Felch wrote:Eastern Park are one that do it well, very hostile environment, especially for younger players. I remember travelling there to play many times, and alot of our young guys were basically sh!t scared before the first bounce. Game over !!! From memory, no acts of thuggery actually took place, it was just the perception.
I played against Eastern Park back in 2004 or 05, when I was playing for Gaza.
I'd been out all night at a 21st, & had to be driven to the ground to play- I had left Hindley St at 8am... that's is my defence for the following:
Basically, I went to spoil a mark, & somehow managed to cleanup an EP player with my fore-arm to his head. He may have hit his head as he landed, either way he was knocked out.
Later in the game, I was running back with the flight of the ball, & turned to punch (spoil) & missed & hit my oponent in the nose.
Both these incidents happened in front of the umpires, no reports, no frees.
Now i'll also point out that
1) they weren't deliberate acts of thuggery- just clumsiness on my part
2) I'm not bragging about these collisions, just recollecting on something that's topical
Basically, no one "backed up" on these incidents, nor did I expect anyone would.
Late in the game, an older EP player tried to rough me up at the bottom of the pack, which resulted in me challenging him. However, that was it.
Maybe it was just the era I played against them, but I would not describe them as a team to be intimidated by.