R12 was a big game against arch rivals St Damiens at our home ground in front of what turned out to be a large crowd on Sunday. With Gunners, Whitty, Sarge away and Issy and Elise Injured we had our backs to the wall again!
We lost the toss and kicked against a strong breeze. The quarter was a struggle with all girls working hard to run the ball into our forward line only to see it come straight back out as the opposition clogged our forward line. Luckily they did not have many players forward so we played kick to kick for most of this Qtr. The mid field and back line were fantastic with only one goal kicked by the opposition.
Qtr time scores:
Darebin: 0. 1. 01
St Dam: 1. 1. 07
The second saw us having to deal with even more congestion in our forward line as we tried valiantly to apply score board pressure. Unfortunately we kicked only one goal three points and it was game on. Our back line played in front and denied St Dam. any scoring opportunities.
Hal Time:
Darebin: 1. 4. 10
St Dam: 1. 1. 07
The third was a real test as we had to keep possession against the breeze and deny St Damiens the chance to put the game out of our reach. The girls shear determination and strong contested work kept the ball in our forward line for almost all of this quarter. Unfortunately as is often the case the ball squirts out once and to their credit St Damiens scored the only goal from a freakish snap by Richo to put them 2 points up.
3rd Qtr:
Darebin: 1. 5. 11
St Dam: 2. 1. 13
With a couple of changes and some deep breaths the girls took to the park with great energy and an arm struggle ensured for the first 5 minutes. St Damiens sensed an opportunity to beat us and were throwing everything at us. With a large crowd watching and cheering, our girls were up to the task with all contributing and kicking away finally kicking some majors and running away with a very good win.
Final score:
Darebin: 4. 8. 32
St Dam: 3. 1. 19
Well done to all and thanks to all the volunteers. A great game with lots of pressure is what we need leading into finals.
We will miss Bonnie and Rechelle who both have Vic U16 duties in Canberra over the next 2 weeks. Good luck girls