Donvale v Knox

WOW!  What did they have with their Weet-Bix this morning?  The boys had a great game today.  In contrast to the previous game they were running, finding space, passing to each other, marking and scoring!  We all felt they had turned the corner and it was exciting to watch.

These are a small selection of photos from the match.  The Slide Show (see link below) has a lot more so it goes for some time.  I am afraid I got a little carried away by the kids' enthusiasm.  The best part was that all of the team lifted and there were contributors all over the field.

There were so many excellent individual performances it would be unfair to single out a few individuals.  But the whole team was happy with their performance and Jess took away a medal for her great work on the field.

Click here for a slideshow of photos from the match.

Donvale v Wantirna South

Well, I suppose the best that can be said was that it was another tough day at the office.  The boys found it hard going against Wantirna South.

 They were ready to go and the familiar workers were on the job.  Josh was pulling the ball down -

James was all over the ground -

as was Harry -

Zac got up close and personal with the opposition -

but the lack of coordinated teamwork cost the boys dearly.  There were a few bright spots but unfortunately they did not translate into scores.  Congratulations to Tyson for his great work on the day.

Click here for a slideshow of photos from the match.

Donvale v Lysterfield

After a period of absence in the north of Australia is is a salutary experience to return to the realities of the Melbourne winter.  It is good to see the boys have lost none of their enthusiasm.

There are clearly a number of stars in the making in the team.  A few of them, like Terry, James, Harry and Josh seemed to have the stamina of Nick Riewoldt in his early days.  They ran flat out for the whole match!

 This year the tackling is adding a new dimension to the match and the boys are right into it.  There were a couple of unconventional tactics, here Max has decided that sitting on the opponent will slow him up.

Congratulations to the medal winners for the day, James and Terry.

Click here for a slideshow of photos from the match.

Presentation Night

The end of the season for the team was marked by the Presentation Night held at the Veneto Club.

The boys were relatively contained while there was food on the table but that did not last long.
Congrats to the winners, particularly Terry for the Players Choice award -

and to Josh,

Christian,

and Oly.

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.