Division
1 - JETS Fail to Finish
The
JETS entered their Round 4 match with Woden at Stirling Oval
on Sunday looking to consolidate their position at the top
of the AFL Canberra Division 1 ladder with another victory.
After a comfortable win over ANU the week before the JETS
main concern for this match was their growing injury list
requiring late changes to their lineup. Woden had struggled
with the pace of 1st Division in recent years, however they
have recruited well this season and a tough contest was expected.
In
slippery conditions the game got underway and after some initial
resistance from Woden the JETS set about scoring their first
goal which was quickly followed by another. The JETS were
enjoying first use of the footy but after a bright start they
let themselves down with poor disposal which fell into the
hands of Woden players caught behind in the contest. Woden
capitalized on their good fortune to post a couple of late
goals, and pushed players back into the JETS forward line
for the remainder of the quarter to deny any chance of another
score by quarter time.
The
JETS continued to make the play in the second term and were
consistently first to the ball. Woden countered the JETS midfield
dominance with crude tackling that went mostly unchecked by
the umpires; however the JETS willingness to make the play
rather than play reactive football saw them press further
ahead. Once again poor finishing denied a larger lead at the
main break with some late misses that stalled the JETS momentum.
To make matters worse the JETS lost Rowdy Pellow to a suspected
broken foot but a 13-point buffer in the conditions was still
a handy half time lead and something to build on for the remainder
of the game.
With
a commitment to better finishing the JETS entered the third
term confident they could extend their half time lead, however
they didn’t get the start they wanted, losing Ben Thornton
to a hamstring injury in the first minutes of the quarter.
Woden benefitted and continued to push back into the JETS
forward line, giving them the height advantage, and sure disposal
from the JETS was now a must to provide an avenue to goal.
In a high-scoring quarter by this game’s standards,
both sides traded goals in an effort to gain the ascendancy
and towards the end of the quarter it looked as though the
JETS would maintain their half time lead before another turnover
when the JETS were making the play allowed Woden to rebound
for a goal. At the last change the JETS held a 3-point lead
but were still confident they could break-away in the last
by reducing their error-rate.
Woden
had been kept in the contest all day by the JETS poor finishing
and try as they might, the JETS couldn’t reverse the
trend in the last quarter. The wasted possessions that dogged
them all day continued as Woden broke through for an early
goal that gave them the lead for the first time in the match.
The JETS answered soon after with a good running goal and
their lead was restored; however it wasn’t the JETS
day as Woden persisted with their crude tackling to full effect,
leaving the JETS three players down in the final minutes of
the game. This gave Woden the advantage it needed to score
a goal and hit the front by a point. A last gasp effort from
the JETS saw a snap at goal hit the behind post to deny them
at least a draw.
In
a game where the JETS were continually first to the contest,
they let themselves down with poor disposals. To lose by the
narrowest of margins after playing poorly offered little comfort
to the players and will surely steel them for their Round
5 clash with Tuggeranong at home this Saturday.
Final
Score: JETS 9-9-63 def by Woden 9-10-64
Goals:
2 B. Martin, S. Roscoe, 1 M. Porter, W. Carruthers, J. Kocmar,
T. Scholfield, R. Schlesinger
Best:
J. Kocmar, T. Kelly, B. Martin, D, Munday and D. Scholfield
Division
2 – JETS Prevail in Coota
After
a fighting win over ANU last week, the JETS faced their toughest
test to date in their Round 4 game against Cootamundra on
their home turf. The Blues rarely lose at home and has been
the reason they have played finals footy in recent years.
Most clubs dread the trip to Coota – they always play
well, they have a large vocal home crowd and the umpires all
come from Coota too. With the JETS boasting a much stronger
line-up in 2007 they were confident they could provide a good
contest – although noting one of the field umpires was
Coota’s coach from 2006 the JETS knew they would be
up against it.
The
game got underway an hour late and the JETS could be forgiven
for being a bit unsettled; however they came out firing and
controlled the first term with slick, running footy that clearly
caught Coota off-guard. Except for the last few minutes, the
JETS were the better team and went into the first change with
a two-goal lead. The second quarter saw more good footy for
the JETS as they dominated play with the ball camped in their
forward line for much of the quarter. Coota struggled early
to get the ball past the midfield as the JETS enjoyed a glut
of possession, but bad shots on goal for the JETS failed to
make Coota pay and when they rebounded for a couple of late
goals, Coota were back in the game.
Coota’s
momentum continued in the third term as the JETS struggled
to find an avenue to goal. In contrast, Coota’s forwards
were taking strong marks and kicking accurately to all but
wipe the deficit by three quarter time. The JETS had another
wasteful quarter kicking 2 goals 5 behinds and went into the
last change clinging to a 5 point lead. Brett Quester left
the field during the quarter after being crunched in a late
hit that saw him take no further part in the game, and when
Phil Cossens left early in the last quarter with a broken
collar bone after being slung into the boundary fence, the
JETS were facing a real struggle to hold Coota out.
A
couple of free kicks to Coota in the last quarter for swearing(?)
put them in perfect position to attack the goals and for the
first time in the match they held a narrow lead. With the
crowd right behind them Coota looked to close out the game,
but the JETS still had fight left in them and when Dale Frankel
marked and goaled twice in as many minutes, the JETS were
back in front. In a frantic final five minutes Coota threw
everything at the JETS but were unable hurt them where it
counted – on the scoreboard. Another goal to the JETS
on the rebound snuffed-out any hope of victory for the home
side, and for the second time in two weeks the JETS had battled
to a 2-goal win.
Final
Score: JETS 11-17-83 def Coota 11-4-70
Goals:
5 D. Frankel, 3 A. Ingold, 2 G. McLeod, 1 A. Hill
Best: M. Barnes, P. Cossens, A. Ingold, D.
Frankel, G. O’Dwyer
There’s
no rest for the Magoos who need to recover quickly from this
game to prepare for their Round 5 clash with 2006 Premiers
Belconnen at KZO on Saturday. Game starts at 12pm.
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