An undermanned NOBSPC was comprehensively thrashed by a rampant Kew Bears on Saturday.

The ripping up of the tram tracks on nearby High St which caused traffic mayhem was symbolic of the loss of most of our “spine” before and during the game. Key defenders Holt and O’Donoghue joined tall forward Scale on the injury list during the week, while centreman Oakley went down in the first 10 minutes and swingman Ford was later lost as well. So far this year we have used 37 players which says much about our current plight.

The last man standing from the spine was captain Keown and he played a tremendous game up forward and in the middle.

The match started well enough as we won the contested possession count, with Horsley particularly prominent. Unfortunately we didn’t get full reward for effort and trailed at quarter-time, after which Kew came out full of run and there was a distinct feeling that we were like the little boy with his finger in the dyke. When it broke 10 goals to one flowed and the half-time siren was a welcome sound.

The third quarter saw a much improved effort but quick goals conceded at the start and end of the term hurt. The last quarter followed a similar script as we tried but were simply outplayed by a team at the top of their game.

Kew’s pressure was excellent and the number of smothers and tackles they put on was amazing as we were hustled and harried all day.

It was good to see Fox do well in his first game this year while the form of Kelly and Shepherd is starting to get back to 2014 standards. Others who tried hard were Wade and Ryan.

Next week we travel to Ballarat to meet Bulleen Templestowe, who are also coming off a big loss, in a must win for both clubs. Make the trip up the highway to support the boys!