Round 7: Miserable day for the Hills

Panton Hill: 3.5-23
Whittlesea: 23.25-163

Goal Kickers: C. Seaman 2, D. Butler
Best Players: S. Walker, B. Strongman, J. Whitcher, S. Huf, N. Grimshaw, W. Box

The only thing worse than the wet, seven degree weather was the miserable performance by the PH boys. Pre-game we thought the conditions would level out the playing field and saw it as a great opportunity to take it up to the competition leaders. Unfortunately, the wet only served to emphasise the gap between the sides and the final result was nothing short of embarrassing.

To Whittlesea’s credit, they were stronger at the ball, handled the conditions well, worked hard for each other and regularly found avenues to goal. They had winners right across the ground and probably the only player for the Redback’s who held their own was best-on-ground Scott ‘Snappy’ Walker. Other players worth a mention (insert auto-text here) were Strongy, Huffy, Witcher and Boxy.

On a very forgettable afternoon, injuries also took their toll with Parko, Butts and Ricky Woods unable to finish the game. With so few positives to draw out of the game (other than finally giving away no 25 meter penalties) all we can do is turn our focus to next week and try to make amends against the Fitzroy Stars.


HARD FIGHTING RESERVES UNDERMANNED AND OUTCLASSED

Panton Hill: 2.2-14
Whittlesea: 23.23-161

Goal Kickers: M. Paterson 2
Best Players: L. Walsh, G. Wise, S. Northrop, D. Robilliard, T. Beattie, M. Constantine

Finally, a return to our home ground at the Hill for a tough assignment against a team touted as being the one of the best going around. The Football Gods had the ground in perfect condition for a scrappy affair, a result of 36 hours of steady rain, which was a novelty for both sides.

After last weeks embarrassment at the hands of Lower Plenty, Senior Coach Gary Ramsay gave the troops a rev up, prior to Jono Manzoney’s pre-game address, and it may have hit home for many of the reserves players. The first half of the match was an arm-wrestle, with Whittlesea able to break the lines on a few more occasions than the Redbacks, and going into the half time break with a seven goal lead, however this was a much better effort than the previous week (20 goals down @ half time). Unfortunately for the Hills, the efforts of the first half had left the team with several injuries, and no bench.

The second half proved to be a bit of a blow-out, and further injuries to the Hills meant that Jono pulled on the guernsey for the first time in a long time, showing his dedication to the side. The Redbacks players stuck to the task, however a fitter Eagles side were eventually able to run out easy winners in the wet.

Jono was pleased with his team’s efforts, regardless of the score, on a day where everyone’s character was tested and no-one backed down from the challenge. In particular, Lucas Walsh was an absolute revelation at full back, continually breaking the lines with plenty of dash, and marking the wet ball over the top of packs.

Of course, the entire backline was under a lot of pressure all game, and Walshy received great support from ‘Parrot’ (Grenville Wise) and Mick Constantine, whilst Trav ‘Kirky’ Beattie played one of his best games for the Club, applying fantastic physical pressure on his opponents. Steve Northrop and Dylan Robilliard also worked tirelessly around the stoppages to lock the ball in and create a contest at every opportunity, while Dylan also had the extra task of filling in the ruck duties for much of the game.

Next week is a little unusual, as the round 8 clash with the Fitzroy Stars has been moved to Sunday the 25th, due to the Stars having other commitments on the Saturday. This is a real chance for another win, and is another home game for the Hills, following the juniors, so get there nice and early for the curtain raisers to support the future stars of Panton Hill!