Donvale v Scoresby - The Final Game (Part 1)

Thankfully, the rain held off for the final game of the season.  It was still cold as the team assembled at the Club Grounds to travel to Scoresby in the Club Bus.

Once all were on board, the natural order of things prevailed - Dads at the front, boys at the back.

Once at the grounds, there were the usual preliminaries, signing the team sheets, some warm up drills and allocating positions for the first quarter.

Donvale v Scoresby - The Final Game (Part 2)

As the team came out of the rooms and onto the field there was a treat waiting.  Their first banner was up.  It did not last long.

 Then time to meet Scoresby who, to this casual observer, contained a large cohort of big boys.

 The team showed plenty of grit and determination, but they had been given a tough workout by half time.

The second half followed a similar pattern although, again, our boys seemed more focused.

At the end of of another tough game the teams congratulated each other.

Donvale v Scoresby - The Final Game (Part 3)

At the end of the game, the team headed off to the rooms.

Where Tyson and Matthew received medals for their work on the day.

But the day was not over.  They piled into the Team Bus once again.  Click on the video to hear their rendition of the Club Song

Then back to the Club Rooms for a feed.

Paul presented all the boys with a trophy for their effort during the season and thanked all the helpers for their work in keeping the show on the road.

Last Training Session

It was another damp, cold night for the last training session of the year.  There was still plenty of enthusiasm for the drills.

From an observer's perspective, the most difficult part appeared to be getting the instructions across.  Why is it that the expression "herding cats" continually sprung to mind?

Of course, the scratch match is always the most popular part of the training.

A close examination of the above photo will again reveal the importance of the tongue in football.

Best wishes to the boys for their final game against Scoresby on Sunday morning

Donvale v Knox 10/7/2011

It was a grey day with only a few spots of rain but the wind was blowing and it was FREEZING!  In the club room it was time to meet the Umpire, sort the positions, get the Coach's instructions before a short warm up and into the action.

While scoring was not prolific, it was good to see the boys getting the ball to their end and making appropriate use of the goal posts.

 It was also good to see our Goal Umpire getting a workout as a result of their efforts.

By the half time break the parents raced the team into the clubrooms to get warm. Then it was out into the cold and into the second half.

There was plenty of energy and commitment out there to make the game a more even contest than we had seen in some past games.

Back into the rooms for a rousing rendition of the Club Song

and to present Stefan with his medal for the work he put in today.

Donvale v Mooroolbark

Another cold morning with a sprinkling of rain but the boys were ready to go.

With the preliminaries sorted and the forms signed, they were out to face the opposition. Some of them were big boys!

In what appears to be an ongoing pattern, the scoreboard was not exactly churning during the first half despite some great work, particularly in the second quarter. 

 









The words of wisdom (or perhaps the oranges) at the third quarter break brought about the required change.  The level of desperation rose and in the last 4 minutes it was all Donvale  with goal after goal.

The change in fortunes meant the team left the field in very high spirits -

to sing the Club Song in the rooms and present Alex with his medal for his contribution to the team effort.