Round 4 - Macleod vs Fitzroy

The Mother's Day clash against the ladder leader, Macleod, took place in wet, mild conditions. In his pre-game address, John urged the boys to run and encourage and to play their own game. Team Captains, Tom Ward and Joe Martin, led the boys out. The first quarter started with Finn marking strongly on the half back line and Mason getting some early touches of the ball. Noah Dekker was competitive against three opposition players in the last line of defence while at the other end of the ground, Stanley was unlucky not to kick the team's first goal. Jack and Sam Ward were continuing their consistent form from the previous week, while Joel was showing who was boss in the ruck. Unfortunately, Macleod were demonstrating why they were the top team on the ladder and made good use of their scoring opportunities. The second quarter started with Stanley and Alex teaming well in the forward pocket to kick a point and Issac marking strongly on the half forward line. Finn was continuing his strong form from the first quarter (best game for the season) while Leo was throwing his body into the fray. Lachie was playing hard, positive football in defence. Alas, Macleod had another strong quarter and managed to extend their lead. In the rooms at half time, Gerry spoke with the boys about the importance of staying on their feet and staying in the contest, while John encouraged the boys to be accurate with their kicking. The third quarter saw Leo contesting in the air and punching the ball out of harms way, while Yianni and Laird were having an impact in and around the packs. Sam Clarke marked strongly in defence. In an impressive passage of play for Fitzroy, Dom kicked from centre half back to Stanley, who then kicked to Sam Ward, who kicked to Darcy, who then narrowly missed kicking a goal. At the other end of the ground, Lucas was doing a fine job at full back, preventing a couple of scoring opportunities by Macleod and being artful with his kickouts. The final quarter was Fitzroy's best and they outplayed Macleod. Kyle was fast and effective with his use of the ball, creating opportunities for the team. In the forward line, Yianni marked strongly and went on to kick the team's first goal for the day. Joe was having a cracking quarter in the back pocket, marking strongly and smothering the ball. Issac was showing dash from the half back line,easily outpacing his opponents. Laird, Noah Cameroux and Noah Dekker were both finishing the game strongly. Despite Fitzroy's heroic last quarter efforts however, Macleod were the stronger team on the day and ran home easy winners. Back in the rooms, Mason and Lucas were awarded the lolly bags, Mason for his much improved form and Lucas for his good form and versatility at both ends of the ground. With another demoralizing loss and the grading games at an end, John outlined that there may be an opportunity for the boys to drop down a level from Gold to Brown along with the promise of a more even competition. Whether the opportunity would be realized would be known latter in the week. The boys gave three cheers for their mothers and everyone went home to enjoy the rest of Mother's Day. Go Roys!