Coachy's Corner: Finals 2006
20/12/2006 Hi everyone, The Bullets earned the opportunity this week to playoff for 5th spot on the ladder for the 2006 season. We were in a much better position than last year as we entered this year's finals at 5-4. We welcomed Dani back into the side and were pleased to have the injured Rob Hazell supporting us from the sidelines. The second half saw Dani move to the centre, Narelle go down back and Deb line up in the forward arc. I came on for Dave who had a short break. Luke continued his good form, this time with Dani clearing the footy out. A few of his knockout's were great to watch going straight to Dani, which gave us decisive clearances. Andrew was terrific taking marks, setting up goals and finishing with another four for the half. Dean kicked two more and Deb slotted one and played a wonderful half. She took some great marks, combined very well with Dani and the forwards and ran hard downfield. Dave returned with five minutes left and along with Rob and Narelle, held his own in the backline. We won by 14 points, 64-50. Andrew kicked 6, Dean 3 and Deb 1. To win our final for the second year running was a great result. The side has played really well this year, which you'll read more about in January as I present Coachy's player report cards and Coachy's season in review. |
Coachy's Corner: Round 9, 2006
13/12/2006 Hi everyone, The competition entered its second last week on Tuesday and the Bullets had an appointment with Sportal at 8pm. The side had no change this week. In blustery conditions, we started the game well. A couple of Luke's tap-outs from the centre to Deb, whose pin-point kicking found our forwards were great to watch with the team scoring goals from these. Those two players again played well all around the ground in the first half. Dean was very lively up forward taking marks at will and kicking three goals, he ran hard to find a bit of space and wasn't let down by Deb, Luke, Andrew and Narelle, who passed him one in the goal square. Narelle took two good marks in the half as well, scoring a behind with one and passing off to her brother with the other. Andrew was as reliable as ever getting kicks in the arc and downfield, plus slotting two goals. Again pleasing was the form of Dave down in defence, plucking a couple of marks and passing off to teammates. His kicking has improved over the past few weeks. Rob.R and Maree were good down back both taking marks and getting the ball out of trouble. The breeze was playing havoc with the flight of the ball (remembering the ball is lighter), hitting targets was occasionally tricky, but I was pleased with the way we went about the first half. The Bullets were up 32-7 at the break. The second half was a good chance for us to change things around a bit so Luke and Debbie moved forward and Dean and Narelle went to the midfield. Instant success as Luke threaded a goal from a relatively deep corner (an angle he's been practising) to set the term alight. Andrew kicked another and fed off several others to complete a great game up forward. Luke finished with another two, Deb got plenty of the ball and scored one, as both players saw out a very productive half playing forward. Dean and Narelle got kicks in the middle, while Maree, Rob and Dave continued on their good form. Dave came off ten minutes in while I replaced him. We ran out winners 67-8. Goalkickers: Dean 3, Andrew 3, Luke 3 and Deb 1. |
Coachy's Corner: Round 8, 2006 We got plenty of the ball in the first half with everyone playing good footy. Narelle was an early target up forward taking a couple of good marks and kicked to Andrew for a first half major. Debbie and Luke played well racking up plenty of possessions. The forward half worked well for us and could have had more of a score on the board at the change, Andrew had two goals and Dean one. All three were looking dangerous. They weren't the only one's, our back's were very steady, Dave, Maree and Rob played a good half. Rob's past two matches have been up forward with success and he made the switch to defence playing a terrific half. Maree chimed in with two or three saving marks and used the ball well. Dave was also good with his usual clearing possessions and link-up marks. We were a point up 19-18 at the change. Dave came off for the second half with myself filling his role. The Bullets got out to a 16 point lead half way through the quarter with Andrew, Dean and Narelle all scoring goals. Luke and Deb continued their influential games and Maree took another three marks to save what would have been certain goals. The Hackers seemed to be relying on one female goalkicker who was doing pretty well. With the Bullets looking good with our 16 point lead, a few mistakes seemed to be creeping into our game, kicking errors, decision making and a little bit of panic set in as the Hackers edged closer. The opposition sensed they were a very good chance to win this game - the one female player was scoring all their nine-pointer goals and they were looking for her every time. We needed cool heads and this occurred when we got the footy to Andrew and he slotted through his fourth goal to give us a bit of breathing space. But the Hackers came again with a another nine-pointer and it was game-on again. We were two points up and with around 10 seconds to play, their female forward marked and was lining up to take victory. She missed - scored a point and we won by that margin. We got out of jail and our players were a happy and relieved bunch walking off the ground. Pleasing aspects from the game were the continued great form of Luke around the ground, Andrew and Dean being very reliable forwards, a couple of Rob's marks and skills in the backline, Narelle taking marks and scoring another goal, Maree's marking skills and gaining confidence, Dave's disposal by foot and hard running and Deb's continuing assurance and confidence when she's got the ball and going for marks. Finally, two special moments from this game have to be remembered: in the first half Luke had the ball from another mark and kicked around his body aiming for Deb. It didn't look like she was going to reach the mark but she ran super hard and got there to juggle the ball, while running, to complete the mark. Then at the blink of an eyelid passed it off to Andrew for his second goal to complete a great piece of play. The second moment was just as good. In the second half, the Hackers' captain took a mark in the middle of the ground, as he took his kick Luke, who was standing the mark, smothered the kick and juggled the mark. Quickly playing on, he passed to Dean who then found Andrew for another goal. It's great when our players are doing well. The Bullets have now equaled last year's win total of four and we have two weeks to overtake that, which is what we wanted to do from the beginning of this season. We play the bottom side next week, so we won't be complacent so we have a good run into our final. |
Coachy's Corner: Round 7, 2006
29/11/2006 Hi everyone, This week we came up against Our Boys Cant Run at the ( difficult to get to ) 6:30 slot. The Bullets welcomed back Narelle Jones and saw the debut of Maree Fewster. We were playing a pretty good side that ran very hard and clearly play competition footy elsewhere. Our first half wasn't great as we were completely overrun to trail 47-15. Our goal kickers were Dean with one and Dani, after a strong mark, with one. Luke and Deb went okay in the midfield , trying very hard. Once half time hit, we re-evaluated proceedings and switched players around. Narelle moved to the forward line, Dave and Maree went back and I settled down back after playing both ends during the first half. The second half didn't improve much on the scoreboard but some players ended up having reasonable games. Dean and Dani took a few marks, while Narelle kicked her second goal for the season in what was a beautiful kick from a slight angle. The opposition were too good, their running and skills are probably too good for the competition which also should be looked at. We lost 93-30, Dean kicked two, Narelle and Dani one each - it was great to be able to score 2 nine-pointers for the match. A few players return next week to strengthen our team. |
Coachy's Corner: Round 6, 2006
22/11/2006 Hi everyone, The football club was coming off two stirring victories in Rounds 4 and 5, having won six of our last eight games. Our Round 6 encounter was against Footy Pies, who were above us on the ladder going into the match. The Bullets welcomed two new players in Elodie O'Connor and Simon Conti, both for their first matches. We also welcomed back to the side Dean Jones, Dani Mijic, and Rob Hazell. We started well by going forward on several occasions due to the midfield tandem of Luke and Deb. These two players supplied Rob, Dean and Dani with plenty of the ball, with all three taking fantastic marks. Rob and Dean managed to kick one each for the half, but all three forwards missed shots at various times. Rob Hazell was superb down back, his defensive pressure was evident throughout the half. He had good support from Elodie and Dave. Our score of 2.5.17 demonstrated our missed opportunities and resulted in us trailing at the half-time break. The half started on a sour note for Rob Hazell with him jarring his shoulder trying to spoil in a marking contest. This resulted in him missing the rest of the game and Dave resuming his spot in defence. Simon also began the half in defence, managing to take a great mark in the dying minutes of the game. Elodie's marking and kicking was great to see and she provided drive out of the danger area, she got a lot of the ball and looked at ease in every situation. Dean kicked one more goal for the half for a total of two and Dani kicked her first. It was a disappointing day for us. We went in confident, but lacked zip in the second half. Our opposition were very good, but I still think we managed to match it with them in general for some of the game. In the end, the score was 64-32, but it could have been closer. |
Coachy's Corner: Round 5, 2006 Best Players: Debbie, Rob R, Andrew, Dave, Lucy |
Coachy's Corner: Round 4, 2006
01/11/2006 Hi everyone, The team was coming off a couple of heavy defeats, so we had to make sure we remained competitive for this match against The Gunners, a side we had played well against before. The Bullets Football Club welcomed two more players this week in Danijela Mijic and Sarah Sparnenn, and we certainly hope they will be with the club for some time. The team also welcomed Asher Newton back into the side for his first game this season. We kicked against a strong breeze in the first half, with Sarah lining up in the backline and Dani in the midfield with Luke. That partnership worked very well for the half with Dani capitalizing on Luke's knockouts and sending the footy up to Dean and Andrew. The two forwards ran and worked well together, the breeze proving a little tricky with kicking for goal at times. Our defence played well with Asher playing a terrific half of football. He took a couple of strong marks and his foot skills were very good. He was joined by Rob, who also marked and kicked out of trouble well. We were four points down at half time against the wind, 28-24. We knew if we were with them at half time, we would have a good chance, coming home with the wind. Especially with our two forwards in good form and the team having a good first half. And that's the way it stayed with everyone playing extremely well, running out winners by 27 points. Dave replaced Asher in defence and stood tall, gaining a few possessions and taking a good mark. Sarah got a few kicks in her first game with her opponent not scoring in the last half. Rob came off for Asher during the half and Asher continued on his way. Luke played another good game, his kicking has been much more consistent this season and his marking is as strong as ever. Dani really burst onto the scene, picking up possessions at will. She fed off Luke's hitouts, her handballing a feature, she also took a few very good marks. Dean and Andrew played fantastic games, Dean kicking six goals and Andrew three. Andrew's long passes to Dean in the forward line were great to watch, three times Dean marking at the fall of the pack. The Bullets won the match 55-28, with The Gunners failing to score in the last half. It was a great win and one we needed, The Bullets now square the ledger at 2-2 going into the Cup Week break. We are looking forward to the rest of the season and seeing the players succeed on the field.
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Coachy's Corner: Round 3, 2006
25/10/2006 Hi everyone, The Bullets fielded a very undermanned team this week, with the lack of female players a concern. We had Narelle in the centre and holes up forward and down back. We welcomed back Rob Hazell for this week's game. The team played a good opposition in Round 3 and we started Andrew in defence, who was trying to play on his opponent and their female forward. LCF kicked five or six goals (with most being nine pointers) in the first half to The Bullets three. We tried Rob in the forward half and he did well kicking his first goal for the club. Dean also chipped in with two. In what seemed an avalanche at half time, the side still managed to score three goals, which equaled last week's match total. Dave played well in defence in the first half taking a very good mark in a pack. The second half was a better one for The Bullets. We moved Rob back to defence, Dave came off (as he's still working on his fitness), and I went to the forward line with Dean. Luke had a good second half, his kicks hitting targets every time. Andrew was superb in defence and when he put running pressure on his female opponent, she dried up. Rob got quite a bit of the footy with Andrew in the backline and played well. Narelle got a few important possessions in the middle, combining with Dean who was terrific with two more last half goals for a total of four. LCF were a very good team and tried to let us know all about it, so to kick seven goals straight while missing players was a good result. It shows again The Bullets can be very competitive and with players to return and still to debut, may still be a very good year. Best Players: Andrew, Dean, Luke, Rob H, Dave
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Coachy's Corner: Round 2, 2006
18/10/2006 Hi everyone, After winning our first game last week, The Bullets introduced two more players to the side. Michelle Barisic and Keith Randall. Both were filling in for unavailable players, but there's a good chance we may see Michelle run out again. We were playing a good side in Manhands and they showed us that in the first half. We were beaten all over the ground to be trailing by a significant margin at half time. The Bullets showed promise in patches and our last five minutes were more competitive. Andrew was our only goal scorer for the half after a good build up from defence in which the opposition didn't touch the ball. The last half was a reasonable half for the team. Luke started to get possessions around the middle and his foot skills improved. Narelle got a few possessions out of the centre and Dean and Andrew worked hard up the ground. Our new players had a good second half, while Michelle won a few kicks in defence with virtually all of them hitting targets. Keith added flair to our defence flying for marks and running on at all costs. With Dave playing close to his opponent, the three of them worked well. In one passage of play, the ball came out of defence from a handpass which was popped over to Keith via myself, Keith kicked it to Andrew who passed to Luke, who again kicked it back to Andrew who had sprinted to the forward line to take a spectacular juggling mark while running flat out. Andrew propped, looked at his options and passed a fantastic low pass to the leading Dean who dived to take the ball on his chest. A goal resulted and showed what the team is capable of. The Bullets were beaten by 48 points with Andrew kicking 2 and Dean 1. Best Players: Luke, Andrew, Keith, Michelle, Narelle
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Coachy's Corner: Round 1, 2006
11/10/2006 Hi everyone, Welcome to Season 2006. The Bullets start this season after a much improved 2005 that produced four wins, including our final. The club would like to welcome three new players to the list, Debbie Murray, David Beattie and Robert Hazell. All three I'm sure will be terrific additions to our team and we look forward to their involvement. Players who can't be with the club this year are Catherine Croft, who is overseas, Margit Gailis, who is about to have her first child, Asher Newton, who is working at the Victorian Institute of Sport (but may still play a couple of games), and Stuart Akers, who is working in New Zealand. The Bullets thank these players for their wonderful service and certainly hope to see them run out for the team again. ROUND ONE: We went into the break with a slight advantage on the scoreboard, knowing we could still improve a little. Narelle went forward and Debbie stepped into the midfield to start the second half. Despite a struggle, The Bullets broke away to win by 25 points, 52-27. Dave, Rob, and Lucy played well down back, competing in the air and sending the ball out often. Luke contributed very well taking his usual quota of marks and feeding it off to Debbie and the forwards. Debbie kept finding the footy, and her long kicking and safe marking will help us a lot this year. Narelle had a very good half playing forward and always seems to do well when playing there. She kicked a goal, gave off another one to Andrew, and won her fair share of the footy. Andrew kicked four goals that helped the Bullets break away. It's always nice to start the season off with a win - just as we did last year and we believe we can be very competitive in 2006 as we strive to get better.
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