U13 Girls Brown 2018

Scott's Round 3 wrap-up

Hi Roy-families, bit slow off the mark this year with match wraps but round three, here we go!

Sunday’s game was a great learning experience. The Kew Rovers demonstrated the benefits of being an established team with a well-practiced game plan.

They set the tempo of the game by playing on, dominating the space around the scrums and giving their team mates room to act.

The first two quarters saw the Roygirls running and fighting hard. In the centre, our girls gave it their best against some tall timber; this was clearly not the same team that we faced in the practice match. On our defensive side of the field, the Roygirls had their work cut out as time and again the Rovers swept the ball forward.

Darcy had his work cut out as runner as players were moved and instructions delivered. At half-time the Roy girls, red-faced and sweaty, enjoyed some well-deserved oranges and drinks and listened to the new plan. You’ve got to hand it to the girls, they listened and went out, stuck to their players like glue and stopped them in their tracks.

Their determination was outstanding. The Roys fought for every inch of ground. The ball came within metres of Kew’s goals but they couldn’t convert. Every move was contested and cracks began to open up through which the Roys started to move the ball forward. In the closer contest, marks were taken, tackles were paid and at one point it looked like a Kew player was going to be dragged bodily all the way to our goals. It was inspiring and demonstrated the underlying fibre of the team; everybody fights, nobody quits.

The fire of the third quarter continued into the fourth and there were more feats of determination including a brilliant flying spoil that denied one of the tallest opponents a mark in front of goals but in the end Kew regained some of their momentum against our justly fatigued Roy girls.

A new team is like a jigsaw puzzle that gets assembled week by week and judging by this week it’s going to be a great season.

A massive thank you to the parents who filled roles this week and please forgive me for not getting everyone’s name and duty correct – Rohan, Darcy, Chris, Mark, Ray, thank you Brigid for providing the bag of snakes as the prize for the best opposition player – better than a medal any day! Thanks water carriers, you had a busy day with all that sunshine. And last but not least our fantastic Team Managers Shona and Merryn.

See you at training.

Go Roy Girls!

Scott's Round 4 wrap-up

Hi Roy families, another big day in the field and Sam and I had our work cut out.

Yesterday marked the end of the grading rounds. Having faced the top four teams in the Under 13 competition it is time to look forward to finding our level in a new division and thinking about what we have learned.

Kew were good. They were not just physically strong, they displayed the confidence of a team with seasons of shared experience.

From the opening bounce the Roygirls stuck tight to their players with a determination that never wavered. They tackled, they bumped they chased and contested at every point.

It was never all one way with many instances of defensive play turning into attack as the girls won the ball and brought it down the wings. Agile taps, strong marks and well directed kicks that drove up the ground showed how far the girls have come since round one.

The girls also showed good decision making skills, anticipating the movement out of the goals to the opposite side from which it came in and centring it in the forward 50.

Kew had to work for it but at the end of the day were able to get a run on.

The score was what it was but the real headline for the Roygirls were those two magical points in the final quarter. Our first score since round one was against the best team in the league and it came at a time in the game when other teams would have broken.

Take that as a victory girls. The rest of the season begins now.

As always, thank you to everyone who filled roles this week, without you the game could not happen. Big thanks to our awesome TM team, Merryn and Shona.

See you at training.

Go Roygirls!

Scott's Round 5 wrap-up

Hi Roygirls and families, our first foray into Brown division and our first goal for the season. It was a good day.

With winter almost upon us, the day was sunny but chilly. It was football weather; a day where hard work was needed to break a sweat but the girls certainly managed it.

From the outset it was clear that this was going to be a battle of skill and will. The ball moved up and down the ground from their forward line to our forward line without finding the goals.

Our back line did a stirling job of pressuring Hawthorn’s attacks into a series of points. Showing what they have learned, the girls brought the ball around – in one side and out the other to move it onto the less congested wing. It is easy to describe ball movement at training but magical to see the girls translate it in the field under real pressure.

Or first goal was a special moment for everyone and the noise coming from the Fitzroy bench made the opposition coaches turn around. It was a high kick that made the goal umpire look like he was about to fall over backwards as he watched it sail way over his head.

Another thing that stood out again on Sunday was the girl’s composure. They were never rattled and made good decisions throughout.  The girls showed several times the ability to get the ball out of contests quickly with a handball and our goal from here is do this consistently to give team mates the space to get it away. There was a similar situation with locking the ball into our forward line; there was no lack of determination and when we had players a kick behind play we were able to prevent the opposition from getting it out. Each game is an opportunity to learn and it was clear on Sunday that the girls are becoming tighter as a team. Our song is not far away. I can hear it now.

Special mention this week to all the mothers who make our team possible, we hope you had a nice Mother’s Day. Thank you to Scott Davis for being Assistant Coach and handling the mouthguard crisis with calm action. Cheers to Rohan, Frank, snakes and oranges, voters, Janelle for photography – great shot of the goal!, water carriers and umpires and of course our super

TM team who do a brilliant job of making it happen each week.

See you at training.

Go Roy girls!

Congrats Rachel: Indigenous Round Medal Winner!

Congratulations Rachel D (#21) on winning the Joe Johnson Indigenous Round Medal in Round 8 for demonstrating in the strongest way, the 5 attributes of: EDURANCE, TENACITY, COURAGE, LOYALTY, and PRIDE! We’re all proud of you!

Scott's Round 8 wrap-up

Hi Roy families, it became clear to me yesterday why soccer games can be such a powder keg for spectators.

Sixty minutes of play and one goal each cranked the tension to an almost unbearable level. What a battle.

The Roygirls’ attitude from the get-go was fantastic. The roar before the game was extended and ferocious; their mojo was back and set to eleven.

The Bullants who had comfortably vanquished the Rovers could have been forgiven for feeling confident going in, but a week is a long time in junior football and they were soon being hard pressed by some rampaging Lions.

Our defensive game is strong and relentless. It is the one thing that every opposition coach has remarked upon since the very start of the season. The Roygirls tackle, spoil, bump and tackle again. They are never intimidated and they don’t take a backward step. Its all about heart.

Our attacking game is also improving with lots on display yesterday. The girls have really taken on the idea of running hard and knocking the ball forward under pressure to create opportunities.

Two standout occasions were when a Roygirl with three opponents hard on her tail, hand-balled forward into space and then gathered the ball up and another Roy who was being tackled got her hands up and quickly passed the ball about ten metres to a team mate who ran on. Running is never wasted in football and we saw how mobile players more often than not find themselves in the right place at the right time.

With one goal apiece the race to get another score on the board was intense. The Bullants’ attacks were turned around sometimes in spectacular fashion. With the goals open and thirty metres out it looked like a Preston goal for sure in the third quarter. Time appeared to slow down as a Roygirl streaked across the pockets at warp factor nine and executed a flying tackle that left the other girl wondering what had happened. In the last quarter following the confusion of the umpire’s call – was it a throw in or kick in? – Preston’s goals were open again but our full back saved the day with a strong overhead mark and an accurate kick out. That final quarter was telling in that the ball spent most of its time in our half and at the final siren it can only have been ten metres from our goal along with the entire Preston team. Just one more minute – surely!

The girls can be justly proud of their efforts and earned the right to sing their song which they did heartily.

Congratulations to Rachel for winning the Joe Johnson medal which was an even greater honour among a team who demonstrated all of the qualities that the medal stands for.

It seems a shame that we won’t be on next week but lets take the time to refocus and bring out the best roar yet in round ten.

Go Roygirls!