A strong northerly and light drizzle set the scene for last week’s post-bye round with a decent crowd turning out considering the weather.
Grassy and North both sported fairly optimal teams, making for an interesting, albeit breezy game.
Grassy went forward first, with wind-affected kicks and cold bodies making for a scrappy start to the game. Jackson Taylor broke from the backline, but the kick forward scuffed the ground. Jack Noseda intercepted a mark on North’s push forward, and the kick went 40m accurately into Tyler Rhodes, who lined up from 30m out. It was a low penetrating kick that got the opening goal.
North went forward as the rain increased, only to come across Noseda once again. Rory Taylor for Grassy had an imposing game, creating a strong contest with Justin Summers. Sam Reeves got a free kick and drove into the Grassy forward line but was intercepted by Taylor Cook, who misfired the kick and quickly returned it to Grassy’s way.
Fredy Tatawaqua had a shot on goal but overcompensated for the wind and kicked it out on the full. Conditions were absolutely feral out there on Saturday – do you remember last year when the first term was suspended due to being absolutely smashed by a rainstorm?
It was a notch down from that, and challenging. The Netherby Road end saw a lot of play, but goals were hard to come by. Not a soul was in the North forward line, with most of the action taking place in close quarters.
Players squinted through the horizontal rain, fumbled with a slippery ball, and slid around on the greasy turf (not the turf’s fault, though, as it still looked in pristine condition midway through the season – going from a good track to a heavy 8 in just half a quarter). Grassy managed to sneak another goal via Freddy from the pocket. North got it into their forward line, but the slushy conditions made it hard for them to score.
There was some heat between these teams, warming up an otherwise chilly game. Tyler Rhodes scored from an intercept mark moments before the quarter-time siren, putting Grassy 21 points up at quarter-time.
The drizzling rain turned into a torrent, accompanied by gusty bursts of wind. The ground and the football were no dryer.
It was a hard-running, hard-fought game, with players taking meters on foot instead of by foot.
There seemed to be two schools of thought. Some players moved around, trying to keep their bodies warm, while others were almost statue-like, with hands on knees, wiping water from their eyes. Dave Vellekoop marked on the lead and got the first look at goal for the second quarter, but North was left wanting.
You know the weather’s bad when Noseda misfires a kick from a kick-in, and the ball remained in North’s forward line, but they were unable to capitalize. When Grassy went forward, they didn’t miss the opportunity and quickly scored two goals.
Reeves elegantly collected the ball near the boundary line on the North wing and ran it a short way up the side before meeting a slippery pack. North went forward again through Jeramy Summers, but Jackson Taylor got just enough to tackle on to affect the kick out of bounds.
North quickly regained possession and executed their opening goal through their young junior, Mathew Button.
The Taylor brothers did a lot of running work. The match-up between Vellekoop and Monson in North’s forward line was worth watching, as both were good readers of the ball, providing a nice contest.
Holding onto marks and tackles was a challenge, but there was still an impressive sprinkle of those skills throughout the game, alongside a lot of errant bounces, balls slipping through fingers, and players in piles miles from the ball on the slippery surface. The crowd dwindled in numbers, as people scurried home to clean out their gutters and light their fires.
Matthew Button slid in to take a mark in front of the goal and scored his second. Craig Constable must have been the sub because he had just entered the game with a lovely mark in Grassy’s forward line. The halftime siren went, the rain continued, and Grassy was now 16 points up.
There was good news. The rain had all but stopped over the halftime break, and temperatures were slightly above freezing. I regretted wearing bare feet and slides, swearing I wouldn’t need to get out of the car. After some midfield battles, Tyler Rhodes lined up at the Netherby end but missed slightly to the right.
The clearer conditions made for more open, free-running play, but with a lovely side of contention and grit. North went forward but never looked like getting a goal before Grassy turned it over into their forward line.
Alex Goldsmith in North’s last line of defence saved the goal, and it was back to the contested ball in the middle, with Jeramy Summers able to get it forward for a goal. Grassy got close a few times but couldn’t convert, with the ball returning to the centre.
Luke Graham still looked like fresh legs in the middle of the ground. Reeves slid in and marked a big Rainbow kick-in, but the play remained back and forth, contested in the centre of the ground before the siren sounded.
There were only two goals in it to start the final quarter, but it was a low-scoring affair. Both teams started with a behind each before Grassy found a goal to go three goals up.
Reeves took it out of Grassy’s defence to find Beau Mullins in North’s defence.
Luke Graham, from a free kick, passed it to Jez Summers, who took a shot on goal that was good, returning it to a two-kick game. Brandon Forrest, out of the centre for Grassy, passed it to Rhodes, and then to Rory Taylor, who was involved before Freddy kicked on the run for a goal.
Grassy went forward again immediately, and a good scrap for the ball continued. North found a way out of the Grassy forward line but went straight into Noseda, twice. Both team defences looked strong throughout the game, with plenty of opportunities for intercept marks due to the unpredictable trajectory of many inside kicks.
Riley Badenoch and Ryan Frosi in the ruck provided a nice, contested competition. The backline team of Reeves and Noseda proved formidable throughout the game, showcasing clean, delicate hands in difficult circumstances. Grassy scored another goal to extend their lead to four goals in the dying minutes. As the tale of June 17th goes, the siren sounded to a darkening grey sky, the promise of more precipitation imminent, an icy chill on the breeze, and a convincing 19-point win to Grassy Town.
Next week Grassy meets Currie for the season’s 8th round.