Tag Archives: U19’s

The early game saw a big clash between 3rd place Hawks and 4th place Bears.  After scraping through with a couple of wins in the previous rounds, we were out to regain some confidence and pride.  On the small deck, it was a congested and physical game from the onset.  We managed to kick a quick goal to get the ball rolling thanks to a running wobbler from the boundary by the speedster, Ryan Williams. The Basin hit back with some positive ball movement forward, although our pressure ensured that they remained goalless come quarter time.  With a late goal from Under 17s player, Mason Storr, we entered the break with a nine point lead.

The second half remained congested and the effective tackle count was already breaking records.  It was coming down to the team who could remain disciplined and united the most.  The Basin managed a couple of goals throughout the second quarter, but so did we.  The late inclusion of Kyle Notley was not wasted as he managed to get onto to a handy one out the back of the contest and slot through a major.  The other came from a free kick to another Under 17s player filling in, Nathan Hare.  Harey was everywhere and did not look out of place for a second, tearing apart the opposition backline and midfield.  The main break saw us up by 7 points. The boys were full of confidence at half time and were eager to ensure the game kept progressing in our favour. 

We applied pressure from the start and did our best to nullify their key ball winners.  As a result, The Basin found it increasingly difficult to get the ball forward and when they did, some brilliance from our backline stopped the majority of flow, particularly several contested marks to the in-form Lee Fletcher. A strong goal to Josh Baker and a cheeky goal to the half-back flanker, Bailey Campbell, helped us to maintain our 7 point lead at 3-quarter time.

Whilst the contest remained close on the scoreboard, we felt like we were controlling the game and needed to punish them on the scoreboard in the last quarter, otherwise all of the hard work would have been wasted.  With a slight shuffle around to provide improved balance, we increased our ball control and our flair (insert massive plucks to Jacko Lech and Cooper Dunkinson from the 17s) whilst maintaining the huge tackle count.  The Bears only managed the single goal in the final term, although we found majors through both Luke Slater and Josh Baker. A satisfying and fulfilling victory by 15 points over the local rival.  We now shift our focus to the 2nd placed Heathmont, who are arguably the flag favourites at this point of the season. Go Hawks!

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

Boronia 8.6 54 d The Basin 5.9 39
Goals: Baker 2, Storr 1, Hare 1, Campbell 1, Williams 1, Slater 1, Notley 1.
Best: Fletcher, Hare, Fewson, J Mellis, Storr, Lech.

In cold, wet and slippery conditions, the 19s came up against a determined Scoresby outfit. The first quarter was a scrappy affair. We controlled the majority of the play but couldn’t make the most of the opportunities, kicking four wasteful behinds.  Jake Mellis was everywhere and had some good support through the likes of Harry, Will and Trent.  Scoresby managed to move the ball forward towards the end of the quarter and snuck in a goal to take the lead at quarter time.

The second continued to be ugly footy and it didn’t help that Jake was now being tagged by one of their best players.  Muells made the move into the ruck to reduce the influence of the opposition’s big unit in the middle, ensuring that the mids had a chance to have more affect on clearances.  Despite some sloppy defensive work, we managed to attack enough to get some majors.  Hard work from Bakes, Slats and Jacko up forward ensured the hard work up the ground was being rewarded.

The boys came out firing in the third and despite an early goal to Scoresby, we fought back to bang on a couple of our own.  Hoff and Fletch had moved into the midfield and the dynamics were starting to go in our favour.  To Scoresby’s credit, they held strong and played a disciplined wet weather game.  With the great work and run by Jimmy, Dos and Ryan on the wings, we moved the ball better and ensured the deficit at 3 quarter time was minimal.

We fired up after the final break and played a more disciplined game.  The game was certainly not a spectacle, but if you looked closely you would have seen some really hard and courageous efforts from players willing to put their body on the line, such as Lee, Nots, Milky and Johnny Mac, who played an outstanding final term.  Although behind for a short while, we bounced back and managed to pull off a grinding 4 point victory.  Whilst it is important to celebrate these wins, we need to ensure that we put our best foot forward against The Basin in our next clash.

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

Boronia 4.9 33 d Scoresby 4.5 29
Goal Kickers: J. Baker 3, J. Lech
Best Players: J. Mueller, J. Gardiner-Hoffman, J. McDonald, H. Fewson, J. Baker, L. Fletcher

The U19’s headed up the mountain for the early game to take on a competitive South Belgrave with Robbo taking the coaching reins and giving Fletch a well-deserved week off.  We also welcomed Luke Slater to the club for his first game.

Based on their results this year, South Belgrave had been competitive in every game and the boys knew that South needed to take a scalp to push their claims for a finals spot.  A fast start was stressed to the team pre game but unfortunately we conceded three goals, all from free kicks, and went into the ¼ time break down by 4 points.  Two goals to Josh Baker showed that if we moved the ball quickly on the small ground we would have plenty of opportunities to score.

The second quarter was a high scoring affair with both teams playing free flowing football which resulted in both teams kicking four goals apiece.  After a slow start, Trent Mellis & Harry Fewson started to get on top in the midfield, thanks to the tireless work of Ben Anderson & Jack Mueller in the ruck. Tuna & Luke Slater both kicked 2 for the quarter, with the latter being mobbed by his team mates after kicking his first goal for the club.  The half time score saw the Hawker ahead by a solitary point.

The coaches made some moves at half time in an effort to get the game going our way.  Jake Mellis was moved to CHB and Hoff was thrown into the midfield along with the big body of Will Morrison to try and assert some dominance around the stoppages.  South Belgrave managed to get on top in the first part of the third quarter through the dominance of their #12 on the wing so Bailey Campbell was sent to him with the simple task of following him everywhere and shutting him down.  Cambo did a great job, sacrificing his own game, and from this point on #12 only had 2 possessions and the game started to turn the Hawker’s way.  We clawed our way back from being down and led by 2 points at ¾ time.

The last quarter was a see-sawing affair with huge desperation being shown by both sides.  We managed to keep our noises in front for the entire quarter and maintained our composure in the final few minutes to control the game and at the final siren we were ahead by 4 points.  It was a huge team effort from everyone playing their role and digging deep, especially considering we were down two players going into the final quarter.  Bakes ended up with 3 goals for the game, Hoff was everywhere & Jake Mellis was a rock at CHB in the 2^ndhalf.

After the game, Robbo happily handed the coaching gig back to Fletch with a perfect record intact and the young Hawks look forward to another tough challenge against Scoresby this week.

@boroniahawks D Squad Scoreboard – presented by Alchester IGA

Boronia 16.15 111 d South Belgrave 1.6 12

Goal Kickers: J. Stamatakos 3, K. Milde 2, J. Whitmore 2, J. Rambaldo 2, M. Goldsack 2, T. Dower 2, J. Purdon, R. Migues, B. Wright
Best Players: M. Smith, B. Castersen, B. Wright, D. Dower, K. Milde, J. Rambaldo.