Under 19’s Match Report: Boronia v Heathmont

The contest against second placed Heathmont was one that we knew was going to be a challenge, as we considered them to be one of the best teams we had played earlier in the season.  Going in slightly undermanned wasn’t ideal, but we managed to get a few on the interchange and we were satisfied that we’d done enough to prepare for the battle.  

We lost the toss and ended up kicking “uphill” in the first quarter.  Whilst our mids were getting their hands on the ball first, a lack of cleanliness allowed the strong Heathmont attack to lock in the first goal.  Despite a quick reply, Heathmont continued their attack throughout the first quarter and held a four goal lead at quarter time.  We also lost Cambo to appendicitis throughout the term.

The second quarter was far more promising.  Our backline tidied up, which was no doubt assisted by the move of Fletcher Duke to CHB.  Our movement became more fluent and our disposal improved.  Jake, Harry, Hoff, Trent, Ben and Muels controlled the middle and we gave our forwards plenty of scoring opportunities.  As usual, Bakes was working hard and was well supported through the likes of Brody and Tuna, who played his best game yet.  The deficit at half time was now slightly reduced, although Hammer heading off in an ambulance and Lee Fletcher’s game ending due to a blow to the head meant we were now down to one on the bench.

Despite the adversity and lack of scoring “uphill”, we came out of half time positive and some blokes really displayed what it means to be resilient.  We found run through Ryan, Jacko and Dos, who was taking the game on and driving our rebound off half back.  The Heathmont class remained strong though and the quarter ended up being one that predominantly broke even.  We knew the last quarter was going to be a huge task with only one player on the bench.  We had blokes cramping and others with body complaints, but we managed to stick it out.  Whilst we couldn’t close the gap, the boys played the remaining three quarters with a lot of heart, integrity and trust.  To only let the margin increase by about 1 goal after half time is a sensational effort and with that in mind, we build confidence as we head into the business end of the season. Go Hawka!

@boroniahawks U19’s Scoreboard – presented by Lipari Pizza and TJ’s on Main

Heathmont 12.12 84 d Boronia 8.3 51
Goal Kickers: J. Baker 2, J. Mueller 2, T. Mellis, J. Gardiner-Hoffman, S. Tunstall, H. Fewson
Best Players: H. Emslie, J. Mellis, T. Griffiths, H. Fewson, J. Gardiner-Hoffman, S. Tunstall.


Development Squad Match Report: Boronia v Heathmont

With possibly the strongest team available for almost six weeks we headed to Heathmont looking to break our losing run.  The Heathmont sporting complex was full to overflowing with women’s footy in full swing we were forced to do our preparation in the great outdoors.  The mood was good and we felt confident as we had played four quarters the previous week and only missed by less than a kick.

The ball was thrown up and we scored a major within the first couple of minutes.  We looked “on” early, perhaps a bit premature in the confidence department.  The next ball up was cleared easily by our opponents and they goaled shortly after.  We held our proverbial breath and witnessed the best quarter of footy by any of our opponents this season.

At the quarter time break we asked for man on man footy in the second and to stem the tide.  We failed in several key positions to adhere to man on man and their loose players cut us to bits.  Although we stemmed the goals we could not dent their confidence and they used the ball by foot well, switching and marking at will.

The long break came quickly, we entered the rooms for some soul searching.  We were confident we could peg them back if we played our best footy.  The voice from the other side of the dividing roller door was heard to say “They will come and come hard, do not under estimate them.”  This made our opponents want the football even more.

We chased hard all day but never really got to where we wanted to go.  We played into their hands by panic kicks, turn overs and lack of wanting the contest.  This was not the style of play we played earlier in the season by a long shot.

Have we dropped the ball? Got ahead of ourselves? Become complacent?

I think not.  Our attendance at training has dropped and we look tired.  Our opposition have had a good look at us now, so we now have to do something different  to mix things up a little.  There are no EXCUSES to be had and if there was we wouldn’t use them.

We take on top of the ladder Ferntree Gully next week and a win is a must to stay in the hunt for finals football.  The future lays in our hands and ours alone.  Let’s work harder than ever on the track and change our results and play the footy we know we can.

@boroniahawks D Squad Scoreboard – presented by Alchester IGA

Heathmont 16.8 104 d Boronia 7.10 52
Goal Kickers: J. Stamatakos 2, J. Rambaldo, J. Granland, L. Johnson, J. Paterson, T. Dower.
Best Players: L. Johnson, B. Castersen, J. Granland, B. Wright, D. Dower, R. Migues.

Seniors Match Report – Boronia v The Basin

A big day of footy awaited the 19’s, D Squad and Seniors as we played traditional rivals The Basin at Batterham Park. For the seniors this game was an opportunity to get back to playing team footy and putting a gap on the ladder between the top 3 and the rest of 3rd division.

The Hawker started the 1st quarter full of run.  Our midfield ran hard both ways and continually drove the ball into our forward line.  Josh Hannon kicked our first goal with a crisply timed drop punt from 45 meters on the run.  Whitey, Luke Hannon and the skip were in everything; Robbo “Senior” was pivotal across half forward and our backline combined to rebound the opposition forward attacks.  The quarter was soured by the serious injury to Jayden Collins who was thrown to the ground in a tackle and had to be taken to hospital for tests and observation.  Dangerous sling tackles need to be taken out of our game.  The Hawker should have kicked a couple more goals but finished 23 points in front of The Basin at quarter time: 4.5 29 to 1.0 6.

The Basin have not won a game this year against the top 4 sides and the Hawker coaching staff knew they would come out hard in the second and that’s what happened.  The Basin’s hard running off their half backline and through the middle was a feature of their play.  The Hawker worked hard but turned the ball over a number of times which gave The Basin the opportunity to put scoreboard pressure on The Hawks.  The Basin’s ground can open you up or close you down if you cough up the ball to the opposition.  The Basin played their home ground exactly this way to dominate the Hawker in parts of the quarter.  If not for The Basin’s inaccuracy (3 goals 7 points to 1 goal 1 point) in front of goal the scoreboard could have been worse; with the Hawker taking a slender 5 point lead into the main break.

The third quarter was played in a close, tight and highly contested manner by both sides.  Even though our backline was undersized against the taller opposition they continually transitioned the ball from defence to attack.  Hammer was front and centre in scouting the ball off the deck, the twin towers across half forward (Robbo and Robbo) started to gel with Robbo Junior gaining confidence after a long layoff and kicked a big goal.  Brayden Bowes started to influence the game and chipped in with 2 goals of his own to give the Hawker a 21 point lead going into three quarter time.  Boronia 8.7 55 to The Basin 4.10 34.

There was a large Hawker crowd at the three-quarter time huddle.  Clarky addresses his players in a controlled manner and makes a point of the team KPI’s.  The next 30 minutes would need a team effort if we were to hold off The Basin who would be kicking to the scoring end to the roar of their fanatical supporters.

The fourth quarter was played similar to the third: a physical game with a lot of stoppages and a lot of tackles.  The momentum changed when Josh Hannon delivered a big goal to kick his 3rd for the day and put a 25 point margin on the opposition.  Even though The Basin had many opportunities to kick goals in the last 10 minutes of the quarter, the Hawker held firm against the 4th highest offensive side in the league (Boronia is 5th); the Hawker taking a well-deserved 18 point victory over our traditional rival.

Five Points:

  • We wish a quick recovery to both Collo and the Reserves ump who went down at 3/4 time.
  • The team effort was the catalyst to give us a victory to help set up the rest of our year.
  • Midfield provided great support for our big forwards.
  • Backline kept the opposition to only 1 goal in the second half.
  • A crack down on dangerous sling tackles is needed.

@boroniahawks Seniors Scoreboard – presented by Knox Club

Boronia 9.10 64 d The Basin 5.16 46
Goal Kickers: J. Hannon 3, B. Bowes 2, L. Hannon 2, Z. Robinson, B. Robertson
Best Players: B. McAlpine, J. Hannon, L. Hannon, H. Burgess, T. Steele, R. White.


 

Veterans Match Report: Boronia v South Croydon

A gutsy TEAM effort which made the coach very proud of all players’ efforts.  The final scores did not reflect the efforts by the lads.  Super proud guys!

@boroniahawks Veterans Scoreboard – presented by GK Travel & Cruise

South Croydon 14.9 93 d Boronia 3.1 19
Goals: Butler 2, Wood 1.
Best: Colin Krenn, Kristan Wood, Ben Dahan, Darran Hansby, Greg Krenn, Chris Aaltonen.


D Squad Match Report: Round 9 Boronia v Ringwood

Another great day for football greeted us at our home ground.   The girls were kicking goals and we were eager to show our wares as well.  A late call up for Wrighty and a chance to see Patty Kinniff in action at last.  Ready for battle we looked good on paper once again and everyone was eager to make amends for our last outing.

The first was messy and once again forward delivery started poorly.  If not for one of our smaller brigade in Cam Flanagan we may have struggled to score a major in the term.  Everyone is trying there hardest but rhythm just isn’t quite there at the moment.  It will come when we play as a team and demand more from ourselves.

The backline was again in charge and delivered the ball forward time after time. Trying a few moves can unsettle the team but we need to know who can stand up under pressure, so some players were out of their regular spots.

We were mostly in charge of play but turnovers cost us on plenty of occasions.  Milde was leading the way with his ability to read the flight of the ball and then use it wisely.  Kinniff was marking strongly, getting into position and beating his opponent hands down.

The Dowers are having a great season and are raising the bar each game they play.  With Carro delivering the ball by hand we should dominate every ball up.  Our opponents work to his dominance and we must mix it up better in coming weeks.

Leading at the long break, the challenge was five  goals in the third, but it wasn’t to be and Ringwood out scored us.  Not with better skills but with more desperation at the ball.  We looked tired in the second half and perhaps the week off will reenergise us. We must play better against stronger teams.  This is our challenge.  We have the players and the skills – we now need to gel it all together.

After the week off we will have several players ready to return from various injuries and once again spots in the team will be at a premium. Training will dictate who pulls on the boots for our next game.


@boroniahawks D Squad Scoreboard – presented by Alchester IGA

Boronia 6.8 44 d Ringwood 6.5 41
Goal Kickers: C. Flanagan 2, S. Bell 2, R. Warren, J. Rambaldo
Best Players: K. Milde, C. Flanagan, D. Dower, N. Carrodus, P. Kinniff, S. Bell.


Kane Milde and Patrick Kinniff

Senior Match Report: Round 9 Boronia v Ringwood

“If we were going to fly the flag…….” by The Voice in the Outer

A huge day awaited the Hawks crowd as the top two sides were playing off for top spot and bragging rights.  Each side was missing a few regular players but there was plenty of talent on display.

I don’t know how many tosses we’ve won this year, but again we kicked against the breeze in the first.  Ringwood had come to play and took full advantage of the breeze. They worked the Hawker over in our forward half, pressured us around the stoppages and worked harder across the ground.  Robbo Junior took a great mark and kicked true for the Hawkers’ only goal for the quarter.  Ringwood were helped by a couple of very technical free kicks but deserved their 3 goal lead at 1/4 time.

Into the 2nd and kicking to the scoring end, The Hawker started to win a few clearances and we saw five minutes of brilliance by “COLLO” kicking two snap goals from 30 metres to capitalise on the good work out of the guts.  When the Hawker gets its’ hand ball game going even the best sides in the comp find it hard to stop.  The Hawker showed glimpses of the previous eight weeks form but were a bit gun shy to run and carry the footy.  Ringwood showed again that they are a well-structured and well coached side by kicking a couple of late goals to take a 16-point lead into the long break.

The 3rd quarter was played mainly in Ringwood’s forward half.  The Hawker backline competed well against the continual opposition forward entries and held firm for most of the quarter. Kyle Matthews, number 17 for Ringwood, brought his own footy and was devastating by foot and continually set Ringwood up from his team’s defensive side.  The quarter was a real arm wrestle with both sides only kicking a single goal each until Ringwood broke the stalemate, after being awarded another technical ruck free kick in the ruck, to kick their second goal for the quarter to extend their lead to 25 points at 3/4 time.  What I didn’t like was seeing an injured Boronia player on his knees trying regain his breath and an opposition player standing over him, getting stuck into him.  If we were going fly the flag then this would have been the time to do it.

For the first three quarters the Hawker had played very much within themselves, very much non-risk safe football.  Even though we started the last quarter with plenty of energy and looked to negate Ringwood’s defensive setup by playing a seven man back line, we had a number of good opportunities to close the gap on the scoreboard but were continually shut down by inconsistent ball movement.  The quarter finished with both sides kicking two goals each and Ringwood winning the game by 25 points.

Ringwood were the far better side today and deserve to be clear flag favourites.  They have a great setup behind the ball and spread well.  Their general in the backline (number 17) controlled the game all day.  For the Hawks, we had a number of solid contributors, but also had a few boys down on their season form to date.  We didn’t play the footy that we played in the first 8 rounds.  Today we lost, but from what I saw from the outer we have plenty of upside and there is nothing the Hawker can’t handle that was dished up by Ringwood today.   We can close the gap if we get back to our game plan.  We have had a fantastic first half of the season, so everyone enjoy the long weekend and see you when we play Donvale.

Go Hawks.

@boroniahawks Seniors Scoreboard – presented by Knox Club

Ringwood 10.10 70 d Boronia 7.3 45
Goal Kickers: J. Collins 2, B. Wright 2, Z. Robinson, L. McKernan, N. Allen
Best Players: J. Godwin, J. Lake, J. Hannon, B. Rapisarda, R. White.

Ryan White

 

ERCA SENIOR COACH OF THE MONTH – MATT CLARK!

@boroniahawks are very pleased to congratulate our Senior Coach, Matthew Clark, upon his selection as the Eastern Region Coaches Association “Coach of the Month” winner in the Senior category for April.

Nominations are made by club officials to recognise coaches who are demonstrating: excellent commitment; the ability to pass on knowledge; good coaching behaviour; and are well respected in their community. There is absolutely no doubt that Clarky ticks all these boxes!

As a result of winning “Coach of the Month” Matt is now also a nominee for the ERCA’s “Coach of the Year” to be awarded in October 2018. Congratulations on a very well deserved gong!

 

Team Selections for 27th and 28th April

 
 

@boroniahawks Seniors Squad to play The Basin at 2:10pm at Tormore Reserve – presented by All State Refrigeration Serviceshttp://www.allstaterefrigeration.com.au

1 R. Henderson 2 L. Hannon 6 A. Phillips 8 J. Hannon 12 D. Fairchild 13 L. Watson 14 J. Bolton 16 M. Buzinskas 17 L. McKernan 19 B. McAlpine 21 N. Heuston 22 M. Geraghty 25 B. Bowes 29 J. Godwin 30 J. Paterson 36 J. Rutherford 37 R. White 42 B. Rapisarda 45 H. Burgess 47 T. Steele 52 B. Robertson.


@boroniahawks Development Squad to play The Basin at 12:05pm at Tormore Reserve – presented by DYSON CURRIE TIMBER WHOLESALERS 

3 N. Allen 81 A. Biddau 34 L. Biddau 74 Z. Brasher 60 M. Bruce 70 N. Carrodus 61 J. Collins 64 D. Dower 51 Z. Dower 43 C. Flanagan 26 S. Goldsack 9 J. Granland 32 L. Johnson 10 C. McDonald 41 K. Milde 35 C. Murrihy 58 J. Purdon 28 J. Rambaldo 31 D. Romano 15 D. Ruff 75 J. Stamatakos 25 N. Stamatakos 24 R. Warren 40 B. Wright.


@boroniahawks U19’s Squad to play The Basin at 10:00am at Tormore Reserve – presented by BARK KING

13 B. Anderson 3 B. Aughterson 4 B. Campbell 15 H. Chinn 28 C. De Boer 80 T. Dower 1 F. Duke 27 H. Emslie 5 H. Fewson 29 L. Fletcher 79 S. Fung 14 J. Gardiner-Hoffman 10 J. Lech 19 J. McDonald 9 J. Mellis 12 T. Mellis 16 W. Morrison 23 H. Mountain 26 J. Mueller 76 K. Notley 17 J. O’Neill 30 L. Sturdy 8 S. Tunstall 2 R. Williams.


@boroniahawks Womens’ Squad to play Upwey-Tecoma at 4:45pm at Upwey – presented by KNOX CLUB  

17 D. Caiafa, A. Cellante, A. Davidson, J. Gray, 5 B. Kinniff, L. Kitteringham, P. Lacey, D. Langford, N. Lee, K. Little, B. Martin, 7 A. Penny, C. Peucker, R. Smith, S. Spurrell.