thirds match Report:
ROUND 7 - CAULFIELD GRAMMARIANS VS. PEGS
Caulfield 13.19.97 Defeated PEGS 8.6.54
CGFC GOALKICKERS:
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CGFC BEST PLAYERS:
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As the rain came down and the 747's roared over head every 15 minutes the Dirty Thirds braced themselves to face last years Premiers PEGS in Round 7. Injuries in the Seniors and Reserves had left the player cupboard a little bare. However the CGFC community responded with Sam Barnett playing his first ever game of footy, Hoody prepared to play on a dodgy ankle and Khan Oxenham recovering from a nightmare of attending Thursday night training with Juddy & Stevo. Bowesy challenged the boys to get stuck in early and adapt to the wet conditions. The execution of wet weather football by all 22 players was simply excellent, none more so than newly created defender Kosmo Malignaggi who constantly frustrated the PEGS forwards with his attack on the ball and rebounding play. Not to be outdone Tom Stephenson overcame a late arrival to rack up possessions across the middle, with Alex Young providing more competition for possessions than PEGS. However a now consistent inaccuracy in front of goals lead to only a small lead at the first break. Big Lukey Matias was pumped up with the effort (and the 200 push ups he'd done that morning) and implored the boys to continue that in the second quarter. The lads responded and effectively put the game out of PEGS reach with a 5 goal second quarter. Nick O'Connor was providing first use out of the ruck and, after a quite first quarter, fill in captain Connor Wilson was creating a strong marking presence going forward. The home side tried to rough up the Dirty Thirds but Smarty's attack on the football quietened that approach and the poor PEGS veteran who got in his way. A few late goals from PEGS made a 25 point half time lead flattering to the true nature of the game.
After a poor third quarter last week Bowesy and Luke demanded a better premiership quarter this week. The Dirty Thirds responded with a high effort quarter and kept Colin Bockman (our travelling goal umpire - thanks Col) busy as we peppered the goals, unfortunately mainly by kicking points. However this effort was needed as PEGS lifted in this quarter kicking 3 goals themselves. But the boys met the challenge and simply out ran and out hustled last year's premiers. By the last change the game was definitively over and after a long goal to Connor Wilson the fight went out of the home side. The Dirty Thirds didn't let up and continued kicking more points than goals but still managed to run out winners by 43 points. Overall it was a stirring effort by all the boys and probably our strongest win of the year. A big thanks to the guys who responded to the call out on Thursday night and to Woody's other half for driving all the way to the Tullamarine flight path to drop off his boots.