In a season that started with little expectation, everything had changed by 8:25am when our boys lined up for the national anthem at Patersons Stadium. A fantastic home and away season and 2nd Semi-Final win that wasn’t decided until after the siren gave us the opportunity to achieve what few considered possible at the start of the year. The boys jumped out of the blocks from the get go, and a Sean Fletcher goal after some Nelson Ansey magic had us on the scoreboard only 29 seconds into the game. Goals were traded for the rest of the quarter and we went into the first break with a two point lead. The second quarter saw us play some of our best football for the year led by Justin Shand (who chose a great time to have a career high 37 hit outs) and our Mel Whinnen medalist, Jason Daniels, we kicked four goals to one to go into half time 18 points up. The rain set in during the break, but this did nothing to dampen the boys’ enthusiasm and thirst for the contest. Ethan Maguire got down and dirty and kept the ball moving forward whilst our backs stood up to the intense pressure applied by Claremont and the wind. We went into the last quarter only 8 points up but confident that 23 players performing their role against a star studded Claremont side would prevail. Our mids got on top and the forwards, led by a hobbling Johnny Shaw, kicked 1.6 for the quarter and the team effort to keep the Tigers scoreless for the quarter meant that was more than enough. There were heroes everywhere, no more so then Jake Taylor and Dylan Smith who played on the oppositions talented key forwards and kept them to a total of 15 possessions and one goal. The 20 point win was a great reward for an outstanding season. There are too many people who contributed to the boys’ success to individually thank here but we could not have achieved this without the dedication of all of the coaches and support staff. Everyone should have a great sense of pride in being a part of what the boys achieved. I could not have been prouder of the boys. Their commitment to success and ability to work as a team have given them the ultimate success in colts’ football and these qualities will serve them well in the future when they are wearing the Black and White jumper at senior level. Trent Cooper Colts Coach
Posted on: Tue, 23 Sep 2014 12:48:20 +0000