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The lack of tree shelter at Albert Park made the round 13 encounter between Caulfield and Collegians at Harry Trott Oval a windy affair. Despite Collegians boasting a few inclusions from their A-Section Seniors side, Caulfield did not have any such luck, losing Parsons to seniors, while both Small and Game were on the short-term injury list, all pointing to a much closer encounter than our 50 point round 3 drubbing at the racecourse.
Collegians had a gale force breeze at their backs in the opening quarter, however were somewhat wasteful going forward, only managing 3 goals for the quarter. Collegians leading 3.7-25 to 0.1-1 at quarter time, despite Caulfield’s best endeavours against the wind. However, once again our consistent ‘slow’ starts and inability to kick the first goal plagued us once again. Not since Round 7 have we managed to kick the first goal of the game. Caulfield got into the game in the second quarter & did allow Collegians to control the game on the dead side of the ground for long periods of the quarter. Caulfield still managed to boot a wasteful 3.6-24 for the term, as well as allowing Collegians to kick a goal against the strong wind. However, we were right back into the contest heading into the long break only 7 points down. Collegians leading 4.8 to 3.7. In the second half Caulfield were harder at and first to the ball at every contest, forcing Collegians to earn every possession. It was not just our usual ‘best’ players who stood up, it was everyone. Garrubba began crashing packs in the forward line, Spanos was at his blistering best off half back, whilst Kremmer was controlling the influence of their man-child A-Section player, Corp. Despite kicking into a strong breeze, we not only managed to contain Collegians to three goals, we also managed to kick three majors ourselves, setting ourselves up for a critical last quarter effort with the wind. Collegians still leading 7.10 to 6.8. Despite being in great and hard fought position heading into the final quarter, it was evident among all the playing group and coaching staff that the wind would not do it for us. It was a simple question of who was willing to stand up and win the footy, and who could do it for longer. It was a war of attrition between the two sides for much of the last quarter with the wind assisting Caulfield to get the better of Collegians. However, a late goal against the wind by Collegians closed Caulfield’s lead to one-point. Despite Collegians gaining momentum, and some dubious boundary umpiring, Caulfield closed out the game with Garrubba nailing a tough set shot close to the boundary just prior to the final siren.
The win keeps Caulfield’s finals hopes alive and continues our solid form, winning the last three. We will need to take all of this momentum and more into our clash with top of the ladder side Old Melbournians in what is shaping as our most important game of the season to date. Final Score Caulfield 9.11-65 Collegians 8.10-58 Best Players Spanos, Allanson, Linklater, Hyman, Lewis, Hyland Goals
4 Garrubba, 3 Spanos, 2 Hyland |
