28th April 2007
Off to a great start
by Andy Whiteaker

The Roos got their season off to a flying start with a comprehensive victory over the City Swans at Kings Meadow on Saturday.

Having spent last season in the Regional League and seen the normal comings and goings over the summer it was difficult to anticipate how we would measure up to the Conference sides, although we hoped we would be competitive. As it was a Swans side, who were missing several players through injury and only arrived with 14, were no match for the fired-up Roos.

Brent decided to send out an Aussie-packed side to start with and from the first bounce the Roos dominated all over the pitch and won almost all of their individual battles. Jules dominated in the ruck early on, with Andy C and Ian quickly moving the ball forward. Phil and new boy Brett found acres of space on the half forward line and were found time and again, with Mick, Dan and Ash picking them out at will. Brent had the luxury of spending most of the first quarter watching the game on the half back line, watching almost all the play take place in front of him. So good was the service into the forward line that most of the shots on goal were from straight in front at close range, and 10 goals were kick in the first quarter and only a couple of behinds.

At the start of the second quarter some new boys were introduced, and all of them had encouraging débuts. Mark was strong and competitive at the back, breaking up a number of attacks, and John was a good outlet on the wing, taking some good marks and distributing the ball well. Perhaps most impressive though was Andy Grubb, who has only been along to a handful of training sessions but had an excellent all game all round the park, linked up well to set up a number of attacks and scored two fine goals.

Our intensity level did drop after half time, and although it can be partly explained by constant reshuffling of the team, we were guilty of taking our foot off the gas. We were equally culpable for some handbags as the game wore on. Ross did a good job umpiring but he couldn’t see everything that happened and we did try to take matters into our own hands on a few occasions. Although we mustn’t lose our competitive edge in tighter games than this we could suffer if we allow ourselves to lose our discipline.

None of the above took the gloss off what was an excellent win, which bodes really well for the season. The game also provided some early contenders for the Gary Davidson “Shank of the Year” award. Firstly, the least said about Sam’s effort in the second quarter the better, although it was his first kick of the game. Secondly, Tristan demonstrated that his skill, composure and accuracy is directly proportional to the distance to the opponent’s goal. Having been given an early opportunity to open his account for the season his attempt was Davidson-esque as it flew high, wide and ugly. Gentleman, the bar has been set pretty high (or is that low?), and the competition starts here.

We will undoubtedly face tougher tasks this season, not least in our rematch against the Swans in a couple of weeks when they should have a few players back and be out for revenge. However it was still and excellent start, and Phil has put a marker down early for the top scorer award. Expect Phil to start the next game on the half back line with a certain Mr B Barton starting at full forward…..

The Squad
Andy Craig, Brett Messer, Ash Peck, Jules Ford, Andy Whits, Phil Barnard, Will Pullen, Ian Gladman, Andy Grubb, Oli Reid, Brent Barton, Paul Whitney, Tristan Cromarty, Adam Bennett (capt), Mark Bamfield, Jon Wright, Dan McCormack, Mick Matthews, Sam Hedges, Tim Birchall, Ross Brandli

Outstanding Performances
Ross (cheers for Ump'ing mate - never an easy job), Andy, Grubber, Phil