A week really is a long time in football. The euphoria of winning round one at home was a distant memory to the desolation of a thrashing at the hands of Division 1 newcomers St Mary’s Salesian in leafy Ashburton. But the good thing is that there is next week.

The match began ominously as the home side took an early lead, with some pace that caught us napping. If it wasn’t for a supreme quarter by Adam Oakley, supported by Dean Beaumont, the margin could have been more than three goals.

The second quarter was a different story. A total team effort at playing man on man bore fruit as we got ourselves back on level terms. The forward structure was working well with Keown, Scale and Ford providing targets while Tom Hartney was racking up touches and Horsley was lively. Scott Thomas was fantastic in the ruck covering the big loss of Shepherd and Hunt. That St Mary’s were able to snag some easy late goals would prove to be telling as for all of our effort we still trailed at the main break.

After halftime we were simply outrun and out gunned by the opposition. We also ran out of soldiers, with our bench resembling a hospital ward by the end of the game. The ruck position proved to be cursed, with Thomas, Ford and Scale all hobbling off. The pre-match loss of CHB Holt also bit hard as we couldn’t stem the tide and moved players from the forward line to plug that gap, leaving us without a target at half-forward.

On a positive note, hopefully none of the injuries will be too serious and we will see key players return soon. We also discovered the fitness levels that will be required to succeed in Division 1 this season.

Get around the team next week at Ormond!