Macedon 31 DEF Melton 12
At training we worked on transitions between attack to defence in an effort to lift our intensity on game day. That correlated to a sensational start. However, we tried to go over the top rather and use back players instead of using the front option. Our midcourt was relentless defensively, collecting a lot of clean intercepts and loose balls with 13 recoveries total. We went into the 2nd quarter 10-2. When we thought we couldn’t do better defensively we kept Melton to 1 goal in the second. We struggled in goals due to a lack of accountability over our positions. We tried three different combinations but none proved effective. We shuffled throughout the circle rather than moving or holding, as a result, we were pushed high and gave our feeders not many options. Instead of using swings or triangles to open something up, we continued to force the pass. This caused a lot of turnovers which we didn’t learn from. Our 11 recoveries were negated by 7 bad feeds into goalers. So our scoring dried up. We went into half time 17-3. We made several changes during the third quarter to open up the game and find more ease in the circle. Susan came back on to work with Amy, Georgie went into WA and Emily in GK. Our 6 turnovers were still in attack, we continued to struggle there while we fatigued in our defensive end. Melton were able to pass over the top with very little pressure. Although we had 9 recoveries, Melton were able to double there score with 5 goals in one quarter. We went into our last quarter 23-8. We set a target of 10 goals in the last quarter and made some dramatic changes to get the result we wanted. Susan and Shanae combined in goals, while Nellie, Georgie, Em were in the midcourt, and Allira and Amy in defence. We had a really strong start in defence with 8 recoveries, clearing 100% of Melton’s missed shots and a three goal run. We struggled to find entry into the circle and despite comfortably hitting circle edge, couldn’t sight our goalers. Melton were winning the last quarter before we made a change. Abbey re-entered the game in WA and everyone shuffled down. This injected some energy into the game. Shanae took on the volume and Nellie fed beautifully into her. We ended the game with a 6-1 run. Unfortunately unable to meet our targets today but a final score 31-12.
Best on this week is Georgie Thompson with 5 intercepts 2 gains 15 feeds and 9 assists
