U11 Mixed Match Report

Round 1

We kicked off the season against Noble Park with a bit of drizzle and some wet weather footy. We wore black armbands to show our support to Pep and her family, we’re thinking of you and looking forward to having you back at the club when you’re ready.

Our captains for the game were Ved and Hamish, and we had Angus, Mitchell and Josh O play their first official game for the club, with them all showing us why they are great additions to our team with some classy and courageous plays throughout the game, well done.

We got off to a flying start controlling the play early, but not putting it on the scoreboard with 3 behinds before Noble Park got the first goal of the day. We seemed to drop off a bit after that and they controlled the game for the remainder of the quarter and slotted another goal to take an early lead.

We reset after quarter time and started to wrestle the game back on our terms but struggled again to get the rewards on the scoreboard, only managing a point for the quarter but managing to keep Noble Park scoreless. The rest of the game was a real wet weather slog with not much scoreboard impact, Noble Park with another goal in the third and then when we got our first goal of the season on the board in the fourth it looked like we were lifting, however not to be this time with Noble Park making a quick reply.

Whilst we didn’t get the win this time, we showed some good signs which we will be able to build on to see us improve throughout the season, and I’m confident we can get them next time.

A big thanks to Frankie for filling in for us to provide some bench depth, Dan Robb for being our runner, Julie for keeping us organised and Brooke for taking care of the kids, and congratulations to Gordon for your first game as Assistant Coach, thank you all for your support.

Thanks to our parent helpers on the day, the Tronsons, Van Der Speks, Blacks, Parmars and Shishanis for helping to ensure our kids get to play and enjoy the game.

Let’s get ‘em this weekend!

Go Baysie.

Round 2

Congratulations Team! Our round 2 game saw us get our first win of the season in outstanding fashion. We were led brilliantly with a superb captain's performance by Caleb who finished with 5 goals! We welcomed back Pep and Levi F who played their first game for the season both getting their hands on the ball throughout the game.

It was really pleasing to see improvements in our game from our focus at training this week, with a lot more consideration to looking into space and making sure we find a target rather than just bombing the ball forward into the contest. Our attack on the ball was fantastic with us getting to the contest first for most of the game, and when the opposition did get the ball we applied some great pressure and strong tackling (great goal saving tackle by Mitchell in the first 😉). Our backs played in front aggressively, rarely letting the ball get through, and swiftly rebounding us into attack. All around Gordon and I were really happy with everyone’s effort and attitude.

A big thanks to Luke Baker for filling in as trainer, and Shaun Jones for being our runner.

Thanks to our parent helpers on the day, Archer, Ben and Levi F’s families for helping to ensure our kids get to play and enjoy the game.

It was great to sing the song as a team after the win, hopefully our newbies will get to know the words pretty quick when we get a few more wins on the board.

Go Baysie!

Round 3

Our round 3 game had us playing away against Kilsyth, with them having a bye and a close loss to start the season we weren’t really sure what we were coming up against. We were a few numbers short this week so thank you to Kilsyth for lending us a player each quarter to make sure we could field a full side and ensure as many kids could take the field as possible to enjoy the game.

Our captains this week were Levi T and Brodie who led the team out well and got us off to a great start. We controlled the game and led almost the whole way but unfortunately were overrun in the last quarter with Kilsyth kicking 3 goals to our none. There were plenty of positives however, particularly putting ourselves in a great position to win the game. Gordon and I had a chance to reflect after the game and realised there was an opportunity for us to try things differently as coaches and we’ll continue to learn and develop throughout the season alongside the team.

But overall we are very proud of the kids, particularly the manner in which they play the game, they really are a great bunch. They should all hold their heads high knowing that we have been very competitive to start the season and I’m sure as the season goes on other teams will see exactly what we’re capable of.

A big thanks to Luke Baker for filling in as trainer, and James Holdstock for being our runner.

Thanks to our parent helpers on the day, Caleb, Jasper and Ved’s families for helping to ensure our kids get to play and enjoy the game.

I’m confident we’ll get back on track with a win this week at our home ground.

Go Baysie!

Round 4

Well done team, we had a great team game for round 4 against Beaconsfield. The team played in the spirit of the ANZACs as we saw great teamwork and hard work ethic throughout the game. We wore black armbands to show our support to Jacob and Dan Robb following a loss in the family and look forward to welcoming them back to the team when they are ready.

Our captains for the game were Emmalee and Pep who led the team well for this special round. Congratulations to Caleb on being awarded the ANZAC medal by the Beaconsfield coach as the best and fairest player on the ground for our team.

Congratulations also to Aadhi for playing her first game for the club, and what a cracking game it was too. Aadhi provided some real zip and showed a really strong attack on the contest to apply great pressure throughout the game, well done Aadhi.

Gordon and I were really pleased with how everyone worked as a team and continued to look for a better option ahead of the play, which led to taking shots at goal from great positions on the field and kicking 8 goals straight for the game. We have seen the team as a whole improve so much already this season and what we have been working on at training is starting to show through in the way we play as a team. 

Thanks to Frankie for helping out and providing some additional bench depth, and a big thanks to Shaun for filling in as runner and Beccy for filling in as trainer.

Thanks to our parent helpers on the day, Josh B, Anmar, Pep, Aadhi and Angus’s families for helping to ensure our kids get to play and enjoy the game.

It was great to sing the song as a team after the win, let’s keep working on playing well as a team and as the season goes on we’ll be a real threat to the competition.

Go Baysie!

Round 5

Round 5 had us playing at home versus Heathmont who just dropped down from the grade above so we weren’t sure what to expect and were anticipating a tough contest. It wasn’t to be however, with us showing Heathmont what we’re all about with a tough contested game and great control when we had possession to come away with a convincing win.

We were led strongly by our captains for the game Josh B and Jacob, who both spent time in the ruck throughout the game and set a great example by competing hard in the contest. They both showed great leadership throughout, highlighted by Josh B playing a real team game and when playing forward letting a couple of goals go through for his teammates when he could have taken an easy chest mark in the square.

Gordon and I were absolutely thrilled to see our whole team developing the skills we have been practising at training, with ball movement and finding a target with our kicks really starting to have an impact in the way we control the ball. We saw a real improvement in ground ball gets and quick handballs to keep the ball moving, some fantastic spoils by Hamish and Caleb, a mark on the last line of defence by Emmalee, and our trademark pressure around the ball to highlight the contested work we have been working on.

Gordon and I are really proud of the kids not just for their great effort and attitude on game day but by how much they are listening and absorbing what we are training and how we want to play as a team, well done to all the kids.

Thanks to our parent helpers on the day, Aadhi, Mitch, Josh O, Pep and Archer’s families for helping to ensure our kids get to play and enjoy the game, and a big special thanks to Sumeet for helping guide a new family with their role.

It was great to sing the song as a team after our second win in a row, let’s keep working as a team and keep our winning streak alive.

Round 6

Our round 6 game fell on a very special day, Mother’s Day, which saw us celebrate the day with a guard of honour by the Mums and an inspiring speech by Caleb’s Mum to get the team hyped up for a big game, thank you Lyndal. This round also supported Breast Cancer Network Australia with members of the team wearing a touch of pink and making a gold coin donation for this great cause.

We were up against Upper Ferntree Gully at home and led out by Wes as captain who got us off to a flying start, kicking the first couple of goals for the game. There was no looking back from there finishing with a convincing win.

Gordon and I were absolutely thrilled with the overall effort by the team, particularly having 8 separate goal kickers highlighting our willingness to share the ball around and find a player in a better position. Our control with the ball in hand, and ability to move the ball by finding an open player and hitting the target, continues to improve week by week and is becoming a real strength of how we play and is having a huge impact on our ability to score well, and in particular capitalise on our opportunities by kicking goals.

Our pressure around the ball and contested play continues to be a real strength for us and it’s great to see improvements in the areas we have been working on like shepherding and blocking for a teammate, attacking the contest in the air, with some more great spoils this week, and quick handballs to get the ball to a teammate in space.

Thanks to our parent helpers on the day, Angus, Levi T, Emmalee, Mitch and Josh O’s families for helping to ensure our kids get to play and enjoy the game.

It was great to sing the song as a team again, that’s three in a row, let’s keep working as a team and keep our winning streak alive.

Go Baysie!

Round 7

Woohoo! 4 in a row!

We’ve really started to control games and play how we want to play. This was particularly evident in our round 7 game against Beaconsfield. Led out by Anmar as captain, we played them for the second time this season, we knew they were a tough opponent and on a pretty wet day, with drizzle throughout the game, there was a risk the weather could even the teams out.

Not to be however, with us coming away with another convincing win. Gordon and I were absolutely thrilled in the manner in which our kids played the game. Whilst being challenged by our opposition, who weren’t playing in the best spirits, we continued to play fairly and focus on our game plan and how we want to play. I called it out after the game but wanted to make sure I call it out again, how proud we were of the kids for maintaining their cool, not getting sucked in by the opposition, and also for their resilience with a lot of kids coming off with injuries, bumps and bruises throughout the game, but getting back out there to help their team.

Despite the challenging conditions, it was really pleasing to see the kids looking to find targets and taking the kicks to move the ball and maintain possession, like we have been working on at training.

A huge thank you to our team officials who give up their time every week and to our parent helpers on the day, Dallas, Archer, Angus, Caleb, and Levi F’s families for helping to ensure our kids get to play and enjoy the game.

It was great to sing the song as a team again, let’s keep working as a team and keep our winning streak alive.

Go Baysie!

Round 8

Our round 8 match was away against Kilsyth for the second time this season. We knew we were up for a fight after they ran over the top of us in round 3. At training we have been working on contesting the ball in the air as a particular focus against Kilsyth, as their ability to move the ball by kick and mark was what got them over the line last time.

We were led out by our captain Aadhi on her birthday, and got off to a strong start with a 2 goal to none first quarter. The second quarter was a bit of an arm wrestle with us just winning the quarter, but same as the last time we played them they took control and had the better of us in the third with us going into the last quarter with only a one point lead. We seemed to have our heads down coming into the 3 quarter time break, but Gordon and I asked the team to go out and take the game on in the last. We were thrilled with the response with us turning the game around and kicking another 2 goals while keeping Kilsyth goalless to come away with a close win.

A huge thank you to our team officials who give up their time every week and to our parent helpers on the day, Caleb, Jasper and Ved’s families for helping to ensure our kids get to play and enjoy the game.

It was great to sing the song as a team with ice creams in hand, we’ll continue to work on playing a team game, and at training we’ll focus on working to find space, and move the ball while maintaining possession.

Go Baysie!

Round 9

Our round 9 match was against Upper Ferntree Gully for the second time in three weeks. We had an idea of what to expect in this game so took the opportunity to shuffle the magnets around for a different mix of players in various positions. In this game we were focused on practising our ball movement based on what we have been working on at training as a priority over the final score.

We were led out by Josh O as captain and got off to a strong start with a 3 goal first quarter. We were a bit quieter through the second and third quarters as players were adjusting to different roles and focussing on controlling and retaining possession to move the ball. Gordon and I were absolutely thrilled with the teamwork displayed in this game, with the majority of our goals coming from score assists by finding a player in a better position to score. This really showed in the last quarter where we finished strong with 4 goals, to come away with another convincing win. What was most pleasing about this was that despite focussing more on trialling different matchups over the ground, and controlling the ball, we still managed to have the same amount of scoring shots as the first time we played them.

A huge thank you to our team officials who give up their time every week and to our parent helpers on the day, Levi F, Wes, Anmar, Dallas and Levi T’s families for helping to ensure our kids get to play and enjoy the game.

It was great to sing the song as a team, we’ll look forward to having a break due to the bye next week. I hope everyone enjoys the long weekend.

Go Baysie!

Round 10

What a special occasion for our team, our first 50 game players. Congratulations to Caleb and Wes on this fantastic achievement, you have both been fantastic to coach over the years and a pleasure to have as part of the team. It was so exciting to see you both run through your banners and lead the team on to the field after we acknowledged your achievement pregame with a milestone medal presentation. A huge thank you to Shaun for being involved and sharing some words for the boys as part of this.

We got off to a flying start with our 50 gamers kicking our first and third goal of the game to finish with a 5 goal first quarter for the team. The game slowed a little for the second and third quarter with scoring a bit harder to come by, but after the three quarter time break we asked the team to finish strong and they sure did with another 5 goal quarter to finish up with the highest score from any team this season.

At training during the week we focussed on blocking and communication with our teammates and it was great to see this reflected in the way we played with blocking and shepherding being a real feature in this game. This will be a great addition to the way we play as we come up against some tougher opposition at the end of the season.

There were some real key highlights in this game that stood out for Gordon and myself, Levi F’s class to evade two opponents and snap from near the boundary for what surely must be considered for goal of the year. Brodie’s workrate and effort to run past three opposition players in much better position and get to the ball first to hold it up on the wing until help arrived and win the contest, and Josh O getting to Ben and acknowledging his great defensive act which often goes unnoticed, showed some real awareness and leadership to award the little things that make a difference.

A huge thank you to our team officials who give up their time every week and to our parent helpers on the day, Pep, Aadhi, and Mitch’s families for helping to ensure our kids get to play and enjoy the game.

It was great to sing the song as a team, with our 50 gamers in the middle of the circle getting a light squirt of water. I’m looking forward to the chance to celebrate further milestones within the team over the remainder of the season and hope to keep the momentum going.

Go Baysie!

Round 11

Another very special game for our team with us celebrating with Ben for his 50th game, what a fantastic achievement, well done Ben! You have been a fantastic teammate and a pleasure to coach over the years. It was so exciting to see you run through your banner and lead the team on to the field after your milestone medal presentation. A huge thanks to Shaun for being involved again and sharing some words for Ben.

Unfortunately, our great run had to end at some point, after winning 7 games in a row. Let’s just reflect on that for a moment, what a fantastic achievement to win 7 games in a row, most of them quite convincingly, well done. Gordon and I have been so proud of the whole team's effort, and the spirit in which we have played the game over the season so far.

We were led on the field by Eddie as captain, and weren’t quite sure what to expect from Waverley as they had some really inconsistent performances over the season. They really caught us by surprise and jumped us early with 3 quick goals to put us on our back foot. We got to work and started to compete throughout the game but it just wasn’t our day today, we were a little off our best and it was enough to see them get the win against us. I’m confident we are a much better team than what we showed, and if we cross them again I know we can do much much better.

I think a key learning from the game was after they had control early we seemed to put our heads down and go into our shell a little. Moving forward Gordon and I would love it if we always celebrate the little wins, not just what's happening on the scoreboard, and continue to have fun and get around our teammates throughout the game. There were some great efforts to celebrate throughout this game, Angus making consecutive hard smothers in their 50, and getting in the way a number of times to stop the ball going forward for them was just outstanding. Josh O simply dominated this game from his half back role and really helped us get the ball going our way. And Jacob stepped into the ruck in the last just to add some extra height against their much taller ruck, he really stood up and held his own which helped us win the last quarter.

A huge thank you to our team officials who give up their time every week and to our parent helpers on the day, Josh O, Angus, Levi T, Emmalee and Jasper’s families for helping to ensure our kids get to play and enjoy the game.

It was great to celebrate with our 50 gamer Ben today. I’m looking forward to the chance to celebrate further milestones within the team over the remainder of the season. Let’s get back to work at training and bounce back next week.

Go Baysie!

Round 12

How lucky are we? Another very special game for our team with us celebrating with Levi F for his 50th game, what a fantastic achievement, well done Levi! You have been a pleasure to coach over the years, watching you grow on and off the field has been an absolute joy. It was so exciting to see you run through your banner and lead the team on to the field after your milestone medal presentation. It was great to have all your footy coaches past and present there to celebrate with you, and a huge thanks to Shaun for being involved again and sharing some words for Levi.

What an incredible response from our game last week, taking down the undefeated ladder leaders Lysterfield, well done! We were led strongly by Mitchell and Angus as our captains for the game and it was a real contest through the first quarter with us controlling a lot of the play in our forward half. We noticed very early that after committing a lot of time at training to discuss positioning and structure that it was seemingly paying off with us setting up really well and going into quarter time with a narrow lead.

We lost our way a bit in the second and Lysterfield really turned the tables setting up well and controlling positioning on the ground and the ball in their half to take the lead at the half. At half time it was great to discuss what had happened differently in the first and second quarter and for you as a team to acknowledge what had changed.

What happened next was simply outstanding. We noticeably made a considered effort to set up well and maintain good position on the ground, communication really stood out with players talking to each other and helping direct and set up teammates. The leadership shown by Ben in doing this was simply brilliant, he constantly helped others to be in the right position reacting to where the ball was on the field and moving as a unit to be set up as a team. This led to us completely controlling the game and position on the ground and dominating the quarter with 4 goals to Lysterfield’s none.

We went in to the last and simply asked to maintain structure and lock the contest up and again the way the team followed instructions was just great. We were able to hold Lysterfield to a single point in the last and came away with a really nice win. Gordon and I were just so pleased with how everyone contributed to playing as a team and the reward was it seemed like everyone played their best game of the season, particularly Levi F who had a ripper for his 50 and Wes finishing with a bag of 5 goals.

A big thank you to Anmar, Fred, Archer, Jacob, Hamish and Jasper for helping out Lysterfield and making up numbers so as many of the kids could take the field as possible, it was really appreciated and done with no fuss.

A huge thank you to our team officials who give up their time every week and to our parent helpers on the day, Emmalee, Ben, and Jasper’s families for helping to ensure our kids get to play and enjoy the game.

It was great to sing the song as a team, with our 50 gamer Levi in the middle of the circle getting a light squirt of water. I’m looking forward to the chance to celebrate further milestones within the team over the remainder of the season. Great win team, well done!

Go Baysie!

Round 13

Our round 13 game had us up against Blackburn for the first time this season. We had spoken briefly at training, before finishing up early due to issues with lighting, about our last game and how we set up and worked as a team. We again reflected on this prior to the game to acknowledge how sticking to our game plan and working as a team had a huge impact on getting the best out of everyone.

We were led out by Jasper as captain, and after a week off got straight back into our structure and playing a team game. We really controlled the game early but just couldn’t break through to hit the scoreboard but late in the first we finally got a goal which opened the floodgates for us as we quickly added 2 more before quarter time. We continued to control the second and third quarter led strongly by our rock solid half back line who rarely let the ball past them and were set up to perfection. Again Ben displayed outstanding leadership helping the team set up, while Josh O went to work and absolutely dominated play from his positioning on the ground.

Our mids worked hard together to get the ball going our way, Josh B contested really hard in the ruck and across the ground getting to every contest, Jasper played his role as a tough mid well by tackling hard and blocking well for his teammates, and Emmalee was strong in the contest and made some quick handpasses perfectly to teammates to create space and get the ball moving our way.

Luckily we had the game locked away with a dominant first three quarters as Blackburn gained the momentum in the last and really showed us up. This was highlighted by a dominant performance up forward by Mitchell, who we had lent them… (might be starting on the bench next game Mitch…) in all seriousness however Mitchell had been playing a great game, so I’ll blame Gordon for suggesting we lend him to Blackburn.

Gordon and I were thrilled with the performance, that’s the second game in a row where we’ve left feeling everyone had played their best game for the season. Goes to show how important it is to play as a team and the impact it has in making the game seem easier for everyone.

A big thank you to Angus, Anmar, Wes and Mitchell for helping out Blackburn and making up numbers so as many of the kids could take the field as possible, it was really appreciated and done with no fuss.

A huge thank you to our team officials who give up their time every week and to our parent helpers on the day, Dallas, Levi F and Archer’s families for helping to ensure our kids get to play and enjoy the game.

It was great to sing the song as a team. Great win team, well done!

Go Baysie!

Round 14

Another very special game for our team with us celebrating with Brodie for his 50th game, what a fantastic achievement, well done Brodie! It was so exciting to see you run through your banner and lead the team on to the field after your milestone medal presentation. A huge thanks to Lyndal for sharing some words for Brodie and to Shaun for his involvement again as well.

Our captains for the last home and away game for the season were Ben and Levi F and we were up against Knox/East Burwood. We knew we were going to have a tough game on our hands as their season was on the line. A win and they make finals, but if we got the result we wanted, their season was over.

The game was exactly what the build up suggested it might be, the conditions were tough and they were fighting hard. It was a real low scoring tussle with not much separating the sides in the end. We had a pretty good start to the game with a first quarter played mostly in our forward line however we didn’t capitalise on our chances only kicking 1 goal by quarter time. The second quarter was again just a real arm wrestle, although they seemed to have the game a bit more on their terms and put a couple of goals on the board to take the lead by half time. We managed to fight back in the third to get the score back to level terms by three quarter time, we spoke in the huddle about giving our all to finish the game and working really hard for each other.

The last quarter was again a real dog fight with neither team managing a goal, however we managed to hit the scoreboard with a couple of behinds which was enough to get us over the line in the end.

A huge thank you to our team officials who give up their time every week and to our parent helpers on the day, Ved, Caleb, and Eddie’s families for helping to ensure our kids get to play and enjoy the game.

It was great to sing the song as a team, with our 50 gamer Brodie in the middle of the circle, getting absolutely drenched. Next we’re off to a Qualifying Final, well done team!

Go Baysie!

Final 1

Another very special game for our team with us celebrating with Josh B for his 50th game, what a fantastic achievement, well done Josh! It was so exciting to see you run through your banner and lead the team on to the field after your milestone medal presentation. A huge thanks to Shaun for being involved again and sharing some words for Josh.

Our captains for our first ever footy final were Archer and Dallas and we were up against the Minor Premiers Lysterfield. We knew we were going to have a tough game on our hands as they’ve had a terrific season to finish on top of the ladder with only the one loss… which came against us a few weeks ago.

We spoke after last week’s game about how beneficial it was to have a really tough game leading into finals, and having to fight hard for the win would help us be ready for this week. The ground conditions were almost identical as well so we knew we were ready if the game became a real fight. That was exactly what happened, the intensity throughout the whole game was unbelievable, with heart in your mouth moments throughout the contest, but we were ready for that.

It wasn’t the most thrilling scoreline in the end, but it reflected just how hard we had to fight for the win. Whilst neither team could capitalise on their opportunities for a goal, and both teams had chances to win, it was our fight on the last line of defence over and over that was incredible. To keep a team to a single point in a 48 minute game of footy is quite unbelievable. A lot of the hard work was done in the middle, with us controlling ground positioning for a lot of the game and in particular the last quarter, with the game there to be won it didn’t leave our forward half of the ground.

We have more work to do to get the job done, with a particular need to focus on how we can connect better with our forward line.

A huge thank you to our team officials who give up their time every week and to our parent helpers on the day for helping to ensure our kids get to play and enjoy the game.

It was great to belt out the song as a team, with our 50 gamer Josh in the middle of the circle. Next we’re off to the Grand Final, well done team! We’re so incredibly proud of you all, not only for your achievements on the field but the way you have gone about it, we’re so lucky to have such a great bunch of kids. Enjoy the next couple of weeks, soak it all in, and just have the most fun with the experience.

One more win!

Go Baysie!

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