Great weekend of Junior footy - U12 Blue

A wild and windy morning saw the undefeated U12 Blue Doggies head to Inverloch in what was anticipated as being the biggest match the team had faced.

And true to the anticipation, the game was a tough one.

Coach Mick knew it would be a hard game and worded up the team to give it their all.

Our team captain Brax Scheibel was the perfect selection for such a big game.

His natural leadership, and thirst for the ball, sees him always leading by example and today was no different.

With the first centre bounce going our way thanks to the agile Dexter Goodall in the ruck the ball headed to our forwards.

Inverloch’s defence was strong turning the ball around.

Our fearless captain of the week Brax, worked hard to shut down Inverloch’s early chances with outstanding defence.

Despite our backlines efforts Inverloch kicked the first goal.

The Blues regrouped and charged again, our mid working aggressively to work the ball down.

Harvey Patterson’s pressure across the ground was instrumental in assisting Jarrah Rutherford to kick a monster, scoring Phillip Islands first point.

Roy Patterson’s strength and fierce ball hunger continued the charge for the goals kicking another point for Phillip Island.

At the end of the first quarter IK lead by five points.

Coach Mick gave some explicit and direct instruction on positioning and ensuring the players ‘man up’ to keep the pressure on.

The second quarter saw Kai Denblyden take some huge marks to set the ball back to the PI forward.

With the help of Ryder Van Steensel and the speed and agility of Fergus Tillotson the ball moved fast.

IK’s relentless pressure and offensive attacks saw IK kick for goals on more than one opportunity, only to score points due to the likes of Sam Coles defensive pressure.

Runner Kylie had her work cut out and was working (and running) hard to keep those messages moving and support and encouragement coming.

IK’s incredible pressure kept us from scoring in the second quarter despite Will (The Wizz) Patton’s hard work all over the ground.

The third quarter saw Kane Patton step up and keep chasing down the ball, with the support of Zoe Meyer the team kept pushing the ball to our forward line with no points to the scoreboard.

The ball kept moving back and forth with our backline of Baylin Ricky never giving up and fighting.

Late in the third quarter Ari DeFazio, playing his best game to date, assisted to move the ball to the forward line, with Harvey Patterson working hard to assist.

Sam Cole took a huge mark, kicking his first goal for the season, putting Phillip Island back in the game.

IK answered straight back despite the ongoing efforts of Ned Matthews in the backline, with added pressure from the king, Charles Cameron who continued to give defensive pressure throughout the game.

The fourth quarter saw Inverloch just too strong at moving the ball to the forward line.

Mason Paxton and Bowie Edwards kept the pressure on, and despite our efforts, IK snuck a couple more points.

Max Mills was a standout in the last quarter, giving it his all.

IK was just too strong today outplaying the undefeated U12 Blues.

It was a tough game of footy and Coach Mick encouraged the players to stay positive.

Their determination was not reflected in the final scores, and he was proud of the continued, hard football the team played.

We wish Jaxon Summerfield all the best for his upcoming trip and to Sonny Williams who will be heading off too but back in a few weeks.

Final Scores: IK 3.7.25 defeated PI 1.3.9.

Awards: Fergus Tillotson, Roy Patterson, Charles (Chuck) Cameron, Bowie Edwards and Ari DeFazio.