The Mitcham Junior Football Club teams were involved in Round 3 action over the Anzac Long Weekend. The Under 9’s took on South Croydon at home. Their coach Carlo Fanfulla said, “This weekend the team played in their third together and were lead by this weeks captain Jordan Ede who managed to score a goal. The boys really are starting to show us much improvement as they are getting to know how to play together as a team. Their understanding of positioning is improving steadily and was evident with some of their great clearances out of the back line. It was good to see that a lot of the skills we are teaching them at training are starting to be performed during games. Lachlan Gilchrist helped lift the team with his great marking and a couple of goals. South Croydon however, did put on a good display over 4 quarters and proved to be the better side on the day. I’m extremely proud of how well the boys present themselves each week and the future certainly is bright for this team. Go Tigers!”
The Under 10’s traveled up to Kilsyth for the annual Lightning Premiership. What a day! Blessed with glorious sunshine, we could not have wished for better conditions at this time of year. The club certainly stood out with our magnificent Mitcham Junior Football Club tent set up in the “Tent City” at Pinks Reserve. The team played four games throughout the day against much bigger and strong opposition and although they didn’t come away with a win, they played some fantastic football and really pushed the undefeated Bayswater team in their final game to only lose by a couple of points. Special thanks go to Amanda, Nicole, Paul, Rob and Cam for setting things up and making this an enjoyable day for the kids and parents alike. A big thanks you to Nicole for transporting everything up to Kilsyth and back to the club in her trailer.
The Under 11’s played away, facing off against a strong opposition in Croydon South. Both teams were keen to get the four points and produced a tense 4 quarters of football. The first quarter was even which was reflected on the scoreboard. The second quarter was dominated by the Tigers, but plenty of rushed behinds meant that the pressure was really on as the scores remained tight. South Croydon kept working hard and kept the Tigers scoreless in the third as they evened things up at ¾ time. It all came down to the final quarter and with much needed goals from both Joel and Jake, our team was able to go on and win a very good game of pressure football. In a game like this, pressure when you haven’t got the ball along with tackling is really important. Theo Fousias and Patrick Cotter’s tackling was intense all day. Well-done boys. Once again the players came together to work as a team and were able to sing the song loud with big smiles. The team is looking forward to playing back at home next week.
Final Score: Mitcham 5.11.41 def Croydon 5.5.35
The Under 12's played at home and also took on a South Croydon team who were undefeated and on top of the ladder. Here is what Coach Marcus Webb had to say: “The boys were great this weekend - with much improved efforts to maintain their positions and stick to their roles. The contest was close and fierce for the entire game. After trading points in the fourth quarter with South Croydon, we managed to fight our way to the smallest of leads to get the win. Along the way there were some terrific efforts with Emi, Luke BritoB and Corey standing out but also aided by good games from Michael, Lincoln, Noah, Harry and Max. Our backline of Josh, Callum, Ari and Harrison did a fantastic job in keeping South Croydon to just the four goals. Well done boys!”
Final Score: Mitcham 4.9.33 def South Croydon 4.8.32
The Under 14’s made the short trip to Morton Park in Blackburn to take on a Blackburn team who were also undefeated after three rounds. In a really good close game of football, our boys were able to get on top in the second half to record a good win. Here is what Coach Cam Chivers had to say after the game: “This was a game we knew was going to be tough from the get go. We knew we had to be disciplined to come away with a win and had to sacrifice the individual efforts and work as a team. We won the clearances in the first half and had 9 scoring shots to 8 but were still down on the scoreboard so some structual changes and some encouragement at half time did the trick. Our boys are all on the same page in terms of where we want to be at seasons end and we will continue to work hard in our quest. To start 3-0 is a good effort and we know there is more hard work to be done if we are going to challenge.”
Final Score: Mitcham 8.10.58 d Blackburn 6.5.41
This week the Under 17's headed down to The Basin to take on the bears that have had an indifferent start to the season with a 50% win loss ratio. Coach Gavin Ward sent in this report: “On a near perfect day for footy the boys lined up for a couple of The Basin ‘100 game players’ plus we also paid our respects to the Anzacs with the last post and a minutes silence - WELL done to The Basin JFC on putting on a fitting tribute. One thing for sure is when you play a Basin team it’s always a spirited affair and the bears jumped out of the blocks early kicking the first goal. After regaining our composure, the boys played some good team footy to record a good win. Again with a nice touch after the game The Basin awarded an Anzac Medal to the best player in both teams. On this occasion for us, it went to Michael Barro. A big thank you to our trainer Sue Smith who tendered to a couple of our boys who had potentially serious injuries. The under 17s are very lucky to have a medical professional on our staff and it never creases to amaze how some spectators try to inject themselves into the game when they have no idea as to the wellbeing of the injured player. Best to let those trained in such situations to do their job regardless of the state of play.”
Final Score: Mitcham 18.17.125 d The Basin 3.3.21
Last Modified on 04/12/2019 12:29