WE STARTED pretty well. I think we got out to about a four goals to one lead 20 minutes into the first quarter, but then Sandringham kicked a few goals late to make it basically even at the first break.
It was probably a case of Sandy starting slowly rather than us starting really well, and once their game kicked into gear, they were able to take it to another level and we weren’t able to match them.
They’ve got a really good core group of players down at Sandy and they also had some experienced Melbourne players like Adem Yze and a few other guys who have played a fair bit of AFL footy.
They’ve won three of the last four VFL premierships and they hang onto their players really well.
We had a few injuries at Carlton and the Bullants so a strong Sandringham side was always going to be really hard for us. They ran away from us a bit in the end.
We have been a little bit up and down of late. I think that’s more a reflection on the state of our playing list and the fact that injuries have gone effected the lists at both Carlton and the Bullants.
Having said that, Carlton are set to get around four guys back from injury, so they’ll either come straight into our side or play seniors and send a few blokes our way. In either case, our side will be strengthened when we resume after the bye this weekend.
Jason Saddington was really solid in defence and gave us good run and rebound as he has done in most of his games for us this year. He’s a very good player and is waiting for another chance at senior level.
Joey Anderson has put together a month of really good footy now. He’s a kid who’s had a fair bit of trouble with his body, so to get four weeks of good footy out of him is a positive sign. He’s knocking on the door of senior selection with good aggressive footy and that’s just what we need.
Dennis Armfield was also one of our best players and he’s another one who has played four or five really good games in a row. He generally plays as a tight defender on the opposition’s most dangerous small forward. Dennis has done everything we've asked of him and is also pushing for a game at Carlton.
He was close to debuting against West Coast, but a minor injury ruled him out.
Last time we had a bye we came out of it pretty sluggish, getting beaten convincingly by Casey. Rather than give the boys time off, we’ll put them through their paces on Friday night with a fairly hefty session.
We’ll definitely mention to the boys on Friday that our efforts out of the break last time were poor so we need to ramp up training.
Some of the older blokes will still appreciate the break from playing to freshen up their bodies, but we can get the work into the younger kids to aid their development. The longer we spend out on the training track working on their deficiencies, the quicker they will develop as players.
Sandringham 3.6 7.10 12.12 15.15 (105)
Northern Bullants 4.2 5.6 7.9 8.12 (60)
Sandringham
Goal kickers: N. Sautner 7, P. Summers 2, C. Sylvia 2, J. Meesen, L. Dunn, S. Tregear, J. Bode
Best players: A. Yze, C. Johnson, C. Lamb, C. Waller, S. Tregear, N. Sautner
Northern Bullants
Goal kickers: P. Colbert 2, C. Benjamin 2, D. Teague, D. Boundy, J. Mercuri, D. Armfield
Best players: J. Saddington, J. Anderson, J. Vansittart, P. Colbert, A. Iacobucci, M. Lappin
