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78 - 32 |
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13 - 51 |
Match Report
That football and human nature go hand in hand was on display on Saturday at Toorak Park as NOBSPC’s players were clearly thinking about next week’s first semi-final rather than the job at hand, while Prahran Assumption were desperate to put on a good display for their coach in his last game and the crowd from the pre-game luncheon.
So it was that we were embarrassed by 93 points – following up our best four-quarter effort last week with our worst. Little wonder our coach Ron asked me if I know any good psychiatrists.
We did suffer the loss of three key players pre-match in Shepherd, Byrne and Holt. Then Clarkson and Tonkin went down during the game. None of which excuses the lack of effort on the day though.
The signs were worrying in the first quarter as there was a distinct lack of intensity and urgency in our game. Straight kicking kept us in it, but we did have the wind and still didn’t lead. That we managed three goals after quarter-time said it all really. The common view of on-lookers was that we put the cue in the rack. That was the human nature kicking in but it didn’t make it any easier to stomach for the NOBSPC supporters who had come to watch their team.
Perhaps such a performance will be a spur to show that we are a good team who can do some real damage in the finals – if we turn up to play.
Good players were near impossible to find. Brenton Hunt was one who stuck at it for four quarters. Others played OK in bursts, such as Chapman, Oakley, O’Donoghue and Ezard, but the “poor disposal disease” that was rife on the day afflicted even these talented players.
We will treat this game as an aberration and push on to next Sunday at Bill Lawry Oval in Northcote when we take on Old Geelong. I know that all NOBSPC supporters would love to beat Frank Dunell’s boys. See you there.