Seniors

After 3 consecutive defeats, Parade headed to the Rick Brockwell Oval to taken on ladder leaders, Banyule. With only 2 wins from our 7 games, the boys from Parade were keen to put up a much more spirited and passionate performance against a team who had only lost one game for the season.

The game commenced at a ferocious pace with both teams trying to gain some ascendancy. Banyule had more use of the ball in this quarter; however, could only manage 2 goals from their 7 scoring shots. Although the Raiders didn’t have as much of the ball, we managed to kick 2 goals and were well and truly in the game.

The second quarter commenced with Parade winning more centre clearances. David Boundy and Antony Sinclair were dominating around the middle and this allowed forwards such as Allan Young to weave his magic up forward. A 4 goal to 4 point quarter saw the visitors go into the main break with a 3 goal lead. The feeling in the room at half time was positive; however, we all knew what was required in the next quarter. The players were keen to demonstrate that they had learnt from past performances.

The third quarter commenced with Parade kicking two quick goals. The weather had changed dramatically; however, this didn’t change our intensity at the ball. Sean Miller, Pete Brabender and Allan Young presented continually up forward and with David Spithill in the ruck and dominant midfield, the Raiders kicked 7 goals to 1 and took a 50 point lead into the final term.

The last quarter saw both teams fight the game out; however, the third quarter dominance proved to be the match winner. Both sides battled hard in the final term with each side kicking 3 goals. Congratulations to the Raiders on their efforts. All played with an intensity and passion that has rarely been seen this season. To be successful in such an even competition players must come with that passion and desperation each week.

The winner of this game was rewarded with outright second position on the ladder and although we did not bring our “A” Grade game we were still very competitive and went down by ten points.

An under-manned Third XVIII had a most disappointing loss to old rival NOBS/St Pats last Saturday. The game was tight all day, with 290+ game veteran Kevin Jenkins overcoming a sluggish start to help keep the team in the contest. Injured midfielder Adrian Spinoso courageously hobbled to the goal square in the last quarter and snapped to brilliant goal to see us with our noses ahead with just ten minutes remaining.

Unfortunately, the experienced heads of NOBS/St Pats held sway as they won the crucial contests and pulled away to a 21-point win, a margin that was not reflective of the tightness of the game.

Mitch Fraser continued his consistent form whilst it was great to see pocket dynamo Steve Valente at the bottom of every pack. Special thanks to regular player Matty Lomax who did a great job as field umpire. This week’s break gives us a chance to re-charge the batteries before we tackle the last seven games.