Zartan wrote:Finally round 1 out the way we can begin to talk footy!
Massive win to Houghton on the weekend, don't think many punters would've picked that one to start the season. Trinity in the B grade however look to have picked up where they left off, and good to see Matt Perry kick 9 - hopefully means he wont be in the reserves for long lol.
Interesting to see Brahma Lodge lose by as much as they did, and even more surprising was their B grade losing! West Croydon B grade have been a mid table average side for a few years, Brahma were the minor premiers last year and their side didn't look much different if at all! Perhaps West Croydon really a side to watch across all grades this year..
Scrappy game out at Fitzroy, a lot of turn overs a lot of unforced errors.. wasn't pretty for the spectator! Arguably the worst ground to play footy at in this division - tiny change rooms, small ground and on a mini mountain, makes for congested footy and just all in all crap. Cotter is a big pick up for 'Roys, he's good, and their forward line quite tall.. but not sure if they were missing players or not, but their fitness levels were deplorable and their disposal efficiency even worse. Didn't appear to like the pressure and although they had what looked a potent forward line, they just failed to regularly penetrate inside 50 - and their forwards got lazier the longer the game went.
Still think they'll be tough to beat at home - especially in the wetter months - but that's the only place I can see them winning, bottom 2 for me.
Ingle Farm weren't any better with their skill level though, turn over after turn over and some really average decision making during the first half hurt. Difference being that after quarter time we were able to actually hit the scoreboard when we went inside 50, where as 'Roys didn't.
Congrats to morell on his Round 1 victory to start his coaching career, good win over Keasty and his boys. Good win by Mawson Lakes A Grade - obviously Mitchell Park missed the memo about shutting down Darren King, and great to see the sharpshooter Ivan Novosel back, hopefully he plays all season for the Lakes.
The WC result in the B grade was a shock, they must have severely improved on their depth to knock BL off who I expected to be the measuring stick with the returning A graders.. Rest of the B grade went as expected (or hoped), I certainly didn't expect us to win so comfortably..
The A grade result while it was an upset, was well deserved by Houghton. They play their ground quite well, bit of a question mark how they would go on a bigger ground, but when you play half your games on your home ground it doesn't matter as much I guess.. Thought Vandemoer was busy all day, he works to plenty of contests and got the reward Saturday. Q enjoyed his day. Bray up forward was a good target for them, and Schutz was very impressive in the ruck. Don't know much about who was missing but if they keep a full side on the park Houghton will be competitive mid table at a minimum.. Depth may be tested as I reckon I only saw 1 player who looked to be of A grade quality in the B grade, and he was horribly unlucky to only be given 5th best..
