SENIOR SUMMER STATE LEAGUE

ROUND 2

WSL2 Report by Torben Fink-Jensen

Essendon were having their first game of the new season after a bye the previous week. The team had a new player in Josie who recently made the Victorian U15 team, so we knew she would be ready. It was also Alex's 500th game so everyone was primed to work around that milestone.

We were missing a few stalwarts but things were looking good for us with 2 on the bench and Monash with the bare 7. Unfortunately by the end of the first quarter they had 3 latecomers which meant that all the kickouts we got on them didn't really matter in the end as they always had enough players to cover.

Essendon were swimming hard and were on attack quickly, but Monash had other ideas and were able to sneak in behind our defence as we struggled with some first game disorganisation.  After going down 1-3, Josie had a memorable early touch when she chased down an opponent who had a 2 metre head start to prevent a likely goal. Essendon managed to pick up a penalty which didn't go in, but with the goalie fouling on the follow through shot, we got a 2nd penalty. This was also saved and the quarter time score sat at 2-4.

We were expecting Essendon to tighten up in the second but the Monash players were breaking fast and shot the first goal for 2-5. Another missed penalty for Essendon didn't allow us to close the gap. Em managed a stellar corner shot to at least put us on the board before halftime at 3-8.

In the 3rd quarter, we started more positively and clawed back a couple of goals but couldn't sustain it. Em again managed to swim past her opposition for a goal and was unlucky not to get a penalty for another drive. She was showing the benefit of not having to do 5am starts on a Tuesday morning as well as late games to finish the day. Essendon lost a bit of mojo towards the end of the quarter to let them even it up for 5-10. In the last play, Josie was steaming in for her first SL2 goal but was beaten by the clock.

For the 4th quarter, Essendon finally came to life just as Alex fouled out. Em followed up her two earlier goals with another fantastic shot, Katie was finally getting a chance to unleash her power shots for 2 goals and Mietta was given more space in centre field and threw some perfect corner shots for 3 goals in the quarter. The game started getting quite tight at 11-13 with 1 minute to go but we couldn't keep it up and that was the final score.

Essendon were defeated by Monash : 11 - 13

Goals : Mietta 4, Emily 3, Kate 2, Alex 2

Below : The WSL2 team celebrate Alex's 500th game with donuts!

WSL3  Report by Lisa Murray-Segal

After last week's excitement, we knew our game against StCaths this week would be more challenging. We were without our gun keeper Sandra - who is swanning around Vanuatu 🌴🍹- and missing Josie, who has now moved up to the 2s - which left us a little depleted against a strong seasoned side. We started strongly and had StCaths measure for the quarter. There was plenty of swimming up and down the pool without the scorecard being touched. Eventually they scored, so we went into the break down 0-1. The second quarter saw our defence get tougher as they pushed forward more and more. They managed two, and we failed to capitalise on our opportunities despite some solid work on the forward line. The halftime score was 0-3, probably one of our better outcomes for a HT StCaths score! So we went into the third looking to make better use of our kickouts, having practised some moves at training on Monday night. But we were tiring, with just a single sub, and struggling to keep up with fast breaks, and moving the ball round quickly when we had someone on the far side who was on. Again, we failed to score from some pretty good passages of play, whilst StCaths put 3 into the back of the net, down 0-6. The final quarter saw StCaths take control, putting away another 5. Our only shining light was a nice goal to Madeleine under pressure.

Not the result we would have liked, but with half the girls now rocking up to training, the level of cohesion and skill should see us improve and do better in the coming weeks.

Essendon was defeated by St Catherine's : 1 - 11

Goals : Madeleine 1

MSL4  No report received

Essendon Vs Ajax

Goals : TBC

OSL5  Report by Sam Brown

What a team effort, with only seven players and no subs, everyone dug deep, played their hearts out, and earned a 5-4 win over Monash. I managed three goals, Hayden nailed a cracker. Andrew added his goal to make up for many weeks in the goals, and a very special shout out to Tom in goals, first time in there since ages ago and he saved all but 4. Exceptional effort for someone who was meant to “take it easy”. 

Defensively and in attack pretty strong across the pool, Rohan, Marcus and Liam worked tirelessly. As fatigue set in, breakaways opened up, but we didn’t convert as many as we’d have liked. Personally, it took me about 5 (…10?) shots to notch those three goals, so, not quite clinical, but the team carried me when my aim wasn’t sharp. All up, a gutsy win built on hard work and strong defence. Everyone fought to the final whistle - mainly because they had no choice. Great stuff and good game lads.

Essendon defeated Monash : 5 - 4

Goals : Sam 3, Hayden 1, Andrew 1

JUNIOR WINTER COMPETITION

ROUND 1

12&U Mixed  No report received

Northcote/Essendon defeated Melbourne Collegians : 7 - 4

Goals : Harry 4, Rachael 3

14&U Girls  No report received

Northcote/Essendon Vs Footscray/DVE : game result unknown

Goals : TBC

14&U Boys  Report by Kate Simnett

It was nice to be back in the water with some familiar DVE faces for Dean & Reuben coming up from the U12s.  The boys joined a DVE team that had some kids who had played in the 14s before and some also moving up. Xavier was missed due to a swimming clash :(

Excellent teamwork was reflected in the number and diversity of goal scorers.  Strong passing skills meant the boys dominated the play and used all their options well. A great start!

DVE Aquatic/Essendon defeated Monash : 13 - 5

Goals : Vishnu 5, Julius 3, Coben 2, Dean 1, Lucas 1, Lewis 1

Below : The DVE-Essendon team drying off after their game this week (photo courtesy of Justin Garrett from DVE)

16&U Girls  Report by Kate Simnett

The girls were not thrilled to be starting this mini season with a game against Richmond but the newly formed (welcome to our 3 new DVE friends) and newly coached (welcome Darren & Alex!) squad started strongly with plenty of shots on goal from Maddie, Josie and Alice. Richmond were only 1 up at half time with some excellent defending (Violet in particular) and strong keeping from Isla. They got one in during the third quarter, but the girls held their nerve and didn't let them get a run of them.  A superb goal early in the fourth from Arly gave the girls a lift and there were another couple of (unrealised, but nice) opportunities throughout the quarter.

It was a great start considering some heavy previous losses to Richmond and I hope the girls reflect on how many shots we had and how little they scored in comparison to previous games!

A huge thankyou to Darren and alex, and to Lucy for doing table duty.

Essendon/DVE/Marlins were defeated by Richmond Yellow : 1 - 2

Goals : Arly

Below : Alice Jakic receives her 14&U Best & Fairest Award, as she was unabe to attend on Saturday night. Surrounded by team mates Lola, Madeleine, Amrit and Amber (photo courtesy of Sandra Mink-Grobbe)

16&U Boys  Report by Jamie Kirby

Our winter season sees us aligned with Northcote, along with a few from Footscray, DVE and NYP! Game 1 saw us come up against a strong side in MC Blue.

The boys were learning their teammates strengths and their roles in the team - and surprised MC by getting the first goal! However, this seemed to awaken the MC giants, using their long passing and strong bodywork to put on a lead. 

Our 3-18 loss didn't truely reflect the state of the game, with our boys building into the game, having some great linkup play and having some strong periods throughout the game. Looking forward to watching this team grow over the next 5 rounds.

Northcote/Essendon/Footscray/DVE/NYP were defeated by Melb Collegians Blue : 3 - 18

Goals : TBC

Below : Darren Steere presents Ashton Kirby with his 14&U Best & Fairest Award, as he was unabe to attend on Saturday night

(photo courtesy of Sandra Mink-Grobbe)