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It was with
heavy hearts that the Rebels took the
ground on Saturday. Coach Monty was not
able to attend the game due to a loss in
his family. The Rebels, fired up by
Assistant Coach Tammer and President
Scouser, honoured their coach by playing
an inspired game in the way Monty would
have wanted.
The Rebels
struggled for numbers on this day. Over
the latter part of the week, appeals to
the club did bear some fruit as a few
“first-timers” were introduced to the
sport, and a shake of the Veterans tree
yield Sluggo, who inched ever closer to
his 100th game. All in all,
it was a bit of an inexperienced side
that took the ground. We had many new
faces in unfamiliar positions, but the
Rebels -- who consisted entirely of
non-Australians on this day -- eagerly
took the ground ready to test themselves
against the more experienced Dingos.
The team was hopeful that what the side
lacked in experienced footballers, would
be offset by enthusiasm, fitness, and a
tough physical presence.
The Dingos
presented the Rebels with some match-up
challenges. With two tall footballers
in the forward lines and another two
experienced snipers in the half-forward
line, it became apparent early on that
it would be a very tough battle for the
Rebels side. The Rebel defenders were
up to this task. Led by Shawn Duffy,
the backmen challenged every ball and
played a physical brand of football.
With support from Brad and Scouse, the
Rebels withstood waves of Dingo attacks
and, time after time, sent the ball back
from whence it came. Az played a strong
game, not only in defending the Dingos
star forward, but also in attacking
loose balls and starting the Rebel
counter-attack. But it wasn’t until Al
was given the assignment of tagging one
of the veteran Dingo forwards did the
defense firmly stiffen.
Down by several
goals at the half, the Rebels began the
third quarter hoping to build upon some
of the successes won in the first two
quarters. In particular, the punishing,
physical play of the Rebels was starting
to wear down the opponents. Across the
middle, Tammer, Behie, Nacho, Species,
and the Rock were causing the Dingos to
hear footsteps and second-guess
themselves as to how badly they really
wanted any part of the ball. The Rebels
were winning possession of loose balls
more often and were finding that the
field was beginning to open up
offensively.
With the
momentum having begun to swing in the
third quarter, the Rebels were playing
winning football in the fourth.
Building upon a stiffened defense,
counter attacks were becoming more
effective. With Az running on from CHB,
Duffy looking long for his targets, and
Chris Behie continuing to grab anything
in sight, the Rebels started to move the
ball. The fitness of Bradley, Tammer,
and Nacho really started to show as the
Rebels began to play-on quite
effectively. With nice linkages in
play, the Rebels started to deliver the
ball into the forward lines. Conny and
Bobby had a lot of pace on the day and
used their speed to create options in
the open field. Like a fine wine, the
‘experience’ of forwards Peter Bormann
and Sluggo was truly vintage. These
veterans utilized well their guile and
savvy, and displayed many of those
skills honed in the backlines over the
years to convert on the opportunities
presented to them.
When the final
siren sounded, the scoreboard indicated
that the Rebels were on the losing end.
But it sure didn’t feel that way to the
club. Fielding an “All-Canadian” side
(with a smattering of a few “Poms”) and
with a number of inexperienced players
in unfamiliar positions, the Rebels
played their brand of football winning a
moral victory against their
more-experienced rivals. A fitting
tribute to our Coach.
Richard Burns,
the thoughts and prayers of each of us
are with you and your family.
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