Round 4 Kalamunda V’s Hamersley Carine at Ray Owen Oval
The Cougars had been looking forward to this match, to avenge their defeat in the 2022 Grand Final by Hamersley Carine and had been training hard to ensure this encounter would result in victory.
Coach Trenberth and the selection committee were placed in a very difficult position in the lead up to the game, as a number of key players had decided they would go to a ‘Music Festival’ in the south-west of the State on game day!
Those of us who are committed to football and would ‘Die for our Club’ found this hard to believe on the eve of such an important match. However, times have changed and ‘commitment’, one of the main elements in successful football teams is everything, if grand final win’s are desired for the club.
Kalamunda started the first quarter very slowly trying to recover a two-goal start by Hamersley who applied plenty of pressure from the start with run-on footy and hard tackling. Cougar skipper Trent Pottinger was working overtime to rally his troops in this quarter and kicked the only goal for the team in this term.
The weather conditions were proving difficult for both teams with a strong cold easterly wind blowing across the ground. This encouraged both backlines to kick the ball with the wind along the clubhouse flank where for most of the match it remained!
Scoring became increasingly difficult as the match wore on as in the second quarter the Cougars kicked 1.2 to the Hamersley Hawks single goal. Lachlan Harty playing on Stephen Martin the Hawks full forward who kicked 5 goals against us in the 2022 Grand Final, reveled in these conditions and kept Martin goalless for the game.
Coach Trenberth must have been concerned at half time as the game was degenerating into ‘paddock football’ along the clubroom flank. The Cougars were defending desperately at this stage by booting the ball back down the flank, only to see it marked by Hamersley’s tall players who immediately sent it back into attack.
The early stage of the third quarter saw the Cougars resurrect their composure by winning in the center through Michael Garfield, Josh Harris and Trent Pottinger. Their delivery to Brett van Groningen and Kyle Murray resulted in three quick goals. Leo Lambert who was also becoming very active scored another to finish the quarter. A short lapse in concentration by the Cougars however, saw the Hawks kick a goal on the siren leaving Kalamunda 15 points in front.
The final term decided who was going to win or lose, by the number of mistakes made. Once again play resumed on the clubroom boundary and it was one of the worst quarters of football the Cougars have played.
I admit the conditions were difficult, however there was never any effort made to switch the play from the confines of the clubroom boundary and gradually the Hawk’s began to peg back the slender lead the Cougars had.
As the quarter wore on so did the patience of some of our younger players and they started to make mistakes resulting in turnovers. Hopefully they will learn to hold their composure in situations like this as they continue their careers in the higher grades of footy.
Our backline was superb in this period and their desperate attempts to keep control of the situation finally won the game for us by 3 points!
Final scores: Kalamunda 6.8 – 44, Hamersley Carine 6.5 – 41
Best players: Lachlan Harty, Bret van Groningen, Josh Harris and Jackson Bowen
Special Mentions: Michael Garfield, (coaches mention) and Brendyn Mcleish
Goals: Kyle Murray 2, 1 each to Leo Lambert, Jackson Bowen, Bret van Groningen and Trent Pottinger
Goal of the Day: Quarter 1, Trent, a long way out and and with a variable cross wind steered it through superbly.
Mark of the Day: Quarter 3, Kyle Murray, turned his back on the ball to reposition himself and showing amazing intuition, sensory skills and judgment turned back at the last moment and took the mark, which he then converted into a goal.
Dash of the Day: Quarter 4, Leo Lambert, gathered the ball on the half back line, then dashed across the field to the open outer side of the ground, while maintaining his speed during 3 bounces, drew away from all chasers and delivered the ball to our full forward line. Spectacular ball control and a joy to watch!
Other results from round 4
B Reserves – Kalamunda 7.9 – 51, Hamersley Carine 6.5 – 41
E1 All Stars – Armadale 17.12 – 114, Kalamunda 2.3 – 15
Cougar C2 Ladies – Kalamunda 3.3 – 21, Curtin Uni Wesley 3.3 – 21
BJC Colts – Kalamunda 10.11 – 71, Trinity Aquinas 4.2 – 26
DBC Colts – Kalamunda 6.9 – 45, Hamersley Carine 0.2
Next game: Round 5 Wembley V’s Kalamunda 03:05 PM, Sat, 13 May 23 Pat Goodridge Reserve.
This post is dedicated to Australian Cylinder Services and Quality Completions, proud sponsors of the Kalamunda ‘Cougars’ Football Club.
