Disappointment was the main emotion of the day when Doncaster again lost a close match to Noble Park in our Round 10 return clash at Schramms last weekend.
Buoyed by the recent win over Norwood, and with Noble only one win ahead of us, we looked forward confidently to reversing our 10 pt loss to the Bulls in Round 1. But those damned expectations again turned to disappointment when Saturday’s match unfolded in similar fashion to our season-opener – Noble leading marginally for most of the day and then withstanding a late Shark charge in the 4Q to win by a narrow 6 pts. And ‘Deja-Vu’ played his part in the match, putting in an uncanny repeat performance to again keep the desperate Sharks at bay by a “short half-head” all the way to the end:
Noble’s lead (pts) over Doncaster:
End of: 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q
Round 1 +8 +15 +17 +10
Round 10 +14 +12 +19 +6
So, we ask: Has our Senior team improved since the start of the season? Well, ‘Deja-Vu’ says ‘no’ based on the scoreboard, but we know much better! Missing, this time round, from the Sharks’ Round 1 side was: Kalanj, Mugga, Rambo, Vanders, Molly and Tommy B! Enough said!
Last Saturday’s Senior game was another tight, close affair between the two clubs, with the momentum shifting several times between two evenly-matched teams during the 1H. Our ball-pressure on the opposition was good and it was a pleasure to see our forwards playing efficient footy with a touch of brilliance to keep us well in the game at the main break.
The 3Q has been an achilles heel for us on several occasions this season and when Noble’s on-ballers then lifted a notch we struggled for a while to keep the Bulls in check. However, their inaccuracy – forced and unforced – hurt them and by the final break Noble’s lead was only 19 pts despite having 23 scoring shots to 9. We needed a lift in the 4Q and it came from all over the ground as the Sharkers twice goaled well into the quarter to twice reduce the margin to 6 points. However, regretfully in the final few minutes the gap proved a “small bridge too far” with the Bulls maintaining their composure and keeping alive their slim chances of a finals berth.
Best for the Sharkers were: ‘Superball Sam’ and Mick ‘Fixer’ Fogarty in the middle, ’Turbo Toes’ Toby on the wing, ‘The Schimm’ and Thiely’s defensive efforts and Captain ‘Papa’ Annakis with his class everywhere!
And a special congrats this week also goes to our forwards who stepped up under heavy opposition to perform in true ‘dead-eye dick’ fashion, making the most of their opportunities. And hopefully they can maintain it next week in the rarified air as we endeavor to climb Mt Everest (Vermont at Vermont)!!
In the Ressies, the footy news again wasn’t good because of injuries and a lack of numbers – starting with 18 players including “ring-ins” and finishing with 16!! (Rumour has it that Shealesy was seen on Saturday morning trying to drum up Auskick fathers to “come and experience a playing career at DFC”!!).
Despite losing by 132 pts the boys “hung-in” there until the final break when the avalanche fell and the margin doubled in the last. Best for the Sharks were Dylan Pascoe (with 2 ‘snags’), Isaac Barassi, Sean Byrne, two Lukes – Donnar and Donohue – and Matty Ross.
Socially, the clubrooms were again spectacularly ‘rocking’ on Saturday when Anna “Ya-ya” Annakis and her team put on yet another brilliant Ladies Luncheon. A huge ‘thank-you’ to Anna and all who attended our iconic event! (But what happened to that table cloth?)
More social events continue to come around fast:
– Sunday Special Raffle … Noon, Sunday July 7 … with players … contact Benny ‘Mugga’ Marganis.
– Sportsman’s Luncheon … Noon, Friday July 12 … with AFL identity, CAMPBELL BROWN … contact Andrew “Laddie” Hallett on 0460 290 726 (spots still available).
**PLEASE SUPPORT OUR CLUB FUNCTIONS**
GO SHARKERS!! – See ya on the top of “Mt Everest”, with Deja-Vu !!X?!!
