Round 1 saw us meet Monash Blues, long time adversaries and regular practice match opponents. We defeated them in the practice match only a couple of weeks before round 1 but anticipated a tougher encounter for four points. We made some key changes to our line-up with a number of new faces and we were pleased with the overall result, a 61 point win. Our new look defence with the Price brothers (Luke and Ben) holding sway and Gav Colosimo's return to the club was impressive. Our two young ruckman, Sean Meredith and Mark Nelson lived up to our expectations and were not only prominent in the ruck but around the ground. Sean is also a key forward option for us. Justin Kremmer, still eligible for U19 football, played his first senior game and will benefit greatly from the experience. Our reserves team recorded an excellent win by 90 points and their form will be critical to our goals for the season. There is a clear indication of clubs on the rise having suitable back up with strong reserves. The U19's performed outstandingly to completely overwhelm Mazenod by almost 30 goals; the most important factor being the style of play, it was great. The Club 18 lost by only 11 points to St Bedes Mentone, the current VAFA powerhouse club. Being back on our home ground on training nights and its outstanding condition has played a big part in our preparations.
 
Round 2 provided the big wake-up call when we appeared to have the match under control down at Parkdale Vultures' ground with a 12 point lead at three quarter time and a considerable wind advantage in the last term. That Parkdale actually hit the front with minutes to go was worrying enough but it was also to the credit of our players that they kept their cool and took back the lead in the dying moments of the game to win narrowly by 6 points. Mark Liddell's return after an absence of two seasons overseas and interstate has been a bonus and despite his standing as the clear veteran in our team, his versatility proved a bonus and he secured the winning goal for us. Tom Sundberg, Chris Game, Chris Axias and Darcy Daly led our "young gun" brigade. Andrew Slevison led our forwards and would no doubt be our leading target again following his successful first season in 2008. Andrew Strain, Matt Sundberg, two of our younger veterans, plus skipper Simon Widjaja all played well. Cal Jones, back after knee reconstruction provided us with the ideal roving forward option. The reserves were again untroubled and the Spinks boys, Tom and Luke, Fran McArdle and Alex Ford showed they will push for senior selection with excellent performances. The 19's found tougher opposition against Collegians but won by over 8 goals with Zac Parsons, Dean Spanos, Tom Small and David Allanson all reminding the selectors to sit up and take notice. The Clubbies broke the ice at the expense of Oakleigh and have a regular, committed training squad who complete their training following the senior squads on Thursday evenings. The Club 18 are highly organized and are providing genuine support to the Club's aims for success.
 
I guess we coaches are never happy but we certainly warranted concern at a further fade out at Melbourne High School when an 8 goals plus lead at three quarter time was whittled away in the last quarter. Senior Coach, Steve Lawrence, rightly praised the end result, a 12 point win, but left his squad in no doubt of the his concern that in thee games we were yet to play four consistent quarters. This so, there will no doubt be some teams that will travel to MHSOB this season and not come away with the points. In this game Sam Wood showed his versatility in shutting down a key opponent and also providing drive for his team with strong running. Andrew Slevison's injury at half time robbed us of some bite up forward in the second half but Sean Meredith again proved his worth as a key target with 4 goals. Vice Captain, Ben Carboni, fitter than ever, has been consistently in our best and is heavily tagged every week. Despite the tags, being in the best each week is further sign of Ben's emergence as a true leader at our club. Chris May had deserved his elevation from the reserves as did Tom Spinks as a leading forward option. The reserves again had no difficulty with a 16 goal victory. Tim Noblett's return was welcomed and he will place a lot of pressure on our senior ruckman in the coming weeks. Brett Scott's experience is valuable in the reserves and his conversion rate up forward very important to the team. Reserves' skipper, Ed Kalaja, has also been in good form and newcomer, Xavier Clancy, is a real senior option as a key forward. The U19's met little opposition from an undermanned Oakleigh and the extreme variance in the competition is disappointing but our boys can only play well and take the spoils. Zac Parsons was a stand out around the ground and kicked 8 goals. Justin Kremmer and Ben Frazer-Synott were also amongst the best. Coach Ben Gross will know more about his promising squad in future weeks against better opposition. The Club 18 has found the winning formula to their liking and the demolished Hampton Rovers. They are benefiting from their training regime and also providing opportunities for surplus reserves' players to get in a full game. Andrew Dick and Simon Reid are two players making the most of their opportunities and will no doubt force their way into the reserves in coming weeks. Scott Saunders is making the most of his opportunities up forward.
 
And last Saturday we looked to our senior, reserves and U19's to maintain a clean sheet and to get to our first reality check point unscathed. The senior team met Bulleen Templestowe at Glenhuntly expecting that the opposition, without a win to date, coached by former CGFC player and coach, David Matthews, would be determined to make a statement. And so it was with an even first quarter of 4 goals each. After a suitable reminder from Steve Lawrence the boys 'upped the ante' and led by Andrew Slevison up forward completely took over the game. With 8 majors to half time, "Slevo" led superbly and capped off every opportunity with 8 goals up to the main break. Mark Nelson continues to win the taps but also plays superbly around the ground. Despite the loss of Tom Sundberg and Chris Game for the second half of the game, Alex Ford, Chris Axias, Darcy Daly, Sean Meredith, Cal Jones, Chris May and Ben Carboni were part of the strong running group who followed Steve Lawrence's call for strong, contested, ball winning procedures. The defence led by the Prices, Gav Colosimo and Matt Sundberg was excellent and it rained goals in our forward zone. 34.9 is not a bad return for the day and everyone shared the spoils in the second half. "Slevo" finished with 11 for the day! The Reserves again had little difficulty with their opposition and won by 20 goals. Jason May, Phil Zarra, Jordan Stewart, Tim Noblett all played well enough to place some more pressure on the selectors for round 5. The U19's finally met their match at the Junction Oval against Old Melburnians, a powerful team relying on very strong running. Although our boys rallied in the third term, they could not hold out the OM's team and went down by almost 9 goals. They will benefit from their wake-up call and are now more aware of areas for improvement. Andrew King, Dylan Tobias, Zac Parsons, Ben McLoughlin, Robbie Lamont and Ben Hyland were the best on the day. The clubbies made the most of the first half to establish a winning lead and after an even second half ran out winner by 8 goals. Jarrad Brown and Scott Saunders were best players.
 
Despite the undefeated status of our senior team, the selectors have strived to improve the line-up every week and changes have been consistent in an effort to build our most effective team. Pleasingly, players who have been dropped back to the strong reserves' team all responded in the best way possible. Chris Hammond was a prime example, being unfortunate to be dropped after round 2 but bouncing back with a strong performance and elevation back to the senior line-up against Bulleen Templestowe. We will continue to improve as a club if all players follow this example. Our strongest challenge awaits this weekend in both seniors and reserves as Mazenod are also undefeated in both. There remains Beaumaris, undefeated in seniors and one loss in their reserves and they will also provide a real test for us in the coming weeks, not to mention AJAX.
 
The most impressive part of our situation at present is the commitment to regular training and while we know we have plenty of work to do, if the commitment remains the task will be easier. We have been relatively fortunate with injuries to date but need to also make the most of our rehabilitation program under the direction of Russell Jarrett and our medical team to have players back on the field as soon as possible.
 
Our most disappointing area to date - not enough volunteers to help make our operations smoother on match days! We can only ask for assistance, particularly from our past players as we know they will recognize our frustrations from their own playing days. If each past player could consider offering their time for one day per season our frustrations would be over. Some of our parents are already making significant contributions off field and on match days and a number of the Mums are helping out in the canteen. Any further offers of help, even for one day would be greatly appreciated.
 
We will commence our review of the season to date from this week. Areas such as coach reviews, follow up on individual player goals, how to improve our match day operations, our current financial position (always stretched) and Club facilities receive priority.
 
If we are to be more successful on field, commensurate improvement must occur off field. We are trying to leave no stone unturned and those involved are putting in a plenty of time. Any further assistance will be welcomed.
 
Hope to see you at Glenhuntly Oval this Saturday for our biggest test to date.
 
Kind regards,
 
Geoff Reilley, on behalf of the CGFC Board and Coaching Staff