Round 2 Match Reports (2021)
SENIOR MEN:
La Trobe 13.14 (92) defeat Masala Dandenong FC 12.4 (76)
Goal Kickers: J. Horder 4, T. Spiteri 3, M. Ogle 2, B. Vicary, P. Lindsay, R. Alexander, I. Fan.
Best Players: T. Whelan, B. Vicary, P. Lindsay, J. De Angelis, B. Robinson, I. Fan.
The Trober train is starting to roll. Saturday’s match was an arm wrestle from the first bounce but La Trobe were able to edge out a gutsy win against a competitive Masala outfit.
After trailing by 3 goals mid-way through the second quarter, the La Trobe boys needed a lift, especially in the midfield. That lift came from a pocket sized, Jack Russell type, Brad Robinson and the big tall bugger Matt Ogle. Their pairing shows a strong resemblance to the 1988 Arnie Schwarzenegger, Danny De Vito film “Twins’. It wasn’t just a two man show in there though – Sam Benetti-Baker played an important shutdown role and Josh Rogerson was also pivotal.
Ben Vicary impressed in his first game for the Club – you could argue his ferocious handle bar moustache enhanced his performance! The forward line is starting to gell with Josh Horder booting 4, Tate Spiteri snagging a treble and big “Uncle Pat” Lindsay dominating across half forward.
Ernie Fan played a nice lockdown role on a bloke affectionately known as “Disco’. Good on ya Ern! Tom Whelan continued his brilliant form with a stellar performance across half back and a special mention to Joey De Angelis for his running bounces – quite literally bouncing the pill on the paint of the boundary line.
Unfortunately, two players did go down with injuries late in the final quarter – Zach Tunks popped his shoulder out and Ernie Fan injured his knee. We wish them a speedy recovery.
The boys roll onto Box Hill North AFC next week and will look to go 3 ‘n’ Zip.
SENIOR WOMEN:
La Trobe 0.0 (0) defeat by Whitefriars OC FC 11.11 (77)
Goal Kickers: Nil.
Best Players: S. Darlington, K. Ritchie, E. Freeman, C. Croome, S. Castagnini, A. Atkinson.
After a near miss in Round 1 the women were hoping to taste victory this week. We arrived at Whitefriars home ground to find a large, expansive oval, similar to our own Tony Sheehan Oval.
This week there were 6 debutantes in the side, plus a number of noticeable outs.
Unfortunately, Whitefriars came bursting out of the middle, winning many clearances and getting on the board early and frequently. The girls in defence worked tirelessly all day, with Steph Darlington repeatedly putting her body on the line in only her second game of footy.
Our midfielders tried to keep up with their speedy opponents with Kaitlyn Ritchie able to break through the packs and gain some much-needed meterage with her long impactful kicking. Unfortunately, the ball boomeranged back down to our defensive 50 all too easily.
The Trober girls trailed 49 to 0 at half time. Coach Jaryd inspired the women to focus on areas of improvement to take into both the second half of the game and next round.
Elise Freeman, Charlotte Croome, Steph Castagnini and Annie Atkinson were also among the best in a much better second half with the final score 77 to 0.
RESERVE MEN:
La Trobe 33.33 (231) defeat Masala Dandenong FC 1.2 (8)
Goal Kickers: M. Oliver 11, J. O’Brien 10, J. Coghill 4, E. Stone 2, P. Howard, C. McKenzie, T. Hatty, J. Gibson, S. Rathbone, Z. Price.
Best Players: M. Oliver, J. O’Brien, J. Gibson, T. Costa, R. Pain, A. Marulli.
Naturally with 33 goals scored, there were some big bags kicked by our forwards. And there was none bigger than the 11 snags kicked by big Mitch Oliver and 10 from Jordy ‘Jobba’ O’Brien. Despite the score line, there was a dramatic finish to this one as with just seconds left Jobba was fishing for his tenth, and he found it with a mark in the goal square just before the air horn sounded to slot it through.
The boys got off to a solid start in the first quarter but lacked a bit of polish in front of goal after finishing with 5.8 at the break. However, they straightened up in the next couple of quarters to go on and take the absolute mickey out of the game. The 100-point margin was brought up late in the second as the boys went on to kick 20.10 in the space of two quarters.
While the entire 22 played a part and could have been named in the best, the midfield combination of Harry ‘Pale’ Thackray and Ethan Stone had a field day while Joe Gibson was racking up the possessions from half-back. Women’s coach Jaryd Coghill turned up late in the first quarter but that didn’t stop him from kicking his four goals in quick succession in the second quarter against his former club.
To Masala’s credit, they were able to kick their first goal of the season early in the third quarter, a play we’re sure will be heavily scrutinised by coaches Huss and Nartz!
The Trobers will be looking for another big effort against Box Hill North AFC next week as they take off for their last away game before coming back home in Round 4.
THIRDS MEN:
La Trobe 9.13 (67) defeated by Emmaus St Loes OC FC 15.9 (99)
Goal Kickers: D. Guy 2, N. Delaney 2, M. Minichilli, N. Singh, D. Stephenson, M. Trainor, A. Tomada.
Best Players: T. Floyd, D. Thorn, R. Fawcett, L. Antonio, D. Guy, J. Lasslett.
With a full team of twenty-four our Thirds had the opposite problem to last week – trying to balance rotations. Cam Blair stepped up to help coach for the first time as the boys put up a good fight against Emmaus St Leos.
With a few more new faces again there were some cobwebs to blow off early, but Liam Antonio continued his Round 1 form dominating in the ruck like a young Nic Nat roving his own work and dancing around opponents with ease. Mark Trainor and Damon Guy kicked goals in the first term to get us on the board while Nick Delaney and Darcy Stephenson continued the trend with early goals in the second term in a tight contest.
Tom Floyd, in his first game for the season, was a class above with his slick skills and high work-rate. Jake Lasslett, Robbie Fawcett, Damon Guy and Will Wilson again led the way all day with solid performances. Darcy Thorn was also good in his first game back for the Club.
Unfortunately, the boys ran out of legs after three quarter time which would suggest the importance of getting along to training during the week. However, the good news is that plenty of boys are putting pressure on the Reserves for spots!
Published by Lachlan Miller, Steph Castagnini & Grant Dowler 18.04.2021
