Round 11 Summary

This week I'd like to start by wishing all of the Wildcat boys, along with the entire GB squad travelling over to Australia the best of luck for the upcoming International Cup series. I'm sure you boys will do the club and yourselves proud. Unfortunately on Saturday, though, poor kicking and an undisciplined display contributed to the Wildcats again going down to a side higher than us on the ladder on the weekend. Despite us having 21 scoring shots to Wimbledon's 19, Wimbledon made by far the better of their opportunities and eventually ran out winners by 33 points. There were also some worrying displays on the weekend for the coaching staff, as we only finished the game with 16 players on the ground after two were sent off for the remainder of the game in the second half.

The first quarter was an even contest, and we found ourselves with a slender lead at the first break. Jase Hughey was again playing well in defence, and Dan Morrison was getting plenty of touches in the middle. The lead again changed a couple of times in the second before a couple of late Wimbledon goals saw them sneak into the main break with a couple of kicks advantage. Unfortunately for us Wimbledon came out in the third quarter and opened up a bigger margin, and we were unable to peg this back for the day, and they eventually kicked away to win well. Discipline is something we'll need to work on, as aside from two players being sent off, we also managed to give Wimbledon three goals through unnecessary 50m penalties. And although we're still yet to beat a side above us on the ladder, at least we know that with the right attitude and a bit of hard work on the track, all is far from lost at this stage, and hopefully a few of these sides might just take us for granted in the finals. Once again on the weekend Sniffa was sensational around the ground, while the trio of Bryce, Widdo and Clarky all did a good job of containing Wimbledon's ruck division.

In the Emus, the boys bounced back from a couple of recent thumpings to draw a game they probably should have won in the end. In slight drizzle we got the early jump and piled on the first three goals of the match, before allowing Fulham to claw their way back into the game. And although the boys are now effectively out of the finals race, it was great to see them showing the fighting spirit of the Wildcats and battling out the year the right way; perhaps the rest of the club should take a leaf out of their book. The desire and commitment were fantastic, and the boys were happy to get first in and put their bodies on the line. Also great to see is the development of guys like Quintin and Shane Scott, who haven't played much football, but continue to improve week in and week out. The Emus looked to have sewn up the game when Robbie kicked his third of the day to go 6 points up with two minutes remaining, but a last ditch goal to Fulham ensured the points were evenly split. Moona played well and Cindy dominated in the ruck, while Steve Mitchell and Rohan Lees both played well back in defence.

The best news to come out of the weekend was the fact that Regents Park were defeated by Clapham, meaning that after this weekends games, the Raiders will be equal with them on points (providing they beat Fulham), and despite what the BARFL website reports, we have a better percentage than them, meaning that the Raiders can possibly finish on top and advance straight through to the Grand Final!

This weekend the Wildcats play their last home game for the year, and we also have our last triple header for the year, with all three sides playing. So it would be great to see as many of you out there as possible, and if any of you blokes that haven't played that much this year are keen to have a kick, I'm sure the Emus would love all the players they can get. In a game of relaxed rules (due to the EU's being over in Oz), if you ever wanted to see a game over here, then the Wildcats and North London game will be a ripper, with the rules allowing for 15 Australians and only 1 EU on the ground at any one point. In the other game, the Raiders will be hoping to entrench themselves at the head of proceedings by belting Fulham and further improving their percentage (which will be crucial in working out top spot). The action kicks off at midday with the Raiders, followed at 2.00pm by the Emus and at 4.00pm with the Wildcats.

I hope to see as many of you as possible there.