Round 2: Under 7 Teal vs Concord Giants

Under 7 Teal vs Concord Giants

Round 2

Taplin Park turned on a scorcher for Round 2 of the season. In a keenly anticipated local derby, Drummoyne Under 7 Teal faced their local nemesis, the Concord Giants. There’s plenty of respect between these two teams and the competitive tension in the air added to the heat of the day.

Coach Caz had pre-planned a cunning series of rotations designed to throw off the opposition. Her homework paid early dividends in the first quarter and Drummoyne got away to a cracking start with a brace of early goals. In the centres, Jack set the tone for the match, calmly and confidently kicking the ball up to his eager forwards. He was a pivotal player throughout the match, with the most accurate boot on the team. Dylan, in his debutant season, dazzled the opposition with fancy footwork, nailing a critical early goal and staking his claim to AFL greatness.

After an injury-plagued start to the season, Ned was keen to make his mark and slotted a quick goal and a behind (maybe more, depending on which stats you believe). Isaac was a huge presence in the first quarter, keenly following his coach’s instructions and playing an experimental role as a roving centre-forward utility.

The Giants fought back hard and tested the Power defence. Recently promoted from the Under 5s, Ollie was a revelation in defence, stopping Giants in their tracks. On the sideline, grown men quietly shuddered and thanked the stars they didn’t have to face that young man themselves. Zoe (aka Agent 99) stood tall in defence and sent the ball back upfield with some booming kicks.

The tempo went up a couple of notches in the second quarter. Ned moved to the centre and didn’t stop running for the rest of the day, earning himself a man-of-the-match award and a chupachup. Jack revelled in the quality ball he was receiving and found the big sticks in no time, celebrating with ‘the aeroplane’ when he troubled the scorers. Zoe peppered the posts and was rewarded with bagful of points. Sophia found her rhythm, with some dashing runs and accurate kicks upfield to her centres. Isaac was intimidating in defence, keeping the talented Giants mostly at bay.

The moment of the match came in the final quarter, when a risky but well rehearsed playground manoeuvre came off. Jack, deep in defence, sent a trademark drop punt towards schoolmate Ned in the centre, who took a clean mark before dodging a couple of Giants and snapping the ball to schoolmate Ollie in the forwards. Ollie marked, paused, thought about his options for a second, and finally roosted a huge kick into the wind and straight between posts. “50 metres at least,” the sideline commentariat exclaimed! It was a fitting end to a fine match and the crowd roared their appreciation. Go Power!