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2009 Preliminary Final v Drummoyne
Manly defeated by Drummoyne
.............. in controversial circumstances.
What a horrible way to end our season. But we can all lift our
heads high to know that we really did win the contest and should
have been in the grand final.
At half time when I talked about a defining moment in a finals
game, this is not what we had in mind! But we can be very proud of
the way we played the game on and off the field.
We can all learn about sportsmanship from this exercise. It
would have been more respectful for the other coach to let us know
that we had made a mistake and give us a chance to rectify our
error. But I guess some coaches value a place in the grand final
over good sportsmanlike behavior.
However, with all that being said, lets focus on the positives
from this year.
Firstly we should all be very proud of ourselves for the seasons
performances. We are essentially an under 15s team with a few 14s
thrown in and topped up with four 16 year olds playing in an under
16s competition. For our team to even make the finals series is a
fantastic achievement.
Many of our players have enjoyed personal success this year.
Paddy Martin, Dougie Hadden, Mitch Douglas and Christian Jurlina
all made the U15/16s Starz teams and all played extremely well and
all were noticed by the AFL talent scouts. Zach Bray and James
Behagg were reserves for the squads.
Dougie Hadden and Chris Stapleton were selected to play in the
NSW school boys championships and performed well.
We had a number of players selected in the North Shore under 16s
rep team all sporting new tracksuits were Mitch Douglas, Zach Bray,
Timmy White, James Behagg and Brodie Elliott. And a huge
congratulations to our first year players who made the team: Cal
DSouza, David Novakovic and Jordan Weir.
Many of our under 14s players contributed well throughout the
season and a number of them are in contention for the U14s Starz
team selection: Nick Duncan, Gerard Martin, James Fitzgerald, Mark
Brinker, Cal Johnston, Simon Frost and our finals team runner Jake
Monk. Stay tuned for news on their progress in the October State
Carnival.
Lachy Kilpatrick has been training with the Swans in their
development group and only this week, Dougie Hadden was awarded
runner up best & fairest in the entire U16 Div 2
competition.
Well done to all of you.
Unfortunately we have 4 players leaving our ranks this year.but
they are already being courted by North Shores Under 18 squad. Zach
Bray, Paddy Martin, Timmy White & Lachy Kilpatrick head off
from the Manly Bombers but will be a huge asset to North Shore and
they even get to wear the same bombers jumpers!
Good luck to our boys playing in the Pittwater Grand Final this
weekend Adam Tomko, Lockie Hearn and Cooper Halligan. This is the
first time Pittwater has been in a grand final since 1972 so the
boys could be part of history this weekend.
I thought Id end the season with a one-liner comment on how Ive
seen each of the boys this yearhere goes;
- Aaron: The quiet achiever
- Adam T: Great to see you excelling in Div 3
- Brinks: Massive improvement
- Brodes: Guts & Determination
- BJ: Never gives in
- Cal D: Massive future
- Cal J: The next big thing
- Coops: Welcome to AFL
- CJ: All he needs is more time with a footy and he could be
anything
- David: The most determined, hardest worker
- Dougie: Superstar
- Frosty: Surprise package
- G: Grew an inch every month
- Hayden: Very exciting talent
- Jacob: The first person I'd choose for my team
- James B: An exceptional athlete
- Jason & Josh: Welcome back next year
- Jasper: Must come back next year
- Jordan: The start of something big
- Lockie H: The backbone of Div 3
- Lachy K: Extraordinary natural talent
- Mitch C: Huge potential, ready for the big time
- Mitch D: Hard work really pays off
- Nick: The ultimate sportsman
- Paddy: Fantastic return to footy
- Ryan: Great to see you back & healthy again
- Stapo: The Natural
- Timmy: The jewel of Tasmania
- Zach: Best season yet
Next year well have 2 teams in the under 16s an awesome Div 1
and Div 2 team that will both push hard for a premiership flag.
Well continue to have heaps of fun, learn some more skills and
enjoy some success.
Until then..over and out from H.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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2009 Semi Final v Glebe
Semi Final - Manly 8.9.57 defeated by
Glebe 12.10.82
Groundhog Day for the Bombers this week as we matched up against
Glebe for the 2nd time in 2 weeks. And the story was much the same
with the Bombers taking an early lead into half time only to be
out-muscled by Glebe in the 3rd and 4th quarters.
The team played to the game plan perfectly from the opening
bounce which resulted in Nick Duncan and James Behagg kicking 3
fantastic goals to open our account. Our effort at the ball was
great and the team morale solid and we looked like we were set for
a fantastic match. At quarter time we led by 1 point.
The second quarter was another fantastic display of our football
style and the boys really started to get a roll on and kicked 3
goals to Glebes 1 which gave us a 2 goal lead at half time.
But in the third and fourth quarters we dropped the intensity
and let Glebe back into the game and they ran away with a 4 goal
win.
Our backs were absolutely rock solid with Mitch C taking some
huge marks backing into packs which really impressed the Essendon
scout who had come to watch him play. Hayden and Cal J stopped all
attacks that came their way and werent afraid to run us into attack
from the half back line. Jasper was hard at the ball all game and
David really stood his ground when he needed to stand up for his
team mates. Aarons judgment in back pocket was superb again and he
calmly marked on the last line of defence on a number of
occasions.
Paddy Martin in the forward line was again taking some strong
marks and kicked 2 straight goals. James B marked strongly and
kicked accurately for 2 goals and Nick D was again dominant in the
air and kicked 2 long goals.
Brinks, Gerard and BJ all chimed in well throughout the game
along with the resting rovers but unfortunately Jordan took a hard
knock early and was on the bench for most of the game which reduced
our run-in capacity on the half forward line.
We have the skill in this team to go all the way this year but
unless we focus for the full 80 minutes of the game, we wont
realize our true potential to win a grand final. Its now a matter
of attitude and concentration. If we put it all together we can
achieve great success. If not, well need to wait another year. Over
to you boys!
Man of the Match: Jacob Graham
Captains Choice: Brodie Elliott
Goals: Nick Duncan, Pat Martin, James Behagg (2 each),
Dougie Hadden, Gerard Martin (1 each)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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2009 Round 16 v Glebe
Manly 10.7.67 defeated by Glebe
14.13.97
A tough game for the Bombers but we took a lot of positives from
the game. For all but the third quarter, we were genuinely in the
contest - it was only the 3rd quarter where Glebe took control of
the game kicking 5 goals to Manly's 1 solitary behind.
From the very first bounce the opening quarter was a solid
contest with hard efforts at the ball from both teams. Cal D'Souza
opened our account with a great crumbers goal after tremendous
pressure from our mid-field. Christian was superb in the ruck and
gave Lach K and Cal plenty of opportunity to drive the ball into
our scoring zone. Paddy took 2 strong grabs at full forward and we
really looked like we were here to play. By the end of the first
quarter we trailed Glebe by 9 points.
In the second quarter the Manly style really came back to our
game and we dominated play. Nick Duncan marked strongly at CHF and
kicked a tong goal. BJ made his present felt with a great snapshot
and a standing shot at goal. Ryan crumbed well off a Mitch Douglas
scrimmage to score a great snap goal and Cal D converted from a
running attack through the forward line. Our defence was superb
with Mitch Cullen finding position well to mark strongly and turn
back every attack Glebe could muster. At half time we were 10
points in front.
But the 3rd quarter belonged to Glebe. They ran hard at the
contest and showed more desperation at the ball. Our inexperience
gave away 5 x 50 metre penalties which all resulted in goals and
even though we tried hard it looked like we weren't in the game at
all. By the end of the third quarter we trailed by 27 points.
We refocused in the last quarter and played our style of
football well and both teams kicked 3 goals for the quarter, but
the deficit from the 3rd quarter was too great and we couldn't
overhaul Glebe who finished their season undefeated.
Our backline was superb today with Jasper back to his best and
Aaron and David contributing well to shut out their players and
back their judgment at the contest. Mitch C led the half back line
with much maturity and is forming a fantastic combination with
Hayden to launch our attack.
The mid-fielders worked hard all day with Lach K playing his
first game in the centre and showing us all his skills. Stapo on
the wing was superb and stepped up throughout the whole game. Our
rovers Brodie & Cal D were on the bottom of the packs working
the ball forward and our ruck rovers Mitch D, Zach, Jacob and James
B were fantastic winning the contested ball and protecting the
smaller players around the ground and James B's marking was
outstanding. Christian and Nick simply dominated the rucks and
hunted the ball all around the ground to put us into attack.
Our forward structure is working well with Paddy unlucky not to
have 3 or more goals with his sensational marking efforts. Jordan
ran into space well as always and Ryan was always ready for goal
scoring opportunities. BJ chimed in for most of the game and was
instantly effective when he came on in the second quarter grabbing
2 great goals.
We've had a remarkable season finishing in 2nd place given that
all be a few of our players are aged 15 or 14 ....even a 13 year
old! Next week we have Groundhog Day as we play Glebe in the semi
final - winner goes straight to the grand final, so it's an
interesting week of training ahead for the boys.
Man of the Match: Mitch Cullen
Captain's Choice: Chris Stapleton
Goals: James Fitzgerald, Cal D'Souza (2 each), Ryan
Bray, Pat Martin, Mitch Douglas, James Behagg, Nick Duncan, Jordan
Weir (1 each)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
|
2009 Round 15 v Baulkham Hills
Manly 7.10.52 drew with Baulkham Hills
7.10.52
On paper this looked like a game we would win, but that was
until Baulko dropped 5 of their Div 1 guys down to help them fight
their way into the finals.
From the start of the game our boys were in for a tough
encounter with many massive hits from the older and stronger Baulko
players. But we were really proud of the way our boys didn't slow
down at the contest and were not intimidated by the Baulko 'muscle
up' tactics.
By the end of the first quarter we were 11 points ahead after
keeping BH scoreless but we continued with our poor conversion rate
over the last few games to be 1 goal 5 behinds - certainly time for
some goal kicking practice. In the second quarter BH came back hard
at us with their intimidation tactics and many cheap shots.
Thankfully the umpires were right onto this style of play and
protected our effort at the ball with a number of free kicks. But
the scoreboard was starting to look interesting with Manly holding
a slender lead of 3.8.24 to 2.4.16.
In the 3rd quarter our concentration lapsed and we really let BH
back into the game and at the three quarter time siren Baulko led
by 5 points. In the 4th quarter we saw the true character of our
team when we fought hard to come from behind and steal a draw
against the run of play. A great sign for the tough finals campaign
ahead.
Our mid-field was fantastic all day with Nick Duncan really
showing us that he's got the grip of a genuine AFL player. In
Christian's absence Nick rucked all day and won the tap outs as
well as running all around the ground to be a marking target. Nick
topped it off with a long bomb goal in the last quarter to put us
back into the game. Our ruck rover combo this week included Jacob
who has fully recovered from all of his injuries and has all of his
fitness back. Jacob was fantastic with his effort at the footy and
strong runs to set up our forwards - and he kicked a terrific goal
from nearly 50 out. Mitch D, Zach and James B worked hard all day
at protecting our smaller players and did a great job of giving
Baulko back some of their own medicine.
Dougy in the centre is struggling with knee soreness but never
gives up even though he can't break clear of the tackles as much as
he is used to and delivered the ball beautifully to our leading
forwards. Brodie had an awesome game and showed us his speed,
agility and courage on many occasions, Stapo was strong all day and
chimed in well with Timmy White who is really hitting his straps at
the business end of the season. Lachy K could only play for a half
as he needed to play his second game of rep soccer, but was
electric out on the wing. Can't wait to see this entire mid-field
combo come together from next week when Cal D and Christian
return.
Our forwards are really starting to come together although we'll
be spending a lot of time goal kicking practice this week! Paddy
Martin kicked a very strong goal to set us on our way and Jordan
was again fantastic on the Forward flank with 3 great goals. Ryan
& G combined well as roving forwards and fed the ball into our
scoring zone on many occasions and David worked hard at every
contest.
But the real glory goes to our back line who held off the BH
onslaught for most of the game. Jasper was back to his best and
read the play extremely well. Mitch C again dominated the half back
line and is forming an awesome combination with Hayden to set up
our attack from the half back line. The ruck rovers were changing
in the back line and tackled hard and pushed us back into
attack.
But Aaron Oni stole the show, particularly in the last quarter
when the pressure was really on. Aaron backed his judgment and the
ball seemed to land in his hands wherever he went. He marked
strongly and single handedly saved a certain goal when he worked
over 2 Baulko forwards who were running into an open goal. aaron
not only stopped the goal but he turned it back to our half back
line who set up an attack which eventually led to Nick's goal to
make scores level. Great game Aaron.
All in all a fantastic signal for the upcoming finals series.
Our style of running football was fantastic. Our defence was rock
solid. Our mid-fielders worked over a much bigger opposition. All
we need now is to lift our conversion rate and we'll have a real
shot at a premiership. Well done to all of you.
Man of the Match: Nick Duncan
Captains Choice: Jacob Graham
Goals: Jordan Weir (3), Paddy Martin, Zach Bray, Jacob
Graham, Nick Duncan (1 each)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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2009 Round 14 v Westbrook
Manly 7.13.55 defeated Westbrook
3.3.21
Great to see the Bombers find their style in the important game
against Westbrook - especially in the second half when we dominated
all of the running play and converted well.
Unfortunately, the weather spoiled what would have been a highly
skilled game as both teams are genuinely talented and are
predominantly under 15's. But the rain caused the ball to be very
slippery so the skills were lowered in the first half but we hung
on to a slender margin at half time after kicking 2 goals 7 behinds
to Westbrook's 2 goals 3.
At the end of the 3rd quarter we got the impression that the
flood gates were about to open in our favour but our forward
conversion was still not great with the scoreboard showing 3 goals
11 behinds!
But the 4th quarter was a different story. Led by Jordan who
kicked 2 great goals on the run and followed off the ground snaps
by Gerard we ran away with a 5 goal win.
But more importantly, our style of play returned. Many times we
saw our half backs and mid-fielders run and carry through the mid
field zone to switch play and set up our forward structure. Our
forward structure was best its been all year as new forwards coach,
Bruce Wickham has started to set the forwards up with new ways of
attack to keep the defenders guessing.
Mitch Cullen led the charge at Centre Half Back and simply
dominated the play with his reading, positioning and switching
skills. Hayden and Jacob supported Mitch well with many strong
marks and runs through the mid field to set up attack. James Fitz
and Aaron were super reliable playing in the back pocket and hit
their kicking targets well. Mitch Douglas took a stint at full back
in Jaspers absence and shut down the dangerous forward for
Westbrook.
Our mid-field simply dominated play with Christian and later
Nick winning all the hit outs and setting up play for Dougie,
Stapo, Brodie and Tim who was electric all around the ground. Our
ruck rovers showed plenty of strength to support our smaller
running players with James B, Zach Paddy and Mitch D all playing
their part. Cal Johnston on the wing was fantastic with his ball
winning ability and precision kicking he really set up a number of
our goals.
Brinks was very strong at Full Forward and took some very strong
marks against a much bigger opponent and kicked 2 goals. Ryan
played his best game for the season finding space and backing
himself with a great sidestep and kick to the hot spot to set up a
great team goal. Nick and CJ marked well at Centre Half Forward and
kicked the ball very well into our leading forward line. Jordan
dominated his forward flank with good skills and speed and really
was the turning point of the game with 2 great goals in rapid
succession. David worked hard all day and fought well to get front
position for his marking contests and Gerard the opportunist took
his chances when it mattered and read the play well for 2 very
smart goals.
Great signs for the future as we head towards the finals in
clear 2nd position.
Man of the Match: Mitch Cullen
Captains Choice: Tim White
Goals: Gerard Martin, Mark Brinker, Jordan Weir (2
each), Dougie Hadden (1 goal)
 
 
 
 
 
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2009 Round 12 v Maroubra
Manly 10.11.71 defeated by Maroubra
12.9.81
Well, the Bombers were once again hit by the dreaded flu bug and
injuries. In fact we had 11 players out this week and if it wasn't
for Nick Sampson from Pittwater we would needed to have forfeited
this week. Thanks again Nick.
The first quarter we were a little slow but generally the boys
were playing well against a much improved Maroubra and even though
we went to the quarter time break 1 goal down we knew there was
more left in the tank.
The 2nd qaurter we saw what the Bombers are made of as many run
and carry handball moves through the mid-field took shape. But we
were definitely missing our tall marking targets. Mitch D was moved
to Full Forward following a heavy knock and kicked 3 strong goals
to push us into the lead. Generally, a pretty good quarter for the
Bombers.
But the third and fourth quarters, our boys simply ran out of
gas with 5-6 still recovering from the aftermath of the flu virus
and, in a pretty scrappy second half Maroubra worked hard for a
well-earned 10 point victory.
The highlights of our game were 2 long bomb goals from Tim White
in identical positions approximately 40 metres out from goal. Tim
lined them up, kicked straight and gave the ball plenty of air to
carry over the goal line. Great show Tim.
Aaron was our man of the match and really cemented our depleted
back line. He backed his judgement well between being accountable
to his opponent and running us into attack from half back. A great
job Aaron.
Brodie worked tirelessly around the contests and timed the front
and square ball drops to perfection at times. Likewise Stapo showed
passages of his skills in the mid-field. Dougie gave us all a scare
with another knock to the knee but luckily it was only a minor
injury and he went back on the field in the last quarter.
David ran hard all day and contested everything he got close to.
As usual Cal ran through the mid-field with speed and delivered
well to our forward line. Lockie Hearn, Nick Sampson and Cooper
tried hard all day with Lockie's highlight being a great intercept
and running into an open forward line to deliver to our goal
kickers.
James B, Zach, Mitch D, Paddy, Jordan & Jacob all played
well for a quarter or so but ran out of energy throughout the game
and are very much needing some down time during the school holidays
to fully recover from the virus.
So, with only 4 games to go before the finals we're all looking
forward to finally getting our full squad to training so we can
start to work on our team plans. From the game against Westbrook it
looks like everyone will be fit and well and will be free of their
other sporting commitments which will give us 3 solid games before
the finals.
Man of the Match: Aaron Oni
Captains Choice: Chris Stapleton
Goals: Mitch Douglas (4), Tim White, Jordan Weir (2
each), James Behagg, Dougie Hadden (1 each)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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2009 Round 11 v Easts
Manly 9.9.63 defeated Easts
6.5.41
Well this wasn't one of our best performances but the boys
showed some patches of fantastic play to sneak home with a win over
the much improved Easts.
With 7 of our main players out with injury or illness and a
number taking the field without full recovery, we had to work very
hard for this win. In the first quarter we played what was probably
our worst football for a few years. Nothing seemed to work as Easts
dominated every contest and took control.
But in the second quarter the boys stepped up. Dougie played his
first quarter after 4 weeks on the sideline with a major ankle
injury and gave us a strong target at Full Forward marking strongly
and kicking 3 deadly accurate goals. Brodie dominated the mid-field
ably supported by Tim and Stapo. Zach started to come into the game
at Centre Half Forward and took some strong marks. Cal, as always,
never gives up and gave us plenty of drive from the mid-field to
set up our forward line. This quarter we looked like the team we
have worked hard to become. But the quarter belonged to Mitch D and
Tim who simply dominated at every contest and worked relentlessly
to get to the next one and got us back into the game. Great job
boys.
In both the 3rd and 4th quarters we started well with some great
handball runs through the mid-field and it looked like we were back
into our mojo, but we simply ran out of legs with so many of our
players not able to extend themselves due to recovering from a week
of illness. Jordan kicked an amazing soccer snap goal as the
highlight of the last quarter.
But, all things considered, we probably needed a game like this
one to make us realise that we still need to work hard at our game
plan for everything to come together. Looking forward to next
week.
Congratulations to Aaron who celebrated his 50th game. Well done
mate. You've improved dramatically over the last few years.
Man of the Match: Tim White
Captains Choice: Chris Stapleton
Goals: Dougie Hadden (3), James Behagg (2), Cal D'Souza,
Jordan Weir, Zach Bray, Pat Martin (1 each)
PS: As some of you would have noticed Paul Roos was on the
sideline and really enjoyed the match. He sent me a message that he
was really impressed with a few of you.......so it was a good
opportunity to showcase!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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2009 Round 09 v Drummoyne
Manly 12.8.80 defeated Drummoyne
5.5.35
The boys played their first game under lights and worked hard
for a courageous win.
Last time we met Drummoyne we were severely under strength with
8 of our bigger boys unavailable. This allowed Drummoyne to apply
their 'cheap shots' on our smaller players, (especially Dougie) and
muscle their way to a 5 goal win.
This time it was different with all of our bigger players
running on - much to the surprise of Drummoyne. But we had a number
of crucial injuries with Dougie and Lachlan K out and the twins
unable to play.
The cheap shots from some of the Drummoyne players continued but
this time they were met with hard contests and even harder tackles
from our boys - many with a "Dougie says hi" comment as they were
picking themselves off the ground.
The first and second quarters were really tough with both teams
showcasing skills and strength. Christian rucked tirelessly with
Zach, James, Cal & Stapo mopping up the loose ball to push us
into attack. Paddy Martin kicked a great long bomb early to get us
started on the scoreboard followed by great shots from Nick D and
Jordan whilst Zach kicked a beauty in the 2nd quarter. Mitch C has
his judgement on radar at CHB with many strong marks and solid
kicks to our running targets from the half back line. Led by Mitch
D and supported by Hayden, Jacob & Aaron our defence stood tall
and shut down most of Drummoyne's attack.
We went into the sheds at half time with a 3 point advantage
ready for the premiership quarter.
Straight from the first bounce the Bombers pushed hard to break
Drummoyne. James & Christian had a head-on collision just
before half time and both were a litte dizzy, so Nick Duncan
stepped up to the mid-field rucking role. Nick really turned the
game around for us and had the best game of his 8 game AFL career.
Well done Nick. Zach & Stapo continued to dominate and Tim
replaced the injured Brodie as rover and capitalised on every loose
ball to push us into attack.
Our forwards really came to life with David, Gerard, Jordan,
Ryan and Jasper making their presence felt. Lochie stepped up to
the back pocket role and many times backed his judgement to outmark
his opponent, which combined with our other defenders to completely
lock down Drummoyne's scoring opportunities.
With a 3 goal lead going into the last quarter we quickly needed
to shut down Drummoyne's chances and the entire squad stepped up to
pile on 5 goals 5 to Drummoynes 1 goal delivering the Bombers an 8
goal margin at full time. Jordan kicked a great goal on the run and
James B snapped 3 from the pocket.
With Dougie in the middle of the group the boys sung the Bombers
song with pride to prove that our best retaliation to cheap shots
from certain snipers from the opposition, is to smash them with our
Manly style of footy that delivers the result on the
scoreboard.
Well done boys. We are now in clear 2nd place with a tough game
ahead against Westbrook. Not bad for an under 15's team in an under
16's competition.
Man of the Match: Zach Bray
Captains Choice: Mitch Cullen
Goals: James Behagg (3) Jordan Weir, Mitch Douglas (2),
Cal D'Souza, Pat Martin, David Novakovic, Zach Bray, Nick Duncan (1
each)
 
 
 
 
|
2009 Round 08 v Glebe
Manly 6.6.42
defeated by Glebe 8.10.58
After a wash out last week we faced another horrible, wet and
windy day at Narrabeen, but we dug in and showed some real courage
against a much larger team.
During our first quarter, we were against the wind which was a
genuine 4-5 goal advantage. But, our strong defence and hard
contesting work really paid off as we kept Glebe to a 1 goal 4
behinds scoreline. Hayden, Aaron & Zach led our defensive
charge and pushed back all of Glebes attack with well-timed marking
and kicking to key targets. Christian won all the center bounce
knocks and delivered the ball silver-service to Cal & Dougie
who lapped up the opportunities and drove us forward into
attack.
Quarter 2 was a different story as our intensity dropped off and
we failed to capitalise on the wind advantage. We let Glebe in with
2 goals whilst only kicking 1 ourselves. Mitch Cullen played a
rucking role from Centre Half Back and dominated at every contest.
He read the play brilliantly and marked strongly in very difficult
conditions to move the ball quickly to our mid-field runners Stapo,
Brodie, James B and Jordan.
Coach H made a tactical blunder in the third quarter and tried a
flooded back line to try and crowd the Glebe attack. It didn't work
as our boys were confused as to who they were supposed to be
marking. Every time we attacked from half back into our mid-field
Glebe had loose men and simply kicked long with no contest to put
our defences under massive pressure.
This confusion led to Glebe running away with a 4 goal quarter
and the Bombers really on the back foot with a 7 goal defecit at
three quarter time. In future, we'll only implement plans that
we've practices at training! Time and time again Hayden Washington
stepped up to squash the attack showing us all his rapid
development from a Gridiron player to an AFL player in 8 short
weeks. Great job Hayden. You made some great decisions under
pressure and you hit your targets with your kicks every time.
In the last quarter the Bombers spirit was on show for all to
see. From the first bounce our boys lifted and dominated the entire
quarter. We kicked 3 goals in 5 minutes and really looked like
contenders. Brodie's snap from the boundary line was a gem and
Gerard stepped up with 2 crucial goals. Stapo chimed in with
another and then Christian grabbed a specky from the sky, and to
everyone's amazement, kicked a dead straight goal to put us 16
points behind. CJ's specky really put a smile on the face of the St
Kilda scout lurking in the sidelines.
Our mid-fielders led by Mitch D, Dougie, Cal, Stapo and James B
drove the ball long to the hot-spot where Jacob really made his
presence felt with some hard contests to clear space for our goal
sneaks. Jordan showed some amazing athleticism with the ball on a
string and most importantly, kept his feet at every contest. David
& Pat tried hard all day but really couldn't get into the play
as much as usual. Same for Tim & Dougie who found the going
tough in the slippery conditions. Jasper had his hands full with
some solid Glebe forwards but gave us 100 percent all day.
We lost today but showed great spirit to come back in the last
quarter and really play our Manly Style of footy. One thing for
sure, we all feel quietly confident next time we meet Glebe.
Man of the Match: Hayden Washington
Captains Choice: Mitch Douglas
Goals: Gerard Martin (2), Brodie Elliott, Chris
Stapleton, Christian Jurlina, Callum D'Souza (1 each)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
|
2009 Round 06 v Riverview
Manly 25.26.176 defeated Riverview
7.6.48
Our bombers put on a great display of run and carry football
with tremendous skills. The Riverview team were much improved from
the last time we played them and they really put us to the task for
the first half of the first quarter.
In an effort to improve their game, many of the boys had
particular tasks to work on this week and all performed well. The
only negative point in the whole game was our shots at goal. From
54 genuine scoring shots, we kicked 25 goals, 26 points and 3 out
on the full. We had 12 individual goal kickers but its time for
some real goal kicking practice this week fellas.
Mitch Cullen made a fantastic return to form and marked strongly
all over the ground and even hit some targets with his kicking.
Dougie was back to his brilliant best and seemed to be everywhere
and hit his kicking targets each and every time he kicked the ball.
Great games from both of you.
It was fantastic to see Jacob back in Manly colours and he
really worked the full forward position to perfection, using his
strength to out mark and out hustle their key defender for a haul
of 5 goals. Gerard snapped 3 great goals, gave one away to Aaron in
the goal square and showed us all his unique left foot passing into
the forward line.
Jordan improves every week and used his pace and kicking skills
to beat a number of players for some big runs into the forward line
before delivering well to our forward hot-spot. Aaron was
recovering from a back injury so played his first game ever at
full-forward in rotation with Jacob. Aaron kicked 3 goals and
missed a couple of sitters but really enjoyed the experience.
Hayden played for the Pittwater team earlier in the day and was
super-keen for an extra game of footy so from the second quarter he
played a multiple of roles and when in the forward line kicked 2
great goals.
Well done to all of you.
Not much action for our defensive group this week but Jasper,
Josh, Adam and Cooper worked hard to repel the Riverview attack.
Cooper and Adam rotated into the forward pocket each quarter so saw
a bit more of the action.
David spent most of the game in our mid-field rucking role and
worked hard on his tap outs and ground play. David's another big
improver this year and has really stamped himself into one of our
key position players. Our 4-man Rover and 4-man Ruck Rover
combinations worked very well as we trialed an interchange roster
off the bench and throughout a number of positions on the field.
Cal, Stapo, Brodie and Tim roved fantastically all around the
ground and ran off Dougie in the mid field plays and kicked a bag
of goals between them. Our RR combos of Mitch D, Zach, Pat and
James B worked hard to create space for the rovers and created many
attacking options with their run and carry plays through the
corridor. Then in defence, they tackled hard and kicked to open
positions all day.
You are all developing into a tremendous mid-field group boys
and we all look forward to seeing you in action when the opposition
starts to get tougher this coming weekend.
The next 4 games will all be tough ones starting with Baulko at
Narrabeen. We are now clear 2nd on the Ladder and this will be a
great test to see how much we have improved.
Man of the Match: Dougie Hadden
Captains Choice: Mitch Cullen
Goals: Jacob Graham (5), Gerard Martin, Cal D'Souza,
Aaron Oni (3 each), Dougie Hadden, Jordan Weir, Hayden Washington
(2 each), Cooper Halligan, Tim White, David Novakovic, Mitch
Douglas, Mitch Cullen (1 each)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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2009 Round 05 v Maroubra
Manly 10.12.72 defeated Maroubra
6.4.40
In tough, windy conditions the Bombers overcame a very physical
Maroubra for a well-fought win.
In these conditions Maroubra opted for a strategy of flooding
our forward line which made it a very scrappy game, but our boys
worked hard to dominate play against a team of full 16 year olds
with some very big bodies.
It was a staggered start for most of our team as they arrived
from basketball and school weekend activities - it was very funny
to see Christian run straight from his Dad's car to the first
centre bounce! Not an ideal warm up but he dominated the centre
bounces for the full quarter and took some huge marks around the
ground.
Against the wind in the first quarter the boys worked hard at
our run and carry game style but Maroubra kicked 3 straight
unanswered goals from long raking kicks into their forward line. It
was only in the last 5 minutes that we were able to work the ball
into our scoring zone for a goal. Mitch C worked very hard at
Centre Half Forward with Chris dominating this quarter with some
big grabs and great running through the mid-field with Dougie and
Mitch D.
The second quarter was very scrappy as Maroubra had most of
their team in our forward zone. This made it very difficult for
Nick, Gerard and BJ to find space as Nick tried to out-mark 3 or so
flooded defenders and when the ball hit the ground, G & BJ were
swamped by multiple defenders. But we worked hard for 3 goals from
Pat, Hayden and Nick bringing us to within 3 points at half time.
Our mid-field combinations were working well with each group given
the responsibility of planning their on-ball / off-ball efforts to
conserve energy. Dougie's skills were on show as he starts to get
back to his best after illness. Zach, Mitch D and James B tackled
strongly to lock the ball into our forward zone.
The 3rd quarter is known as the 'premiership quarter' and this
was true to form for the Bombers. They worked very hard in defence
to shut down the Maroubra attack (with a 5-goal win behind them)
and our boys quickly rebounded the ball into our forward zone where
we kicked 2 goals. Cal & Jordan arrived at half time and
immediately made an impact with 2 great goals from Jordan in the
second half and some fantastic running from Cal. At the end of the
3rd quarter we had matched Maroubra's goals and we were only 1
point down.
From the first bounce of the 4th quarter the Bombers took
control. We kicked 5 strong goals and stopped Maroubra from scoring
any more points and we ran away with a 5-goal win. James B and
Brodie worked hard on the ball to repel all of Maroubra's attacking
play
So, a great result from the boys. It was great to finally have
all our basketballers playing and they all contributed strongly
giving us some genuine marking targets in critical locations around
the ground. Was also great to have the twins back and Josh &
Jason worked very well with Jasper, David and Hayden to halt the
Maroubra attack. Thanks to BJ for stepping up again at short
notice.
Great to see the boys sing the song loudly and proudly this
week!
Man of the Match: Chris Stapleton
Captains Choice: Pat Martin
Goals: Dougie Hadden (3), Jordan Weir (2), Chris
Stapleton, Pat Martin, Hayden Washington, Mitch Douglas, Nick
Duncan (1 each)
No photos this week as Femi & Jessie were unable
to make it to the game....
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2009 Round 04 v Drummoyne
Manly 8.6.54 defeated by Drummoyne
12.16.88
A tough day at the office for the Bombers. With only 17 players
taking the field (and Dougy just making up the numbers after
spending the week in bed with a cold) we struggled against the more
physical Drummoyne who ran a 6-man interchange bench.
But our boys should hold their heads up high as they continually
tried to work our game plan even when they completely ran out of
legs in the last quarter.
David and James B worked tirelessly in the ruck and won most of
the hit-outs to our ever sharp rovers Brodie and Cal who both
covered plenty of territory around the ground. Chris Stapo and
Lachlan K brilliantly took up the challenge of our centre role
after an exhausted Dougie moved to Full Forward.
Mitch D and Aaron really stepped up in the second half marking
strongly and putting on some big tackles - especially Aarons big
snap on a Drummoyne player that thought it would be fun to use
Dougy as a punching bag. After Aaron's tackle this sniper limped
off the field and wasn't seen again!
Tim and BJ worked hard on the wing and worked the ball into our
forward line but we really missed the height of our basketballers
as it was left to an under-strength Dougie to take our big marks up
front. But when the ball hit the ground, Lockie, Adam and Cooper
worked hard to force the ball into our scoring zones.
Congratulations to Lockie for scoring his first goal with the
Bombers.
Jasper was reliable as ever in the last line of defence, ably
supported by Hayden who is really improvong every week. Jordan had
a hard job at Centre Half Back but tried hard to block their key
forward - a great job for a young man playing only his 4th game of
AFL.
We can all learn a lot from this game and it proves that we have
a very tough competition in this older age group. But once we can
get all of our boys onto the playing field from this coming week,
our style of football will be hard to beat.
Special mention to big David who stepped in to assist Dougie
when he was being harrassed by 2 Drummoyne boys. A great display of
team spirit David. Well done.
Man of the Match: Callum D'Souza
Captain's Choice: Dougie Hadden - for his bravery &
determination despite being roughed up by the
opposition
Goals: David Novakovic, Lachlan Kilpatrick (2 each),
Adam Tomko, Dougie Hadden, Cal D'Souza, Lockie Hearn (1
each)
 
 
 
 
 
 
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2009 Round 03 v Easts
Manly 18.9.117 defeated Easts
9.7.61
What a week! With a full squad of 26 on our list, we just
scraped in with 15 players to avoid a forfeit due to school
holidays, injuries and a draw clash with our basketballers. Giant
thanks to James Fitz and new boy Tim White for stepping up for the
game.
From the first bounce we dominated the play with Cal D'Souza
popping up all over the forward line to kick 4 goals on the run.
Adam, Tim, James B and Hayden also grabbed a share of the goal
action and we hit the quarter time break with a 7 goal lead.
In the second quarter Easts fought back but the Bombers Tsunami
style of footy was just too strong for the Easts defence. Jordan
dominated with some exceptional marking and kicking to key targets
and James Behagg showed all his athletic abilities in the air and
on the ground.
Zach worked hard in the mid field and David finally got to lay
on one of his big tackles that he learnt during his time playing
Rugby. Dougie and Mitch D showed all the skills that earnt them
accolades during the recent State Carnival but both boys were
absolutely shattered after playing 4 games of footy through the
week and participating in all of the educational seminars staged by
the AFL for the Talented Player Program.
By the end of the 3rd quarter we started to run out of legs but
not before Chris Stapo and Tim White had strong quarters of run and
carry through the mid-field and delivered to our marking targets.
Lochie Hearn chimed in with some solid passages of play and Adam
Tomko was always ready to scout the crumbs from the aerial
contests. Lach Kilpatrick only had 5 hours sleep after a State Rep
soccer game on Saturday followed by his Mum's birthday party till
2.30am, but he showed some magic on the wing stepping 2 opponents
and opening up the forward line before being penalised for running
too far!
Easts looked like a different team for the first 10 minutes of
the 4th quarter kicking 4 unanswered goals but the Bombers steadied
and turned the tide with Dougie kicking 2 of his most skilfull set
shots from either pocket with swirling wind conditions - straight
over the goal umpires hat to show us all why he is regarded one of
the best kicks in NSW junior footy.
At the end of the game Jasper and Tim sped off to play in the
Div 3 team for Pittwater.............and the rest of the team drove
home for a well earned afternoon nap!
Nice job boys ............. but I must say that was the worst
example of a team song we've every heard !!
Man of the Match: Cal D'Souza
Captains Choice: Mitch Douglas
Goals: Cal D'Souza (5), Dougie Hadden (3), Mitch Douglas
& Tim White (2 each), Adam Tomko, Lachlan Kilpatrick, Jasper
Harkness Dunne, Jordan Weir, James Behagg, Hayden Washington (1
each)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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2009 Round 02 v Baulkham Hills
Manly 13.8.86 defeated Baulkham Hills
8.13.61
A much more challenging game for the Bombers this week - but
just as we had expected, Baulkham Hills were a tough team that
really made us work hard for our win.
From our full squad of 26, only 18 players were available for
the game, but all the boys worked hard all day. Led by captain for
the day Lockie Hearn (first game for the Bombers but playing his
50th AFL game) we were hit hard by the Baulko attack in the first
quarter and were 1 goal down at the quarter-time break.
During the 2nd quarter our attack started to fire but our key
running players were still caught in traffic by the solid Baulko
defence. At the half-time break the boys all agreed to work hard at
our Manly style of footy and run in numbers from half back and run
and carry the ball through the mid-field. We saw immediate results
in the 3rd quarter as we kicked along to an almost 3 goal lead.
The highlight of the third quarter was the inspirational run and
carry from Brodie who worked the ball from back pocket, through the
hands of 4 team mates and after bamboozling the Baulko mid-field
group, from the centre of the ground Brodie delivered a beautiful
pass to Mitch Cullen who then worked it to Zach for a goal. A full
length of the field attacking play without Baulko touching the
ball. Great work Brodie - a fantastic example of our Manly style of
footy.
During the last quarter we applied the pressure with our running
style off football and started to run away from Baulko and when the
final siren sounded the Bombers were 25 points in the clear.
Our philosophy of changing the team around for each quarter is
starting to pay dividends as all players are getting valuable
experienceplaying in all zones of the field. By game 6 we will have
a full squad of utility players that can play in any zone of the
ground.
Our big-3 combination of Christian, Mitch and David is working a
treat in the Ruck, Centre Half Forward and Centre Half Back with
strong marking and winning all the tap-outs.
Our mid-field running group of Dougie, Mitch D, James, Brodie,
Chris & Cal really worked hard to generate our mid-field
attacking pressure. Zach, Hayden, Jordan, Lachlan K, Aaron, Gerard
& Lockie provided marking targets in the forward line, strong
defence and launched our attack from half back as well as worked
hard with the mid-field group to run and carry the ball into our
attacking lines.
Adam and Cooper were fantastic goal sneaks today and worked
under the oppositions guard to snag 3 valuable opportunistic goals
at crucial moments of the game.
Well done boys. If we all have confidence in our game style it
will work every time...........you proved it in the second half
when the game was in the balance.
A big welcome to Lockie Hearn playing his first game for Manly.
Welcome back to Mitch Cullen and Gerard Martin playing their first
games for the season, and a huge welcome back to Lachlan Kilpatrick
playing his first game of AFL for 4 years.
Man of the Match: Lachlan Kilpatrick
Captains Choice: Cal Dsouza
Goals: Dougie Hadden (3) Gerard Martin, Adam Tomko,
Jordan Weir (2 each) Cooper Halligan, Brodie Elliott, Cal Dsouza,
Zach Bray (1 each)
No photos today as our 2 photographers, Femi and Jessie were
unable to be there.
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2009 Round 01 v Riverview
Manly 25.24.174 defeated Riverview 0.7.7
Well the Bombers got off to a flying start to the season and
although Riverview fielded an inexperienced team, we were
entertained with a fantastic example of the Manly Style of
football.
From the very first bounce, the boys moved the ball quickly to
their team mates and ran in numbers to showcase Tsunami
Football.
All of our new boys kicked a goal and contributed well to the
team structure. All of our old boys stepped up where they left off
last year and many showed massive skills improvement due to their
efforts at the Manly Advanced Training Group over summer.
Its looking like a great season ahead but we will get our first
real challenge this coming week against Baulkham Hills.
Man of the Match: Hayden Washington
Captains Choice: Jacob Graham
Goals: Dougie Hadden (5), Hayden Washington (4), James
Behagg, Jacob Graham (3 each), Zach Bray, Cooper Halligan, Jordan
Weir (2 each), Cal Dsouza, Brodie Elliott, Aaron Oni, David
Novakovich (1 each)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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