very good at controlling the ball in their attack and frustrating us into rushing the ball in our own attack half when we had it and at times we turned it over as a result, it did turn out to be an ugly win but the Malvern sides of the last 2 years would have dropped that game and we take the extremely valuable 4 points and move on to our next 2 games against M.C.C and Caulfield with a chance to get our attack patterns back on track and a top 2 spot is still in our own hands.
Jay Baskaran was outstanding in the net and reminded us all of the talent he possesses, Pat McGrath dominated the middle and seemed to really enjoy getting reacquainted with number 10 for Eltham..lol
Robby Maddux picked up the most contested ground balls on the day and his 5 goals was terrific reward for effort.
Defensively we have again held a top 5 side to under 10 but there are still mistakes being made with our front hip defence and ground balls which we will attempt to address but they are getting the job done.
Overall a great win but we must continue to win and throw goals as percentage will be critical in the run to the final 4..
Go Black
Rub
Div 3
Malvern 12 d MCC 5
Malvern moved into the top four after a solid win over MCC. After a slow start they got in front late in the first quarter and were never headed after that. The team welcomed Sam Todd-Hunter for his first senior game and he aquitted himself quite well in defence, young Aaron Currie and Tom Bown dominated the midfield to ensure a steady supply to the forward line which should have made more of the opportunities. A good solid game from everyone gives us confidence for the upcoming games.
Best: Anthony Bosisto, Aaron Currie, Tom Bown, Joe Forster.
Goals and Assists: Anthony Bosisto 3-1, Aaron Currie 2-1, Brendan Farrell 2-1, Tim Laidlaw 2-0, Rodney Finnigan 2-0, Joe Forster 1-0.
U17’s
The 17’s had only 8 players to take the field which wasn’t too bad as Melb Uni only had that amount also!…..Plenty of room to dodge I say…
MU are a very young team with not too many of there players having played for more than 4 yrs. This is tough for our boys being ‘seasoned’ players having at least that amount of time and much more!
It was obvious from the get go that we would take the 4 points without too much trouble so game played consisted of moving the ball and looking to improve the TEAM game.
Heading towards finals there will probably be only a couple of games we will get to play that the boys will be let loose to do what they do.
That being said…lets not be complacent and expect to win but more so play with an awareness of what is needed to be successful.
Tomorrow’s game is at Eltham who will be ok depending on their list available.
Special mention to Dave (Chappie Snr) Chapman who has offered his services to be our ‘Manager and scorer’ for all games and Lisa who is looking after the boys uniforms each week.
It’s great to have willing volunteers taking a job off the coaches hands so we can focus on what we need to do.
U13’s
The U13’s Malvern/ MCC team knew it was going to be a tough game playing Williamstown Cities at home. Willy sits second on the ladder behind Eltham only on percentage – with the top two teams still undefeated. Williamstown Cites are a much bigger and slightly older and well drilled team.
Gibbo stepped up and went into goal in the first quarter – he took two hard hits before he needed to be step out. James Arnold stepped in and continued through till the half time break making a few great saves. He also took a few hard hits. Carl Davies stepped in for the third quarter and first time player Campbell suited up for the last battle. All boys put their bodies on the line and can wear their bruises (which there are a few) with pride.
James Suffolk played face off for most of the game – starting to put into practice the advice and tips he has been given and shown from some senior players. With assistance from Billy Jarvis, James Arnold and Gibbo (having his first try) over the game.
All boys ran hard all game but went down 2-25. Our goals being scored by Billy Jarvis and Brandon Tran. It is great to watch the boy’s progress and continue to develop their skills, while still enjoying the game.
