SENIOR SUMMER STATE LEAGUE - ROUND 7

WSL2  Report by Darren Steere

The girls fronted up on Tuesday night, to take on our old foes NYPD.  We always have good, tough, close encounters.  We were switched on from the first swim up (must have been the coaches pregame talk). Gen dominated in at centre forward with 3 goals, with Claudia adding one and Emily swooping in from the right hand side for another. Q1  5-0

The total team pressure had NYPD coughing the ball up, and our girls hurting them on the scoreboard. Emily was having a night out with 3 goals in this quarter, along with Alex 2 and Mietta 1.  Q2  11-1

The third quarter was some of the best polo we have played for a while. Five individual goal scorers, backed up with good defence and Katie getting her hands on everything thrown at her. Alex with 3, and singles to Gen, Emmy, Mietta and Lara. Q3  18-1.

The final quarter saw NYPD fall victim to major fouling, with the first girl rolled early in the piece. This left them with no subs. This was quickly followed by another two being rolled, leaving them two down in the water. Claudia then planted herself at centre forward on her own. This led to her bagging 4 for the quarter. Gen and Josie added one each. 

All up a good game to work on total team play. Attack and defence. 

Essendon defeated the NYP Dragons : 24 - 2

Goals : Gen 5, Alex 5, Claudia 5, Emily 4, Mietta 2, Lara 1, Emmy 1, Josie 1

WSL3  Report by Lisa Murray-Segal

This week we faced Old Ivanhoe for the second time, afer they defeated us in Round 4 by 2 goals. So we knew this would be a close game, and aimed to turn the tide on our last result. But we didn't start well, as it took some time to settle and focus on a decent setup, not crowd and stay closer in defence. We were down by 2 goals before Georgia sent a rocket in from the wing to put us on the board. Plenty of back and forth followed before Old Ivanhoe grabbed another just before the quarter time whistle, giving them a 1-3 lead at the break. Our second quarter was much better. We created fast breaks, got the ball up quickly, focussed on getting the ball into the centre forward and were more diligent in defence. We scored 3 for the term with Kerrie bagging a double and Maddy slotting one in. Old Ivanhoe managed a single, and we went into the halftime break at 4 all. We missed alot of opportunites in the third, with the ball whizzing over the top of goals or pinging off the frame. Maddy scored her second, but Old Ivanhoe added another 2, making it 5-6 at three quarter time. We lifted again in the final term, putting better pressure on players in defence, and tried to give ourselves more space in attack. Old Ivanhoe scored another to lengthen their lead, 5-7. We were struggling to make the most of our players in space, but Sheridan finished off a good passage of play with a goal - before Old Ivanhoe pipped us again for another, making it 6-8. In the last 70 seconds of the game, Sheridan added her second, and the pressure was on to score again before the clock ran down... but neither team added to their tally.

A really good game by the girls, and perhaps a win is on the cards next time we play.

Essendon were defeated by Old Ivanhoe : 7 - 8

Goals : Kerrie 2, Madeleine 2, Sheridan 2, Georgia 1

Below : our WSL3 team this week, coming close to another win... (photo courtesy of Libby Toovey)

MSL4  Report by Ryan Mills

​Essendon Water Rats survived a masterclass in lung-burning survival on Thursday night, squaring off against Footscray with precisely zero substitutes. That is right: seven players, zero relief, and a whole lot of heavy breathing. ​Somehow, the Rats pulled off a heart-stopping victory in the final minute, proving that pure panic is a fantastic performance enhancer.

The Wrap-Up

• ​Matt ("The Brick Wall") — Stopped everything coming his way in goals, accidentally turning the goalmouth into a construction site.

• ​Ryan ("The Five-Goal Menace") — Bagged five goals, single-handedly keeping the scoreboard operators awake.

• ​Jack ("The Double Agent") — Racked up two goals while somehow maintaining a mysterious air of calm.

• ​Lucas ("The Clutch") — Scored the game-winning goal off a rebound in the final minute, earning permanent immunity from doing the post-match pack-down.

• ​Ambrose ("The Sniper") — Added another crucial goal to the tally with surgical precision.

• ​Isaac ("The Shadow") — Played a massive defensive game, silently shutting down the opposition while saving his teammates from drowning.

• ​Vince ("The Anchor") — Put in a powerhouse defensive shift, anchoring the team when everyone else's legs had turned to liquid.

Essendon defeated Footscray : 9 - 8

Goals : Ryan 5, Jack 2, Ambrose 1, Lucas 1

OSL5  Report by Bryan Wee

This week saw an undermanned Essendon team against a team of youth.  Lewis was playing darts, Rohan playing with his dart, Haydos wife took Haydos dart out for dinner so he couldn’t make it. The first quarter showed some promise at 1-3. An absolute highlight was a steal from Tom. The next was consistent at 2-6. Then we didn’t trouble the scorers while they piled on 9. Our fitness demonstrated that maybe we were more suited to half court polo. Or chess.

Essendon were defeated by the MC OTG Pups : 2 - 15

Goals : Tom 1, Bryan 1