Blues dominate in blustery, wet conditions
Blustery and wet conditions made playing conditions very difficult for the fifth-round game between Thorpdale and Boolarra.
The Blues dominated the first half of the game with the Demons hardly seeing their own quarter, let alone getting many chances in the goal square.
The scores at half time saw Thorpdale in front 10.9.69 to Boolarra 1.2.8.
It was a very poor run out by the Boolarra boys, although they managed to keep the ball away from Thorpdale’s forward line as much as possible in the second half, which was very low scoring.
The Demon’s did not put any away, and the Blues only managed two goals and six points.
The conditions had worsened with the rain falling heavily in parts and the wind upsetting the ball even before it got on a boot. Final scores Thorpdale 12-15 (87) to Boolarra 1-2 (8).
Thorpdale started off their dominance in the game with a goal in the first minute of the first quarter by Brett Gatehouse.
Shortly after, Nicholas Brown took a great mark in the centre for a shot at goal and making it three goals for the Blues, then Nicholas Brown followed up shortly after with an easy mark to score his second and a fourth for Thorpdale.
The ball rarely ventured into the Boolarra half for most of the first quarter with no opportunities to score any points. An extremely poor start once again for the Demons.
Thorpdale were certainly not lighting the game on fire but kept possession of the ball up front for the majority of the quarter with plenty of chances on goal.
Boolarra were lucky not to be down by a larger margin, scores at the horn Thorpdale 6-5 (41), Boolarra yet to score.
Boolarra were kicking with the breeze this time, so hoping to find the goal posts in the second quarter.
Thorpdale continued to push forward in the early stages and got the first goal.
Chase Saunders scored a muchneeded goal for the Demons in the third minute, which trickled over the line from a kick outside the 50 metre line.
He then had an unfortunate miss from an easy shot at goal followed by another unlucky break for Boolarra, with Saunders missing what would have been goal of the game, hooking from a metre off the line but hitting the post.
Despite the Demons pushing forward more, the Blues stretched their lead. Final scores at the end of the second quarter Thorpdale 10-9 (69) to Boolarra 1-2 (8).
The weather turned very wintery with cold wind and rain for the third quarter, neither side finding the posts with no goals or points until Thorpdale scored the first point after 15 minutes into play.
Tom Reiske was playing well for Boolarra but the boys were still finding it difficult to get forward and get the ball between the posts.
Marcus Brown took a great mark for the Blues, kicking the first goal for the quarter in the closing seconds. Scores at the end of the third were Thorpdale 11-12 (78) to Boolarra 1-2 (8).
The game slowed right down with the weather affecting conditions. Not much action happened at all again in the fourth quarter, with most of the play was similar to the third quarter action.
Thorpdale managed to score two goals but Boolarra still struggled to push the ball forward with most possession being maintained by Thorpdale.
Once again, the Demons failed to score in this quarter
Thorpdale coach Nick Brown said the team played well in the first quarter, scoring six goals.
“Then it started raining in the second half, so we were getting pretty wet which slowed the scoring down but I was pretty happy with the win,” he said.
“Even though Boolarra are having a tough time at the moment, we don’t take any game lightly.
“Winning every week is important and it’s important to win if we want to make finals.”
Boolarra player coach James Holmes said while it was difficult conditions, the team are probably reacting instead of being proactive.
“When the opposition started moving the ball forward we just aren’t quick enough,” he said.
“We need to work on our one on one footy, keep it simple and make sure the other team doesn’t get the ball as easily as they were.
“I put it on the midfielders to work a bit harder in the second half of the game and I think that this helped keep the score low.
“We had about five guys play their first game for us today and they played pretty well, but we have a lot to work on.”