Well we are now halfway through Season 2014 as the Mitcham Junior Football Club teams took part in Round 7 action over the weekend just gone. It is fantastic to see so many kids playing football in the famous “Yellow and Black” and watching them develop their skills as the season progresses.
The Under 9’s hosted Upper Ferntree Gully in well fought out contest that was played in good spirit. Assistant Coach, Paul OSullivan was full of praise for his team – “The boys adjusted really well considering they had a new voice today, with me standing in as coach for the day for Carlo who is doing a fantastic job with the boys. Our mars play of the day awards were well deserved today, going out to Leo Gigliuto for his tenacious efforts all day on ball, Alexander Hopkins for his solid work in defense, and Jok Chol who continues to listen and follow instruction in holding his position...WELL DONE BOYS. In summary, I was proud of the effort and fight the boys displayed to the end even though it was a tough day. Keep working hard at training boys and you will get the rewards”
The Under 10’s travelled over to the Knox Gardens Reserve to take on Knox. What a great facility the Knox Football Club have there. Good ground, good rooms and an excellent viewing platform to watch the kids play football. Coach Jason Philactides spoke with the pride he has for his group of players when he spoke about the game. “Persistence pays off! Today we took on Knox who were in a similar position to us in regards to how their season has gone so far, so there was a lot of anticipation from the coaching staff as to how we would go...I am very happy to say it was Mitcham who finished on top in a terrific game of football. It was pleasing and exciting to see the boys works so hard to get the result we were after. I could go on and rattle off so many fantastic pieces of play, however what impressed me and made me very proud, was the way the boys listened and stuck to the game plan, including positioning themselves as instructed and the wonderful celebrations after each goal. We all know footy is such an emotional game and we have all been guilty of showing too many emotions at times, however when we kicked 3 goals in a row and when the final siren blew, the emotions the boys showed and the happiness on their faces makes coaching and being apart of a great team of kids worth it. I know I say it every week but the team is improving and the boys really showed that today with the ball movement around the ground. The boys are still very new to the game, but the improvement since game 1 has been phenomenal...to this day I still have not seen another team tackle or make quick decisions to handball in pressure situations better than we do. I really do believe, that if this group can stick together throughout their footy career they will enjoy a lot of success. Well done to Dan N and Dan T for captaining the team. And congratulations to Mateo and Mick for being awarded the 2 best players on the day for their hard work around the packs and their “one precenters” that helped make all the difference. Congratulations to all the boys!!”
The Under 11’s went down the highway to take on Norwood. All 24 players contributed to a well-deserved victory away from home. A disciplined back-line was the recipe for success this week. It goes to show that when our defenders identify their opponent and work hard to stop that player from getting any contact with the ball, it makes for an enjoyable day on the field for the forward line. It is important for our goal kickers to remember that their personal satisfaction from kicking goals comes from the “one precenters” such as tackles, shepherds and other (sometimes) unseen acts performed by their team mates up the field. After Sunday’s game it is very difficult to single out players, because there really wasn’t any disappointments. That being said, it was noted at the end of the game how impressive contributions from Lachlan, Geromi, Cal and Patrick K were in need of special mention. Well done everybody. Now we have to focus on Glen Waverley.
Final Score: Mitcham 12.12.84 d Norwood 0.1.1
The Under 12’s took on Montrose at Walker Park. Coach Marcus Webb spoke of the positives taken out of a game played against a much stronger opposition. “The boys started positively in the first quarter getting the ball forward quite often but unable to produce a goal. We continued to be competitive around the ground all day with Julian, Michael and Luke B playing good games. Similarly, Callum showed great attack on the footy and Corey also won the ball in space a lot throughout the game whether on the wing or up forward. Lincoln, Nick, Max W, Noah and Bailey worked hard in the contests. and also took some good grabs. Max W was called on again to play a shutdown role and performed it really well until he was dragged by the coach, unjustly as the video review revealed! For all the good work we did as a team, we just couldn’t quite get the goals on the board that we deserved. In the last quarter however, a great kick-out from Bailey, plus a terrific run from Kyle and Corey provided us with our first goal and there were a few more chances late in the game that didn’t quite come off. The boys came off the ground disappointed with the scoreboard but it was good to see a few smiles - happy that they’d tried hard and knowing they were a bit unlucky here and there. With a number of our key players either not playing or struggling with injuries at the moment, plus Luke S coming out of the game with a decent knock to the face - It was encouraging to see the rest of the team lifting to the challenge. We can keep improving boys so we’ll hit the track and keep working. Go tigers!”
Final Score Montrose 7.9.51 d Mitcham 1.5.11
The Under 14’s were at home as well to take on a Chirnside Park team who had moved back from B Division to C Division. Coach Cam Chivers had this to say about the game- “Disappointing game on our deck. We had a few opportunities to convert but were beaten by a team eager to prove they are capable of pushing us to the brink, which they did today. We lost a couple of “talls” early on in the game and just couldn’t compete with them in the air, which was the difference in the end. We were also lucky that they missed a few “gimme's” at goal, which really made the final margin much closer than it should have been. We must bounce back and continue to work hard if we are going to get better. Pleased with the effort none the less.”
Final Score: Chrinside Park 5.12.42 d Mitcham 2.2.14
The Under 17's traveled out to Lilydale to take on an undefeated Falcon side on the very narrow senior ground. Apart from losing a ball in the creek (and having to use our footballs) the ground was in good condition on a fine day for footy. Coach Gavin Ward said after the game ‘The Dales are a very quick, well balanced side and had the better of our boys around the stoppages, and while we didn’t get the four points today we have seen that we can match it with the top teams, we just need to stay in the contest for longer periods of the game''
On a sader note on behalf of the entire Mitcham under 17 coaching staff and players, we pass on our deepest sympathy to the Giles family on the loss of David's grandfather and Craig's father on Saturday morning. While David was out injured on Sunday, it was fantastic to have him there, along with Craig still doing his running duties. It was also very pleasing to see the boys get around them>
Final Score: Lilydale 13.15.93 d Mitcham 11.2.68
Thanks to Graham Bradtke and Bec Clark for the photos.
A reminder that our Comedy Night will be held this Friday night, May 30 at 7pm in the Sporting Club. This event is a sell out and promises to be fantastic night with Lemo and the Nelson Twins entertaining us all. For those who haven’t returned their “Good Guys” raffle tickets, please get them in before 5.30pm on Friday night. The raffle will be drawn at the Comedy Night and winners will be announced on this website next week.
Last Modified on 04/12/2019 12:30