Senior Football
The much anticipated re-match from last year’s elimination final saw the Tatura Bulldogs come up against the Mooroopna Cats. The result from the final saw the Cats beat Tatura by six points; a score line which could have been much greater, except for poor conversion on goal.
After some off-season recruiting and promising practice match form, the Bulldogs were eager to regain the Rodney Cup. Mooroopna were also active in the off season, adding former Geelong Premiership player Mark Blake to its squad.
The Easter Saturday game was played in fine conditions before a final-like crowd. The game was played with the intensity of a final and neither side relented from the pressure applied. With only minutes remaining, the scores were locked up at 66 points each and Mooroopna was able to prevail. The last score of the day gave them a six-point victory.
The scores were close throughout the match. Tatura was first on the board at the three-minute mark of the first quarter. Both defences were on top and it wasn’t until half way through the quarter that the Cats registered their first goal quickly. They followed up with another to take the lead.
Cam Trewin converted from a strong lead to put the Dogs up by a point. Paul Kirby and Tom Miller combined together in defence to rebound the ball up forward. Tim Little had the huge job of reducing Mark Blake’s influence and played well.
Mooroopna registered two quick goals and looked like wresting control of the match, until two minutes before the break. Justin Murphy converted a long bomb, followed by Rob Montgomery, who split the middle to have the Bulldogs back within a point at the first break.
The second quarter was a battle between the half back lines. With only one goal scored for the quarter, Mooroopna was up by six points at the long break. Lee Owen and Shannon Broadbent worked overtime in the midfield to curb the influence big cat Blake was having with his ruck work.
The young defence of Jayden Young, Billy Lovel and Tom Miller, led by Paul Kirby, was able to blanket their opponents as well as provide plenty of run. Unfortunately, the Cats were equally as efficient up the other end, resulting in a real slog between two high quality teams.
The Bulldogs broke down across half forward, forcing coach Steve Daniel and the co-coaches to re-jig the forward structure after half time, placing Justin Murphy one out deep in attack and bringing Cam Trewin and Steve Shaw further up the field across half forward.
The third quarter saw Mooroopna extend its lead to 21 points, before Lee Owen finally registered Tatura’s first goal in more than 40 minutes of game time. Murphy followed up and the lead was back to a manageable eight points. A late Mooroopna goal extended the lead at the last break to 14 points.
The Bulldogs adopted a man-on-man strategy in the final quarter and the change worked, as the Bulldogs rattled on three goals. When Tim Lanyon kicked a goal at the 18-minute mark, the Bulldogs hit the front by six points and the crowd became vocal in support of both teams.
The Cats replied with the final two goals of the game, which delivered them a hard fought victory and retention of the Rodney Cup. The Bulldogs had their chances and the missed opportunities came back to haunt them when the siren sounded.
Amongst the disappointment of defeat came the belief that the side has improved considerably and the style of play will only get better as the recruits gell with the local players. The younger players appear to have taken another step in their development. Supporters can look forward to a strong season; a place in the finals is definitely within the side’s capabilities.
SCORE: Mooroopna 10-12-72 V Tatura 9-12-66
GOALS: J Murphy 2, T Lanyon 2, C Trewin 1, S Shaw 1, R Montgomery 1, C Ryan 1, L Owen 1
BEST: T Little, L Owen, P Kirby, S Broadbent, T Miller, J Murphy
RESERVES:
The Reserves, under the tutelage of Scott Thorn and Paul Neville, commenced the new season with a revamped team. The all-conquering 2011 Reserves team was dispatched to a variety of clubs near and far. A number of new players were welcomed to the club and quite a few players returned.
The first encounter against Mooroopna was always going to be a tough assignment and it proved to be the case. The Cats came out of the blocks quickly and with intent, slamming on five goals to one in the first quarter.
Pat Frappell, after a season away, worked overtime in the ruck contests. He was given support from skipper Scott Thorn, whose fierce attack on the footy was inspirational to his players.
The scores were reversed and, at the long break, the Dogs were only one point down.
Jase O’Neill, who played Reserves to regain match fitness, was a ball magnet until he copped a heavy knock. He was well supported by new recruit Rhodes Cousland, who has a lot of senior experience in metro football. Nick Rijs provided a target up forward, slamming through a couple of goals.
With some injuries and the withdrawal at half time of Matt Pollard, the rotations through the bench were restricted. This had an effect in the second half, with the Cats kicking 6 goals to 2 to run out 25 point winners.
SCORES: Mooroopna 12-5-77 V Tatura 8-4-52
GOALS: P Neville 2, N Rijs 2, N Elliot, S Beale, J O’Neill, S Thorn
BEST: P Frappell, J O’Neill, R Cousland, J Harris, J Conheady, N Elliott
U/18s
The young pups came out strong in the first quarter, taking an early lead. Unfortunately, poor conversion was costly. The Dogs missed at least four shots from inside the goal square, as opposed to their opponents, who took every opportunity and slammed on 10 goals before a miss.
With several players to come back into the team, the outlook is positive for the season. Sean Martin and Mitch Elliott gathered plenty of the ball and used it well. Matt Cornwell and Dylan Argus delivered hard running and were able to gather plenty of the football as well.
The second half saw an improved display, with 5 goals 4 kicked to the Cats’ 9 goals 3.
Coach Joe Minutoli was happy with the team’s ability to run the game out and the endeavour of all the players.
SCORE: Mooroopna 19-4-118 V Tatura 6-12-48
GOALS: M Cornwell 2, M Daniel 2, D Argus 1, M Basille 1
BEST: S Martin, M Elliott, D Argus, M Cornwell, D Guy, M Basille
Last Modified on 15/06/2012 15:36