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Round 1 (Mannum): We began season 08 in style, with a first quarter blitz of Mannum in perfect conditions at LeMessurier Oval. Starting with seven different players to the final team of 07 we were immediately putting the ball inside our forward 50. The tall timber up forward were making the most of the precise kicks coming in, setting up a 9.4 to 0.1 lead at quarter time.
New to the team were 1st gamer & current u/17's captain Ben Dougall and Karoonda recruit Eli Koch.
Back from 07 injury was Ryan Bretag, Troy Cowland & Alex Mason were promoted to the league, Alex playing his first game as a senior player. We welcome back Joel Matchoss from the Borossa & Luke Button donned the red and white for the first time since his cameo game two years ago. A big welcome to all new players in the reserves and junior grades.
Over the next 3 quarters Ramblers stretched their lead by an extra 20 points as Mannum displayed some much improved football. Ben Dougall provided some great crumbing to kick 3 freakish goals on debut, Ryan Morris worked extremelly hard for 6 goals & Liam Oneil used good forward knowledge to bag 5.
An excellent start to the season with all contributing, we will keep training & playing hard to continue the same form for the coming weeks.
Round 2 (Mypo): Our 2nd game was against Mypolonga at Mypo and was again played in perfect conditions. The first quarter was played in high spirit, with both teams playing quick, hard, tough football. Mypo finished the quarter with a one goal lead 4.2 to 3.2.
Most of the 2nd quarter was a battle of defences & we slowly started to take control to lead by 2
goals at half time 6.4 to 3.2.
The 2nd half displayed our fitness level & we outplayed and outscored mypo 10 goals to 3. Returning player Joel Matschoss shut down their centre half forward, Mundy held their 11 goal forward from the previous week to 0 for the day. Jackson and 2nd gamer, 16 year old Ben Dougall, were live wires up forward. Strong in and under midfielders, Marchetti and Weyland set the runners up who enjoyed the large oval.
Round 3 (Jervois): Hot conditions welcome us at LeMessurier oval for the clash with four time premiers Jervois. An unchanged line up for the 3rd game in a row gave us a settled start and by quarter time we had set up a solid lead kicking with a slight northerly.
The second quarter had Jervois attacking more often but with our defence holding firm we went into the half time break with a 32 point lead.
Our fitness and improved strength, proved to be a major asset in the second half as we ran all over Jervois to win by 69 points.
Another solid team effort with Liam kicking 6 as a rover, Chetts and Zads showing their leadership and commitment and Jacksons strong lead, just a few of the highlights from a very exciting game.
Round 7 (Tailem Bend): Good rains prior to the game against Tailem at Ramblers gave the players some reprieve from the hard surfaces of previous weeks. Coby Weyland, Clint Girardi & Ryan Paech were ins with Mark Marchetti, Matt Mundy and Daniel Zadow not playing.
A slow start after the bye resulted in a 3 goal lead by quarter time. Girardi provided a strong focal point up forward and by half time the lead had increased to 9 goals.
Morris hurt his knee in the 3rd quarter & both ruckmen were off in the last, but the scoreboard continued to click over to result in a 27.21 (183) to 6.11 (47) win.
Round 8 (Mannum): A danger game at Mannum who were at full strength, while we had 7 of our starting 18 sitting on the sidelines. Perfect conditions for football & Trent Paech playing his 100th League game, saw Ramblers kicking up hill and into a 3-4 goal breeze. A solid first quarter had us trailing by 20 points with a hard game ahead of us.
By half time we had reduced their lead to 8 points with our half back line playing superbly and Troy Cowland and Pat O'Neil dominating the wings.
An excellent 3rd quarter had us trailing by only 5 points and kicking down hill in the last.
The last quarter came down to nearly the last kick with Mannum playing well, and with about 5 minutes to go were in front by 2 goals 3. Some excellent shots at goal and the game winner from Girardi in the dying minutes saw us sneak home by 3 points in a great team effort.
Round 9 (Imperials): Playing in perfect conditions at home against the only team to beat us this year, proved to be the motivation required to get away to a great start. Dominating the midfield and with the ball being delivered with precision passes we were 5 goals up at the 14 minute mark with Imps hardly getting forward of centre. To stop the flow, Imps went defensive and were able to keep the defecit of 5 goals until 1/4 time.
By half time the lead was extended by 1 goal, 11.6 to 5.8
The backline had an excellent 3rd quarter and set up many attacks and we finished the 2nd half kicking 10 goals to 6 to run away with a convincing 53 point win.
Buttsy was magnificent across half back taking an amazing 32 marks and a full team effort proved far too good to reverse our earlier loss & keep us on top of the ladder.
Round 10 (Jervois): Game 9 saw us venture to Jervois in excellent conditions where we hadn't won since 2002. Jervois kicked the first 2 goals to wake us, we then kicked the next 5 to finish the quarter 5.2 to 2.1
We extended the lead to 8 goals before a jervois revival cut the lead back to 3 goals, but in a 16 goal, 4 minute qtr, we were able to kick the final 2 goals to lead 14.4 to 9.3.
With Button off for the 2nd half & Jackson off for the last quarter the bench got some good game time & a 10 goal to 4 2nd half saw us victorious by 66 points. Another full team effort with best players difficult to pick due to the work load being shared by all.
Round 11 (Mypolonga): The game against Mypolonga at Lemessurier Oval was played in cool conditions with a 3-4 goal breeze to the clubrooms end. With Luke Button injured, Sam Pfieffer came in for his first game.
After winning the toss & kicking with the breeze it was Mypo who controlled the games tempo & scored the early goals. By quarter time we held a 1 point advantage, the last time we would be in front for the game.
The 3rd quarter was our best, but poor goal kicking prevented us from putting score board pressure on our opponents.
The final result, a 2 point loss, was an indictment of our input & style of play. Our mindset and training will now need to improve to prevent a repeat performance.
FINALS
On a cloudy winters day we began our finals campaign against Imperials whom had just beaten Jervios the previous week with the last kick of the day. First year senior players Sam Pfieffer and Alex Mason made way for Trent Paech and Clint Girardi.
The first quarter was a hard slog, typical of finals football & after Imps hit the post with the first shot on goal our defence got on top & we had winning positions all over the ground to create a 3 goal lead by quarter time.
Imps went up a level to score 4 goals in the 2nd quarter but with disciplined team work we held the ascendency by kicking 5 goals to lead by 28 points at 1/2 time.
Another dose of tough finals football in the 3rd, with many crunching tackles but with our half back line in total control we outscored Imps 4 goals to 2 to go into the last quarter with a 38 point lead.
With Paech, Viney and Girardi watching from the bench with minor injuries, the rest of the team finished the game off with a 5 goal to 2 last term to book our first Grand Final birth in 21 years. Short term celebrations followed with all players fully committed to ensuring their preparation is spot on over the final two weeks.