Under 11 Teal: Match Report Round 8

On a cold, blustery Saturday afternoon at Drummoyne Oval, Under 11 Teal took on the Glebe Greyhounds. The Greyhounds are sitting on top of the ladder, and they gave our boys a bit of a touch up in the first game on the season. Much has changed from the season opener as the Teal boys have improved every game since then.

A tense first quarter saw the boys go the break trailing by a single point as both teams could only manage a goal each, as defence was even across the ground. Well done to Sam J who kicked our first goal, taking a strong mark in front of goal, and going back and slotting it through.

A tight second quarter saw Teal go to the main break with a lead by a point after kicking a couple of points. Unfortunately we couldn’t capitalise kicking with the wind. Callum and Albie were working hard trying to get the ball forward.

The Greyhounds kicked 2 goals to our single major, as the tense scrappy game continued in the third quarter. An unfortunate clash saw Ethan W and Callum needing a break as some ice was found. Good on both boys for getting back on the field and getting amongst it again. Some good lead up work from Tom C and Rafferty delivered a nice kick to Phinn, who put our only goal through. We went to the break 5 points behind the Greyhounds. Ethan D was having a big influence on the game, with one of his best games so far.

Unfortunately it looked like we were running out of steam in the last quarter as the Greyhounds posted a couple of goals to set up a handy lead. Declan capped off a good game with a nice goal to go with his strong defence.

The final score was 33/52 to the greyhounds, but the Teal boys should take some real positives out of the game, as we put a much better team effort than the first meeting.

Next weekend is a bye so enjoy your weekend off.

Under 11 Teal: Match Report Round 7

U11 Teal v Newtown Swans

Round 7, Alan Davidson Oval

On a warm and sunny afternoon, Under 11 Teal travelled to Newtown to take on the Newtown Swans.

From the opening ball up Teal was away! Like a well oiled machine Teal clicked into gear straight away, kicking three quick goals. Ethan D and Callum were winning the hit outs and midfielders Rory and Rafferty were  getting the ball quickly in the forward line with Phinn and Stephen converting into easy goals. By quarter time we had a comfortable lead.

Coach Sean decided to swap the forwards and the backs in the second quarter, and we kept going from where we left off. Josh and Scott both slotted early goals, and there was more good work in the mid field by Albie with his long kicks, and Declan who keeps worrying the opposition with his strong tackling. Sam J also got into the action and kicked a good goal as well.

At half time Sean asked Sam W and Callum to play for the Swans to even things up and they gave it their all putting in strong performances. During the halftime break, Sean said he wanted to see the boys working on their teamwork.

The boys continued to dominate the 3rd quarter kicking another 5 goals, and it was great to see the confidence levels rising across the park. Our tackling, kicking and hand passing kept improving and we were heading for our best win of the season.

Samson, Sam J and Rhys (in only his second game this year) were getting amongst the play, and the two Toms – Tom N and Tom C – were working hard and really kept shutting down the Swans. Winston is getting more confident each game and tackled strongly. He was close to kicking a goal on a couple of occasions.

Declan also joined the Swans in the last quarter, and all Power players and parents were a bit nervous about being on the receiving end of Declan’s tough tackling style, In the last quarter we were playing 18 Swans, including Sam, Callum, and Declan against 13 Teal players. Parents from both teams cheered wildly as the Swans kicked four last quarter goals, to give them some confidence by the end of the game.

The Swans manager made a point of thanking us the spirit in which the game was played, and for the contribution of our boys to lift them in the last quarter. The team song was sung with plenty of gusto; the coach was happy; and the Teal boys headed off for a well earned rest.

 

U10 Teal: Round 4

Under 10 Teal v Western Suburbs Magpies

Round 4

Another difficult game for U10 Teal this week who came up against a bigger, stronger opponent in Wests Magpies. Although our boys were out bodied and faced some superior long kicking skills, the effort and intensity of the Teal unit could not be questioned.

Across the ground, Teal had to be on the defensive and stop the ever pressing pressure from the Wests outfit. Otto was superb across half back, repelling many an attacking foray. Dylan was also the coaches choice for superb efforts across the ground.

Playing short, we had two children from a younger grade step up to help out and both held their heads high. Specific mention needs to go out to Hewie who kicked a tremendous goal under pressure.

The team had fun and sang the club song with gusto!

Next week we host the Maroubra Saints and will hopefully turn the season fortunes around.

Under 9 Black – Round 4

U9 Black vs Western Suburbs Magpies

Round 4, Saturday 5 May, 2018

WH Wagener Oval

Coming off a tough game in the previous week, the battle-scarred U9 Black team was determined to make amends.

The WH Wagener Oval was ready, the sun was out and the boys were there early. The warm up was solid and Coach Mark recapped the prior week, tugging at the hearts of those who felt the pain of defeat. (There’s no scoring in U9, but everyone knows that Junior AFL players are master mathematicians when it comes to their six-times tables.) The boys knew what they needed to do, each committing to give it their all.
Right from the first bounce it was tackle, tackle, tackle. The message had gotten through, and leading the charge was Arnaud – what he lacks in stature he more than makes up for in effort and determination. He is a player reborn.
Grit. It’s what gets you through tough times, and U9 Blacks had plenty of it. Clearing the ball from the rucks (Nathen, Akira and Rohan proving to be deft hands at this), smothering the Pies attempts at clearing kicks (Tom and Dimitri) and wrestling the ball from fierce opposition (Alexander G and Alexander V) laid the foundations for a win and kept the Pies scoreless in two quarters.
Pace. Outrunning your opponent will either win you the ball or save you from eating dirt – both desirable outcomes. And it was again Lachlan, with his incredible turn of speed, with Talan, Luke and Akira who chased down balls and the opposition like cheetahs on a gazelle.
Teamwork. If you don’t have it you won’t win. And today it was there in spades. Austin D and Austen P personified teamwork – they were everywhere today. It didn’t matter what position they were playing, they were there to make the tackle, take the pass and make the mark. Rohan, Luke and Nathen provided great support with a number of possessions and disposals.
Confidence. It could have been a little shaken after the previous week, but you wouldn’t have known it from the way the team played today. The level of confidence was high, none higher than Akira whose mark on the siren in the 3rd term left him with an 80m kick for goal. As he tucked his mouth guard into his sock and lined up the monster kick, you knew this kid was the real deal. Unfortunately, some chewy on his boot and a gale force headwind worked against him today, but his confidence was in no way rocked.
In season 2017, U9 Black was a goal scoring machine, and this match was reminiscent of those days, with 4 goals in total (Dimitri with two, and one each for Talan and Hamish). Throw in a handful of behinds and U9 Black had shaken the monkey of their backs. They are back!

Under 9 Black – Round 1

U9 Black vs Newtown Swans Red

Round 1, Saturday 7 April, 2018

Alan Davidson Oval

The season opener was played under sunny skies and summery temperatures at the lovely Alan Davidson Oval and the excitement was palpable.

With the onset of their first post-Auskick season of tackle the boys had about as much room to move as a PM facing 30 consecutive Newspoll losses but handled the pressure admirably.

From the first kick of the game our talisman Alexander G showed what it means to step up when he recovered after an intercepted kick and put his opposite number on the ground – it’s a long way from putting someone on back foot (the best possible result in 2017!)

Austin D took the lead-by-example approach to captaincy to a new level and after taking a massive hit rebounded more powerfully than Turnbull could ever dream of. Dimitri’s play was as sharp as his haircut and with Xavier kicking truly the Power took the momentum into the first break.

With a quarter-time inspirational speech ringing in their ears the Swans came out strongly with Hamish the first to find out that you have to be quick in the post-Auskick era. Arnaud also found out what it means to have 200kg of in-your-face pressure when three Giants in a Swans strip seized upon his attempt to break free – but showed no fear at all!

With the boys getting used to the new conditions some great play started to emerge, with the play of the match seeing a clearing kick from Luke swooped upon by Lachlan who took a quick right-foot snap at goal. Our first-gamer Talan was proving to be a fine recruit, showing best-on-ground qualities in a super all round performance that turned back raid after raid.

With the Swans scoreless at half-time the defence had reason to smile as all the boys headed to a well-deserved orange and H2O injection.

The second half continued with the heavy hitting with Alex V giving as good as he got in a battle with the Swans tall timber. Alex V also set the spark for a great goal with a post-mark kick finding Akira who then chipped a short pass on to Dimitri who split the sticks. Nathen was absolutely everywhere in the midfield and Austin D once again showed his teammates what it means to lead with a great tackle that extinguished another Swans raid.

With the heat in the field matching the final quarter on-field temperatures the Swans kept on coming but great goals from Alex V and Austen P keeping the Power fire burning. Rohan got strongly involved in the midfield, with his prints all over the ball at the final whistle.

Overall, the season opener was an eye-opener and the boys adjusted to the new world and they have every right to be proud. We’re not in Kansas anymore and there’s no free runs or friendly coaches acting as referees – and here’s to a great season to come.

The Season Draw

The Season Draw has been published online. Please bookmark it, or download the free app to your smartphone.

The draw is available online via Sports TG (formerly Fox Sporting Pulse)

  • Sports TG website version
  • Sports TG also has a free app, available from the Apple App Store and Google Play, called Game Day Sports TG. 

Instructions for finding your team on Game Day Sports TG.

Once you have logged in, select ‘find my team’ and then ‘Australian Football’. Search for ‘Sydney Harbour City’ and then under the tab ‘competition’ you will find a list of divisions. Tip: Make sure you’re looking at the 2018 competition, as they leave the 2017 in place and you may have to scroll past 2017 to find it.

Please note that that while your team colour may be black, white or teal, your division may be a different colour. Just look through all the entries for your age group for Drummoyne Power until you find it. Once you’ve found it once, press the star in the top right hand corner, and it will stay on the home screen of the app, so you don’t have to look for it again.

The draw is considered the single source of truth. If there is ever any conflicting information about game times or locations, consult the online version of the draw.

Please also note, you should check the draw regularly. As the season progresses, it will be tweaked. We will, of course, notify you of any changes but nothing beats the eagle eyes of a whole team checking it.

 

Round 15 – Drummoyne U11 Local Derby – The mother of all contests

You could feel the excitement building at Five Dock Park, even before the preceding game had finished. In round 3 at Bat and Ball, Power White had a convincing 79-28 win over Power Black. The long awaited rematch was finally here, and with Black on equal 4th on the ladder, a crucial game against the competition leaders.

The first quarter was tough. White spent most of the quarter attacking relentlessly. But the Black defence just kept on defending. Ethan, Jonty, Alex H and Luke were tireless, looking out for each other, and keeping the goals clear. On a few occasions, the momentum shifted and the ball travelled the length of the field into an attacking position, but White kept coming. Black’s first line of defence upfield taking effect, Jasper tackling strongly and keeping the ball forward and Jarvyse laying some very effective tackles in the mids. This quarter was all about defence. The single point scored off the boot of Alex P.

Quarter time Black 0-1-1 White 0-0-0

The second quarter saw the Black midfield start to fire. Some great hand-ball and kick combinations between Damian and Luke, Mikhail and Denver, and the momentum was starting to shift. A scrambling run up the wing by Luke delivered the ball to Lucca within scoring range, and score he did. Hamish in the middle took a cracking mark, shortly followed by another. No one knew his game was in doubt with a hand injury, but he wasn’t going to miss this game! Marlowe was playing consistent sensible footy. Nick, Damian and Denver combined to come very close to scoring, but White was defending equally as strong. Toby took the next important mark with a booming kick between the big sticks. Late in the quarter White scored a well-deserved goal, and Denver and Alex P combined for a behind after the half time siren.

Half Time Black 2-2-14 White 1-0-6

The intensity of the game didn’t let up. Actually it increased! Ethan took a heavy tackle but bounced back strongly.  Alex H made some great saves in our defending goal square as White continued the attack., hitting the post for a minor score. Toby was running through the middle, and Russell ever consistent in both attack and defense.  Jackson won a penalty in our own half connecting with Jonty who was also fouled – then kicked to Alex then Damian for another hard-to-come-by-point.  Alex H continuing the great pressure and clearance kicks between our posts. A point to each team this quarter.

Three Quarter Time Black 2-3-15 White 1-1-7

The final quarter… started with a two quick behinds to White. The toughness of Hamish and Cooper starts to shine as the intensity yet increases. Luke makes a few hard tackles to win the ball. Then gets well tackled in response. There’s no player on either team giving anything up here. Late in the final quarter Lucca scores a behind then Nick slots only the fourth goal of the game.

Full Time Black 3-4-22 White 1-3-9

This was the lowest scoring game in Division 2 this year – showing how great the defence was from both teams.

Power Black has a lot in common with the Sydney Swans. After losing their first 3 games, they have won 9 of the next 11. As the coaches said today – Wow, this is an extraordinary turnaround from the beginning of the season.

Thanks to Power White for a tough, spirited game. It is great to see both Power teams looking set for the finals. Thanks again to Nick and Marlowe for playing up for us.