By Carli Mitchell
THE conditions couldn’t have been more perfect for football in Division One when Upwey Tecoma seniors took on Gembrook Cockatoo at Healesville on Saturday, and both sides went at it from the start in front of a huge crowd.
As expected, the game was close – Upwey led at every break, but Gembrook had every opportunity to snatch it back.
Gembrook was very lucky not to kick itself out of the game in the first quarter, with 2.6 to Upwey’s 3.3.
If the side hadn’t missed the easy goals, the end result could have been very different.
The pressure the teams exerted was immense, and many players fumbled under the strain – the footy was in dispute a lot, and Upwey entered the first break in the lead by a mere three points.
The second quarter saw a reversal of play, with Gembrook becoming more accurate when kicking for goal and Upwey becoming less so – it kicked 4.7 to Gembrook’s 4.1, to keep the Brookers in the game.
Upwey looked like it would blow the game apart with a mass of possessions.
The third term was more nail-biting – the game began to level out and the intensity went up a notch.
The last quarter, with the players starting to get tired, showed who really had more endurance.
Samuel Gooley from Upwey was awarded the Victorian Country Football League (VCFL) best-on-ground. Tom Hedge, Ben Hinton, Daniel Waters (four goals), Tyson Heinrich and coach Wade Porter (five goals) were also in the best for Upwey Tecoma.
Ricky Clark, Shane Williams (one goal), Nathan Leversha (two goals), Tristan Whytcross, Steven Nuutinen and Matthew O’Neil were best for Gembrook Cockatoo.
Upwey Tecoma 13.16 (94) d Gembrook Cockatoo 11.15 (81).
@BT Sport Sub Mail:RESERVES
Warburton Millgrove was the favourite to win the contest against Upwey Tecoma, and did not disappoint.
The side started off strongly, blasting out of the blocks, and remained consistent through the entire match, hardly giving Upwey a chance.
The first quarter was played on Warburton’s terms, for Upwey struggled to work its way into the match and crumbled under the pressure.
Warburton denied Upwey a major score in the first quarter, giving Warby a handy three-goal lead.
The second quarter saw Upwey play much better footy, and it really showed on the scoreboard – Warby went scoreless and Upwey kicked one.
The momentum had definitely changed in favour of Upwey Tecoma. The side was going harder at the ball – the players were willing to take more chances.
The third term saw things change again, and although the game was low-scoring, it was very interesting to see the power struggle between the teams.
Warby started to get back on top again after a stirring half-time speech, kicking four goals to two for a comfortable lead.
Upwey Tecoma’s goalless first quarter is what cost it in the long run.
Nicolas Toy from Warburton was awarded the YVMDFNL best-on-ground. Shawn Andueza, Grant Morris, Stephen McManamon, Lachlan Collard and Damien Egan (three goals) were also among the best for Warburton Millgrove.
Liam Burke, Paul Broecker, Tim Harris, Nicholas Pegg, Timothy Hansen and Kris O’Brien (one goal) were best for Upwey Tecoma.
Warburton Millgrove 7.6 (48) d Upwey Tecoma 3.7 (25).
@BT Sport Sub Mail:UNDER 18
From the outset, Healesville was wayward in front of goal in the match against Upwey Tecoma, and this let them down.
The side had every opportunity to take the game into their own hands, but missed an unbelievable number of goals.
Upwey Tecoma kicked five goals to nil in the first term to set Healesville a huge task.
The Bloods were playing just as good as their opposition – the final execution was causing all the problems.
They didn’t improve in the second quarter, and this was when Upwey Tecoma started to get on top of things.
The battle between the two teams’ midfielders was fantastic to watch. With half time looming, the lead exploded out to six goals. Healesville had only managed 1.6 to Upwey’s three straight goals.
The third term saw Healesville fail to worry the scoreboard, and Upwey kick another three goals. This gave them a handy lead, and the win – the Bloods never looked like kicking 10 goals in a quarter to take the win.
Healesville rallied in the last and made a comeback kicking 4.7, and Upwey failed to score. Inaccuracy cost Healesville the flag – The Bloods had 21 scoring shots to Upwey Teomca’s 15.
Liam O’Brien (one goal) from Upwey was awarded the Victorian Country Football League (VCFL) best-on-ground. Thomas Robinson (four goals), Andrew Clifford (three goals), Christopher Brown, Joshua Lowe and James Heron were among the best for Upwey Tecoma.
Shaun Donkin, Dylan Anderson (three goals), Ethan Scanlon, Jason Ison-Johnson, Joel Crowther and Scott Berner were the best for Healesville.
Upwey Tecoma 11.4 (70) d Healesville 5.16 (46).
