Get behind the Thirds as they start their finals quest
The Fitzroy Thirds go into their third finals series in as
many years, with a strong belief they can get the job done.
The team will have a sense of déjà vu tomorrow when they travel
to Glenhuntly Oval to take on Caufield Grammarians in Semi
Final 2 of the VAFA Thirds Div 1 comp. And hopefully the trip
over in the car is where the sense of déjà vu ends!
After a dour but dominant display by the Caufield Grammarians
at home last week to win the final home and away game against
Fitzroy, each team knows what lies before them in order to
lift the cup in September.
It builds the story that the only team to defeat The Fields
this year is Fitzroy; and the only team to defeat Fitzroy is
Caufield. Game on!
The 26-point margin at the end of last week’s game was the
biggest of the game. Despite four goals from captain Tim De
Natris, Fitzroy just couldn’t pull close enough to put serious
pressure on Caufield. They always maintained a gap.
With a three-quarter time score of 6.10.46 to 4.5.29, Fitzroy
injected some interest with the first goal of the last quarter,
but Caufield pulled back away and possibly their kicking for
goal kept us closer that it should have been. The final score
was 9.14.68 to 6.6.42.
Nick Curran, Owain Dunn and Tom Grbac played strong games.
Former Thirds captain
and member of the leadership group, Jared Shaw (pictured right),
will play his 50th game tomorrow too, adding some extra motivation.
Mind you, he’s not the type to be pulling focus. He does,
however, provide excellent insights for his coach and his teammates.
Coach Trent Coleman praised Shaw this week saying he was a
‘midfielder turned 100 per cent reliable back man’.
“He’s a very skilful player. He knows how to take a big hit
and get back again no worries. He always gives insightful feed
back to the players.”
Trent also praised Shaw’s team-first ethic. “He’s a humble
player who offered up his spot last year so his teammates could
get a game when numbers were massive. He’s such an asset to
the Roys.”
It is possible Caufield and Fitzroy will end up meeting three
times in four weeks the way the season has panned out. De La
Salle, who defeated us in last year’s finals, and Monash Blues
make up the four and the winner of their elimination final
will face the loser of this game next week.
Tomorrow is a huge challenge, but it can be done. Go Roys!
Photos by Ellie Mitsch and Peter Casamento
Now or never as we chase a win
Caufield Grammarians stamped their authority all over the
Round 16 Senior game – and the competition – against Fitzroy
last week and really, the less said the better about our visit
to Glenhuntly Oval!
No really, the players have moved on. And for those who would
also like to erase the memories, just close your eyes for the
next couple of paras.
Caufield is a well-oiled machine with some incredibly talented
players who have played at the top level and they will be mighty
hard to beat for the premiership this year.
But on a perfect day for football, a 120-point loss and two
goalless quarters by Fitzroy were not what the doctor ordered
for a team attempting to get out of relegation calculations.
The quarter time margin was very manageable after a strong
defensive effort held the home side to four goals, albeit against
the breeze. Quarter time score: 4.3.27 to 2.3.15.
Despite the sunshine, the footy gods were just not smiling
on a team working incredibly hard.
The second quarter started okay with a couple of Fitzroy shots
at goal hitting the post. These kinds of things however are
a symptom of intense pressure and rushed kicks, given limited
opportunity.
Caufield certainly took theirs and the damn wall burst late
in the second term. Six goals to nil in the second quarter
and the result was beyond doubt at half time. For all that,
Fitzroy came out and won the third quarter. It was a bloody
good effort and as much as anything stemming the tide of goals
was an excellent performance within itself.
But at the three-quarter time buzzer, something stopped. One
point to 64 was the margin in the last. Definitely enough said
now.
Even the inclusion of Nino Lazzaro – playing for the first
time this year in tandem up forward with the talented Sunny
Brazier – could not make much of a dent in the onslaught. To
his defence, he was in the best players and his three goals
definitely helped the Fitzroy score. Between them, Nino and
Sunny kicked five.
Tom O’Donnell also played part of the game forward and was
awarded best for Fitzroy. Max Ellis, Luke Baker and Julian
Turner also put in huge efforts.
After the game, coach Luke Mahoney said the senior side was
consistent in their inconsistency. He promised the week would
be about addressing the highs and lows of performance which
were too far apart and very evident during the Caufield game,
particularly the final quarter.
Tomorrow will be all about a four-quarter effort against one
of the other sides also keen to maintain their spot in the
Premier B competition. They are far more comfortable with a
game in hand.
Old Haileybury put Fitzroy to the sword earlier in the season
with a series of indiscretions late in the game ending any
chance of sneaking a victory against them at home. All efforts
will be made to rectify that tomorrow.
Five changes have been made to the side and it’s now or never.
Tomorrow is the final game at Brunswick Street this season,
so come on down, enjoy a burger and get behind the boys as
they strive for a win.
Go Roys!
A tough day a the office for the Ressies
With the Thirds playing the 9.20am game, the stage was set
for a big day at Glenhuntly Oval with three Roys' sides doing
battle against Caulfield Grammarians.
The Ressies were hopeful of repeating their winning form of
last week, but knew it would be a big task with Caulfield sitting
in third position.
With the warmth of a shining sun for the first time in many
weeks, the game started at a frantic pace and the Roys scored
a couple of early goals in the first quarter but Caulfield
opened a handy lead by the first break.
Caulfield dominated the second quarter and went into the rooms
at half time with a 63-point lead, with the Roys unable to
score a major for the quarter.
The second half saw Caulfield take complete control of the
game, but the Roys kept at the task regardless and battled
the game right out until the very end, scoring the final goal
of the match.
With a loss of almost 150 points, nobody would have blamed
the players for wanting to get off the ground as soon as possible
and disappear from sight. Not the Roys!
True to form, the Ressies remained on the ground, lining up
for and urging on their Senior club mates as they ran onto
the ground for their battle.
This has been a hallmark of the team all season - regardless
of win or loss - and speaks volumes about the character of
club, coach and players.
Well done Roys!
By Stephen and Janis Harrington
Raffle drawn tomorrow – LAST CHANCE to see every AFL final
If you don't have your tickets, tomorrow is the very last
chance to win our fantastic raffle prize of the full AFL finals
series for just $5.
Tomorrow at Brunswick Street you can still buy tickets and
then be on hand for the draw during the post match event.
The winner will take out the best footy prize going around:
tickets for two to every game in the 2019 Toyota AFL Finals
Series (including the Grand Final), again generously donated
by the Brisbane Lions (GFAFL19/49).
Second prize, kindly donated by David Leydon, is a framed
Fitzroy Team of the Century guernsey featuring Roy legends
including Hadyn Bunton, Mick Conlan, Bernie Quinlan, Paul Roos,
Allan Ruthven and Garry Wilson, and beautifully autographed
by the great Kevin Murray.
And this season Universal Traveller have come on board to
offer a $500 travel voucher.
And a note to our players, if your tickets aren't back, they
need to be delivered to BSO before 12pm, sold or unsold.
Final round of the year for Under 19s and 23s
The Fitzroy Under 19
and Under 23 teams play their final games of the season tomorrow,
with a sense that they have grown and developed as teams over
the season.
The Under 19s had a strong win over Uni Blacks last weekend
at Ramsden Street, making the most of their final home ground
outing. Keane Ramshaw led the way with a five-goal haul as
Fitzroy ran away to a 93-point win. The final score was 21.11.137
to 6.8.44.
The Roy Boys shared the goal kicking around, with Dion Baruhas
kicking three, and two each to Jonathan Zapantis, Matt Holgate,
Jacob Bourke and Marcel Laidlaw.
The coach gave the votes to Ariel Barresi, with Holgate, Ramshaw,
Laidlaw, Liam O’Connor and Zapantis also amongst the best.
Tomorrow the team travels to Mentone to take on fourth placed
St Bede’s/Mentone Tigers as they warm up for finals. It will
be a good, tough challenge to finish off the year, something
they haven’t shied away from at any stage this season.
The Fitzroy team will finish in 8th position of 12 teams,
having won five or six games for the season. They’ve been very
competitive throughout but haven’t been able to take a big
scalp for the year. The highlight was possibly the win over
Old Trinity in Round 3.
Congratulations and thank you to first-year Under 19 Coach
Monty Stuart and his assistant coaches Mel Story and Silvano
Inserra and all the volunteers and parents who support the
team each week. They’ve done a terrific job and have continued
to provide a great avenue for excellent young talent to take
the step up to seniors, which we have enjoyed throughout the
year. Players like Charlie Faubel, captain Darcy Lowrie and
Jock Green have shown us there is plenty to get excited about.
Check out some of the Under 19s pics (above and below) from last week's win over Uni Blacks, courtesy of Peter Harrison.
The Under 23s head to St Bernard’s College
tomorrow. Neither team is playing finals this year, but this
will still prove a tough test, with St Bernard’s finishing
just outside the top four.
Last week’s forfeit due to a lack of players across the club
was disappointing and they will be keen to finish strongly.
When this team was belted by over 30 goals in the first week
of the season, things seemed a little grim.
In the VAFA’s newest comp, with no lead-in time, they have
put together a very creditable season and built a lot of resilience
along the way. Four wins looked a big mountain after that first
week, but they’ve continued to work hard and maintain a very
positive outlook.
The first win in Round 7 over Old Brighton was something they
are unlikely to forget in a hurry.
A huge amount of credit goes to coach Tony Keehan, who was
given the gig just a week before the season, and with the great
support of Tim Bell, Gabrielle Murphy, captain Ezra Derby,
parents and volunteers, has built a strong positive culture
within the group. We can’t wait to see what you can do next
year.
Go Roys!
Redlow save the date - Friday 4 October
We will have a new guest MC and the photobooth will be back
as we prepare for Redlow 2020.
Details will be unveiled next week and tickets will go on
sale, but in the meantime, please save the date as we unveil
the best and fairest players for all seven of our teams on
Friday 4 October.
iPod shuffle night - dance like it's the end of the season
Choose your favourite song and win at Fitzroy's first iPod
Shuffle night.
The final social function at BSO for 2019 is all set to your
favourite music on Saturday 24 August in the Community Rooms
at BSO from 7pm.
It's free entry for those who don't want to pick a song, but
to go into the big prize pool - with a first prize of $400
- you'll need a ticket for just $15. Be ready with the name
of your favourite song.
Only 50 songs, so if you don't book early you'll miss out
on getting into the draw. Bookings close at 5pm tonight,
with no exceptions. We need to put the song list together!
You can purchase tickets online now.
Your ticket price will include entry into the iPod shuffle
comp (with spot prizes throughout the night), finger food,
tea/coffee and music. Beer, wine, sparkling, cider and soft
drinks will be at our usual low bar prices.
Without a booking, feel free to rock up on the night and join
in with the fun.
New Fitzroy supporter gear now available online
Already some of the most popular supporter gear in Melbourne
is running low, but don't worry we've ordered more stock.
The new Fitzroy supporter gear is available for sale online
and at the ground tomorrow if you don't want to pay for postage.
Former Thirds captain
and member of the leadership group, Jared Shaw (pictured right),
will play his 50th game tomorrow too, adding some extra motivation.
The Fitzroy Under 19
and Under 23 teams play their final games of the season tomorrow,
with a sense that they have grown and developed as teams over
the season.
Choose from the following
items:
