It was a huge occasion at Brunswick Street Oval on Saturday – for a collision of reasons.
The footy gods were smiling down from clear crisp skies, the media was milling and pollies of all persuasions were out in force, joining a large contingent of supporters, past players and up-and-coming stars from the Fitzroy Juniors.
Most importantly, the Roy Girls celebrated 10 fabulous years of Fitzroy football in style, with masterful performances from both sides and across all field positions.
“It was such an exciting opportunity for the Ressies in front of a big home crowd celebrating the 10th anniversary,” said Reserves coach Mick McFarlane.
“The game plan was simple: just go out and enjoy the game and moment. Pleasingly, the players responded in kind, from siren to siren, topped off with milestone moments for Steph Amy playing her 50th, and Liz Olney who slotted her 100th goal for Fitzroy.”
Although goal accuracy still eludes the team, Mick pointed to the Ressies’ continuous opportunities as the clear difference between his side and their opponents across this game, and throughout the season.
This week it was the Aquinas squads that, despite never giving up and showing heart and endeavour, could only register a single point across the two games against the awesome Roy Girls.
Mick reckons it’s the Ressies’ foot skills that mark a clear difference, and a key reason for the success they’ve enjoyed throughout the season.
“This was exemplified on Saturday by the tremendous inside-50 kicking of Clo Taylor, Gemma Murphy and Maren McLaughlan, and joined in best-on-ground performances by Maren McLachlan, Tori Tonzing and Gifar Hassan.”
For Senior Coach Nathan Jumeau, it was totally amazing to see so many old faces of the club in the crowd and hear the vocal support from beyond the fence.
“We got off to a slow start,” Ju said, “but as always, our backline did an amazing job keeping Aquinas’ attacks to a minimum and not conceding a goal.”
Across the next three quarters, the senior Roy Girls provided an awesome display of slick team footy, allowing their coach to sit back, watch and enjoy.
“We were able to kick goals from multiple avenues this week, delivering on what has been a goal for us this year. None better than Nadia Conte’s finishing goal generated from the back pocket, changing shape to the open side and getting the ball over the back.”
Emphasising that every single player across the field contributed to the win, Nathan was able to highlight some individual performances, saying that Olivia Brilliant again lived up to her name with her ability to win one-on-one contests and intercept the ball.
“Ellie Sbeghen in her first game of senior footy for Fitzroy, was amazing in the ruck and around the ground, feeding the midfield from the backline with her taps and taking rolling intercept marks.
“And when we needed to pick up our intensity in the second quarter, Robyn Randell went to work, raising her game to another level with an ingenious snap from the Hipster Hill pocket that ignited the crowd and instilled her teammates with belief.”
What eventuated was an irresistible display of run and carry interposed and reinforced with strong tackling and marking.
“I hope the crowd got a good glimpse of just how much this team has improved, and are as proud as we coaches are of both the Seniors and Reserves.”
Finals beckon for both teams, with Nathan hoping the crowd will follow and raise its voice even louder and prouder than we did on Saturday.
We don’t need much urging Nath!
Images courtesy Phyllis Quealy
