Saturday 24th April
Bill Lawry Oval
Darebin Falcons 1.5-11 def by Geelong 11.9.75
Photos by @Rob Lawson Photography
Darebin put in a good performance this week with a commitment to physicality but were ultimately outrun by the visiting Cats who added 8 goals to 1 in the second half. It was a very lively start with the Falcons getting the ball into their forward line. Both teams squandered some chances, but it was the Cat leading by 4 points at the first change. In the 2nd quarter, Darebin were struck by injury, with first ruck Cubasch, then winger Camellieri being taking from the ground by stretcher after ankle injury. Neither player was able to take part in the rest of the game. Despite some opportunities including a wayward set shot just before half time, Darebin failed to score a goal and trailed by 21 points at half time. Being short of 2 rotations, the Falcons looked like they ran out of legs in the second half, against a confident Geelong side chasing their 4th win on the trot. Alyssa Mifsud kicked the game’s only goal after a 50 metre penalty took her to the goal square in the third quarter and the last quarter was played mostly in the Cats forwards, with the Falcons not able to add any score to their tally.
Jess Dal Pos first game for 2021 was exciting for the Falcons supporters, with her impressive work rate and terrific ball skills on display. It is exciting for the squad to have her in the midfield, and she will be incredibly valuable as an on-field leader for our emerging, and talented midfielders. This round was a debut for VFLW for youngster Georgia Wilson, after kicking a bag of goals and impressing the selectors in the Div 1 NFNL game. Wilson had some nice moments but was at times out-bodied by stronger opponents. Hayley Munroe had a good game on her return with some strong marks up forward. Alice Caddy brought some great tackle pressure which was often rewarded with turnovers and Kathleen Roe also won a lot of ball back with a strong game playing at full back. Alyssa Mifsud battled hard all day with many second and third efforts, and after the injury to Cubasch, played well in ruck. She was named Terminus Player of the Match.
Assistant Coach Julia Chiera said she was really pleased with the start for the team and the capacity to match the pressure in the first quarter’s arm wrestle. But unfortunately, it became difficult to maintain the pressure after being down 2 players and missing a few chances on the scoreboard. Coach Mitch Skelly praised the work of the team in training, with the focus on transition from attack to defence, and commitment to each other. A key focus will be improving the transition from defence to attack, and to reward the hard work and efforts with some accurate ball movement.
Falcons will face Port Melbourne next round, who will be up for a challenge after losing their first game this week. It is another home game, so all a chance to be loud in support for our Falcons this week.
Saturday 1 May, 12noon, Bill Lawry Oval
DAREBIN
Goal Kickers:A Mifsud
Best Players: A.Mifsud, J. Dal Pos, N.Callinan, E.Buckley, H.Munro, A. Gunn,
Full match centre: SportsTG
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