We started pretty well because we were kicking into a pretty strong breeze and went into quarter-time three goals to four down, so the boys played some pretty good football early.
In the second quarter, when we had the breeze, they were able to score four goals while we put on 1.6, so really it was the second quarter that killed us. We didn’t capitalise on the breeze and ruckman Sam Jacobs went down with a rolled ankle which was a big loss for us.
Frankston managed to run away with it in the third quarter, opening up a five-goal lead, but to the boys’ credit they fought back in the final term when we outscored them five goals to three. But we just couldn’t quite get over the top of them.
Our pressure early was pretty good, but I think the Frankston team just stuck to their game plan a little better than we did. They were a little bit more disciplined than us which was disappointing; it doesn’t take any talent to be disciplined but I think they were better than us in that respect.
Frankston’s ground is pretty unique. It’s very long and thin and they played it well, but the most pleasing thing for me was that the boys really fought it out. After half-time we only had two on the bench, but we took it right up to them and started to run over the top of them late in the game.
It’s obviously a bit different coaching and playing this year, but I didn’t find it too much of an adjustment. Obviously at times you start to think about what everyone else is doing and you probably should be doing a bit more yourself, but overall it worked out well.
Assistant coach Matty Lappin played up forward mostly and a little bit behind the ball and I played a similar role, so we could communicate with all of the players and help them out on the field.
Depending on where you are on the field or what’s happening in the game, you can’t always be right there to offer advice but it doesn’t take long to get your message to them when you’re on the park.
One of the practice games when I was sitting in the box I found it frustrating because I couldn’t talk to players straight away. It’s often just little things that aren’t important enough to send a runner out for, but if you can explain it at the time it’s a lot more helpful.
As for the Carlton boys, Adam Bentick was really good in the middle of the ground. He got plenty of the ball and gave us a fair bit of grunt around the contest. Simon Wiggins had a good second half on a half-forward flank and also moved onto the ball and gave us excellent drive out of the midfield.
Joe Anderson kept his opponent to five possessions for the day; he was moved onto a guy who kicked four goals in the second quarter and only allowed him to have one more possession.
Ryan Jackson played out on a wing and the narrow ground really suited him because he’s got a great engine. He finished the game really strongly and was probably one of our better players.
Jason Saddington played well across centre half-back and was very reliable and used the ball well, while Steve Browne was very accountable in the middle and led the team in hard-ball gets with five.
We play Coburg this week who had a good win against the reigning premiers Geelong last weekend. We played a couple of weeks ago in a practice game and it was pretty close so it should be a good contest for the boys.
Northern Bullants | 3.0 | 4.6 | 6.12 | 11.15 (81) |
Frankston | 4.2 | 8.2 | 11.12 | 14.13 (97) |
Frankston
Goalkickers: D. Limbach 4, A. Murray 4, J. Berry 3, R. Morris 2, C. Barker
Best players: A. Murray, A. Raso, C. Barker, J. Magner, S. Gill, J. Berry
Northern Bullants
Goalkickers: D. Boundy 4, M. Lappin 2, D. Armfield 2, D. Teague, S. Wiggins, J. Bannister
Best players: R. Jackson, J. Saddington, A. Bentick, S. Wiggins, D. Armfield, L. Morgan
