SENIOR SUMMER STATE LEAGUE - ROUND 8

WSL2  Report by Torben Fink-Jensen

Essendon started with 11 players, with Emmy and Josie returning to the line up, vs Monash who lined up with 9 players. Essendon were out to a 2-0 lead pretty quickly with passes into Gen at centre forward proving lethal as she was able to turn her defender. It wasn't one-way traffic though as Monash were breaking fast when they had the ball and out-swimming our girls. Our defence proved not aggressive enough on the Monash #8 who was back handing at will from centre forward. Our goals kept coming though through Gen, along with Emmy and Katie who was unstoppable 3m from goal. Giving us a 6-4 lead at the break.

The 2nd quarter didn't start well as we immediately shelled a couple of goals. But we got back into our game quickly and our lead soon stretched out with goals from Gen, Emily, and Claudia who managed a lovely goal from right wing rounding off to11-6 for the quarter.

The game was starting to feel more comfortable as we headed into the second half. Unfortunately this time we went one better than shipping 2 goals, we shipped 3 as they closed the game to 11-9 and our cushion evaporated.  We came to life with a goal by Emmy followed by Gen getting the ball with 4 players on her and still managing to come up with a shot which goaled for 13-10.

In the final quarter, this time we scored the first goal and the game felt fairly safe at 14-10, however Monash kept swimming hard and fast at Essendon and it took a couple of great attacking goals by Alex and Josie with Katie lethal this time from about 50cm. Although the game was safe by then, Monash still scored one more to finish. Nice win by Essendon with Gen ending up with a remarkable 7 goals. 

Essendon defeated Monash : 17 - 14

Goals : Gen 7, Alex 2, Emmy 2, Emily 2, Katie 2, Josie 1, Claudia 1

Below : Our WSL2 team in action this week (photos courtesy of Torben Fink-Jensen, see more on our FB page)

WSL3  (Editor)

The WSL3 team had a scheduled bye this week, allowing our younger girls some time in the SL2 game. Next week we face Old Ivanhoe, who we narrowly lost to last time, so we'll be keen to turn that around.

MSL4  (Editor)

The MSL4 team had a scheduled bye this week, but will face Footscray next week.

OSL5  Report by Sam Brown

Tonight, your humble President found himself in the unusual position of standing on the sideline, minding his own business, when somehow — through a series of unfortunate events — he ended up being responsible for the match report.

I was just being a good President. Sometimes the President suffers. 🤷‍♂️

Anyway, onto the actual water polo…

The SL5 Water Rats took on Richmond tonight, going down 4–13. On paper, that scoreline might not tell the whole story. Richmond came with a full squad, while the Rats had just two on the bench, meaning there weren’t exactly an abundance of fresh legs available. 🥵

Despite that, there were a lot of really positive signs.

The team is starting to find its shape. We’re creating space, moving the ball, communicating more and, importantly, starting to look like a team that knows where the next pass is coming from. There were some really good passages of play tonight and plenty of opportunities created — unfortunately, the goals just seemed to have gone into hiding. 🎯

There were plenty of open shots that should have found the back of the net, but for whatever reason the net decided it wasn’t accepting visitors tonight. 🥲

Defensively, there was plenty to like too. The boys were getting their hands up, disrupting passes and making Richmond work for their opportunities. Tim Elmore put in a great shift with some excellent steals and some serious swimming — exactly the sort of work that doesn’t always make the scoreboard but makes a massive difference. 💪

A few players also managed to earn 5-metre penalties, showing that we’re getting into the right areas and putting pressure on the opposition.

Andrew deserves a special mention for some great passing — particularly impressive considering he came out of goals to show the rest of us how apparently everything is done. 😂

And a big shout-out to Marcus, who got in there and did the hard yards for us. It’s not exactly the most glamorous role, particularly when the scoreboard isn’t going your way, but he put his hand up and got stuck in. 👏

And finally, a special mention to Tom, whose arm is currently operating at approximately 63% capacity. We’re expecting that to increase significantly next week, with early projections suggesting full hyperspace mode may be imminent. 🚀💪

So, yes — 4-13 to Richmond and I’m pretty sure one of those Richmond goals was dodgy. But there is a lot to be encouraged by.

This is a team that’s starting to come together. The space is appearing. The communication is improving. The passing is getting cleaner. The defensive pressure is there. The opportunities are being created.

Now we just need to start putting the bloody thing in the net. 😂🥅

I genuinely think there are very good things ahead for this group, and I’m really looking forward to watching the Water Rats improve game by game.

And apparently I’ll be watching from the sideline with a clipboard next time, because I’ve clearly made a terrible career decision somewhere along the way.

Go Rats! 🐀❤️🖤

Essendon were defeated by the Richmond Hippos : 4 - 13

Goals : Lewis 2, Bryan 2

JUNIOR WINTER COMPETITION - FINALS

12&U Mixed **Bronze Medal Game**

(Editor)

Despite no official ladder being run in this grade, to encourage participation and enjoyment, with less focus on results, the final round of games for this grade was based solely on what ladder postions each team would have occupied, instead of just fixturing another regular round as they have done previously... go figure. So our combo team unoffically finished in 4th place, with MC in third on the same points, but a slightly higher goal percentage. Given MC beat us by 8 goals last week, it was an opportunty to step up and level the score. And the players rose to the occasion and did a great job, but narrowly missed out.

Northcote/Essendon were defeated by Melbourne Collegians : 5 - 8

Goals : Rachael 2, Lily 1, Frankie 1, Ella 1

14&U Girls  **5 v 6 Playoff**

(No report)

Northcote/Essendon were defeated by Monash : 6 - 7

Goals : TBC

14&U Boys  **Gold Medal Game**

Report by Sheridan Mom

The boys put up a fierce, highly competitive fight against a dominant MC side in the Gold Medal match, ultimately falling 3 - 15 in this 1 v 2 grand final showdown. While the final scoreline mirrors last week’s result, it completely masks how tightly contested the play actually was in the pool. The boys forced MC into a physical, defensive grind and created several excellent goal-scoring opportunities; if a few of those well-targeted shots had found the corners instead of missing the mark, the scoreboard would have been significantly closer. Ultimately, MC’s clinical strength proved too tough to overcome during crucial momentum shifts. A massive thank you goes to Mitch for his fantastic coaching from the bench, and a special shoutout to the entire DVE community for their wonderful hospitality in welcoming the Essendon players into the team for a great display of club unity on the big stage

DVE/Essendon were defeated by Melbourne Collegians : 3 - 15

Goals : Vishnu 2, LucasT 1

Below : the 14&U boys team with DVE Coach Mitch and TM Sheridan this weekend (photoes courtesy of Justin Garrett and Sheridan Mom)

16&U Girls  **Bronze Medal Game**

Report by Kate Simnett

An 8am at Camberwell Grammar is a brutal way to start your Sunday, but jump-start it we did! The first half the girls pressed hard and held their own in defence. We had a lot of shots on goal without success, but at least there were shots.

A fierce bit of swimming from Maddie and Josie early in the third quarter got them in front of goal.  Some direction from Darren saw a nice goal from Josie with Maddie drawing her defender out of the way. 

The final quarter saw some tired arms in the water and MC could smell the victory ;)

The Essendon, Geelong, DVE combo has been a bit of an adjustment but it’s been great to see the girls all improving over the weeks. Special mention to Anja who has stepped up to 16s from 14s for this shorter comp and more than held her own. 

Big thanks to Darren & Alex for all their coaching and the parents for bringing the girls to the games and training.  And for the parents who scored - eternal gratitude!! 

Essendon/DVE/Marlins were defeated by Melbourne Collegians : 1 - 3

Goals : Josie 1

Below : Our 16&U girls team addressed by coaches Darren and Alex post game (photo courtesy of Kate Simnett)

16&U Boys  **Bronze Medal Game**

(No report)

Northcote/Essendon/Footscray/DVE/NYP were defeated by Richmond : 2 - 19

Goals : TBC