Trober 2022 Mid-Season Wrap
Read about how our teams have been travelling in 2022
29 May 2022
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Round 5 Match Reports (2021)
Senior Men:
La Trobe 9.12 (66) defeated by Elsternwick AFC 36.5 (221)
Goal Kickers: J. Horder 3, P. Lindsay 2, J. Rogerson 2, R. Alexander, B. Vicary.
Best Players: T. Whelan, S. Benetti-Baker, B. Dowler, M. Ogle, C. Randell. B. Vicary.
In what was to be a perfect afternoon weather-wise for football, La Trobe headed to Holmes/Todd Oval with some trepidation. An increasing injury list and rumours of strong recruiting from Premier grades by Elsternwick were at the back of all minds, although on the positive side we welcomed back captain Andy Castles for his 50th game and inducted yet another new senior player in Rob Fawcett.
La Trobe began well, scoring the first goal and as Elsternwick struggled to get into gear matching them for the first 10 minutes, but after that we were clearly outclassed. Elsternwick’s work around the ball, particularly their spread and delivery long to multiple tall marking targets who were laser like in their accuracy, saw them comfortably outscore the Trobers in every quarter, ultimately kicking 36 goals 5 behinds for the game. Accuracy plus!
La Trobe worked well in bursts, sharing the ball quickly by hand and foot passing, but whenever hesitation set in or mistakes were made Elsternwick were quick to pounce usually resulting in a goal. Even the scoring gods abandoned La Trobe, hitting the post 3 times in the match for our 9 goals 12 behinds.
Matt Ogle battled valiantly as always, taking on not one but two of the best ruckmen in the competition. Down back Bryce Dowler (the old dog) and Tom Whelan (the pup) worked hard, even attempting to spark run out of the backline at times, while Paddy McCormack slowly found his spoiling skills to manage his dangerous opponent as the game wore on. In the mid field, Sam Benetti-Baker (also playing his 50th club game), Cal Randell and Ben Vicary worked hard against a fast and classy opposition to retain some La Trobe pride and self-respect, while Pat Lindsay lead and presented well from CHF with Rob Pain working hard at his feet.
A youthful La Trobe were beaten but not broken, and will learn a lot from what looked like a game between a Premier division team and a D4 side, although the loss of vice-captain Ricky Nolan to injury will not help our cause. We face another big challenge next week as we travel down to Lindsay Hassett Oval to take on South Melbourne Districts.
Senior Women:
La Trobe had the bye.
Nil.
Reserve Men:
La Trobe 5.12 (42) defeated by Elsternwick AFC 17.7 (109)
Goal Kickers: J. O’Brien 2, L. Mitchell, R. Wills.
Best Players: J. Hay, J. MacShane, P. Howard, D. Tracy, L. Mitchell, B. Tremellen.
After the first four weeks we find ourselves moving into the second phase of this season with some of the more experienced teams facing one another. In the first big match up of our season we took on Elsternwick down at Holmes/Todd Oval (Elsternwick Park Oval 2) against a well drilled and experienced side. They started the game with a flurry and put our defenders under great duress with multiple key forwards leading up to the pill. The Wicks were strong at the contest early and great at extracting the footy to their outside runners. Unfortunately, many of the forward forays by La Trobe were intercepted with their defenders working hard to outnumber the Trober forwards. Down by 10 goals half way through the second quarter was not an enviable position for La Trobe and required some tactical manoeuvring from the coaches to change the run of play.
This proved positive with the move of Josh Hay from half back to the wing, who battled manfully all day and shut down their link between half back and forward while being able to win some of the pill of his own. Pat Howard pushed out from full back to centre half back and provided some great intercept run and carry while Jamie Koo showed he has what it takes to take on some of key forwards in our competition.
The second half also showed a much-improved contested ball effort with Daniel Thwaites bullocking through the middle and providing use to our mids who started to lower the eyes and force the Elsternwick defenders to be more accountable. This is certainly the method of success against Elsternwick when we play them later in the year.
Another change was the new half back line of Dom Tracy, Pat Howard and debutant Jobe MacShane who were very solid in the second half and built a base for our greater success. La Trobe were able to gain possession across wing and half back rather than on the last line of defence allowing for more effective forward thrusts, despite our again poor kicking at goals which did not allow us to put any scoreboard pressure on Elsternwick. The last quarter showed some highlights with Jobe MacShane putting in an almost, almost footy legends highlight getting some elevation but not quite bringing down the grab. Get along to watch his aerial acrobatics in the coming weeks. Lachlan Mitchell moved forward and kicked a couple of snags to show his class – perhaps a new position in the coming weeks! Brad Tremellen may have also found a new position across half forward, hitting up at the contest and starting to get his hands on a few marks.
The second half proved to be a very good contest and showed that our Trobers are up to the task of taking on these sides, with some areas to improve for sure. We are confident we have the cattle and the desire to take these guys on at Tony Sheehan Oval later in the year! The tests come thick and fast with ladder leaders South Melbourne Districts away next weekend.
Let’s go the Midday Show!
Thirds Men:
La Trobe 0.0 (0) forfeited to AJAX FC 0.0 (60)
Goal Kickers: Nil.
Best Players: Nil.
As injuries in the seniors pile up, the struggle to field a Thirds continues. However, all it takes is another half a dozen players to come back and pull the boots on for the Trobers again for our Thirds to get back on track.
Word is Ryan McMinn and Lachlan Watson are due for their comeback games this Saturday for their first run on Tony Sheehan Oval. While Jake Lasslett is primed to play game 100 for the club in the same match. If you’re keen to lace them up with these two great men then get in contact with Thirds Coach Cam Blair, 0412 694 805.
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