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.