Round 3 - Fitzroy vs Glen Iris

Cooler, blustery conditions were the order of the day as Fitzroy played the evenly matched Glen Iris team at home. In his pre-game address, John spoke with the boys about the importance of composure in their game. He encouraged them to be effective with their disposal of the ball. Kicking with the wind, the opening quarter went well for Fitzroy. Mason, Sam Ward and Lucas teamed well to narrowly miss scoring the team's first goal, before minutes later Kyle kicked his first major of the season. Joel was dominating in the ruck and Laird and Stanley were working hard to keep the ball in Fitzroy's forward line. The second quarter saw Glen Iris attack the ball with more commitment than Fitzroy however and despite the valiant efforts of Will, Issac, Finn and Leo in the backline, the opposition kicked three goals in rapid succession. To make things worse, Max sustained a serious knee injury and was carried from the ground (a big loss).  At half time John spoke with the boys about the importance of manning up and noted that the final goal was scored with four Glen Iris players alone in their goal square. Kicking with the wind again, the second half started strongly for Fitzroy. Noah Dekker and Joe were teaming well and Mason was seemingly everywhere (an amazing improvement this season). Finn was demonstrating great commitment with his attack on the ball and Dom and Issac were doing some fine work in the ruck. Lachie, Jack and Sam Clarke all proving effective at keeping the ball in Fitzroy's forward line and Yianni was battling hard against multiple opposition players in the goal square. The team's efforts were finally rewarded when Alex executed an amazing 'Peter Daicos' style boundary line snap to kick a goal. The final quarter saw Fitzroy kicking into the wind. Unlike the second quarter however, the boys controlled play. Tom Ward and Noah Cameroux were proving effective and Joe continued his strong form from the previous quarter. Taking on three players on the forward flank, Darcy broke free and against the odds, kicked a wonderful goal into the wind. Having been well down on the scoreline, Fitzroy were now back in the game, only a point behind. With both teams trying hard however, but the wind against them, the boys sadly ran out of time to put themselves ahead. Issac won the opposition team medal for best Fitzroy player (reward for his consistency all day).  Back in the rooms, John and the coaching panel were delighted with the commitment shown by the team in the second half, with Glen Iris scoring only two points. Gerry outlined that other than the second quarter, statistically the boys had performed well all day. Sam Clarke and Jack were awarded the bags of lollies for their effects in holding down the backline. The boys final question for the day was for Max, with concern for this injury.

Final scores:

Fitzroy 3:3:21
Glen Iris 3:5:23