Uni Blacks vs. Monash Blues. Sat 24th July. Crawford Oval
A cold but still Saturday morning made stark the contrast between this week's match against Monash and the blustery conditions of the previous week. Wet weather for days prior to match day found the Crawford water logged and muddy under a soggy top layer. In the latter stages of the game this would define a gritty, hard fought contest between a team struggling to make the cut for finals and one determined to show Xavier and Melbourne that they should be very afraid come August.
After winning the toss and choosing to kick to the left of screen the Blacks got off to a good start, winning most of the clearances out of the centre despite the presence of the opposition's man mountain ruckman.
Henry 'It's like the afro for the white man' Williams distinguished himself in providing a solid contest every time the ball was in dispute, in the ruck and in general play. 'The Veteran' James Green, and midfielders Harley 'Crates' Beaumont and Andrew 'Mackay were hard at the ball early and helped us to a two goal lead at quarter time.
The second term saw an underperforming Blacks outfit going under to a tough and resolute Monash, who pushed hard to make space across the ground, getting the ball quickly into their forward 40. A dogged defence led by the ageless General Pat Barry and well supported by hard man Simon Gellert and 'The Flash' Jock Thomas proved enough to restrict Monash to
2.4 for the quarter. Highlights for the term were sporadic in the midst of Monash's attack and included 'The Mouth' Mick Dwyer's aerial prowess and Andrew 'The Barbarian' Costello's amazing fighting spirit. He decided to play on in the second half on despite suffering a broken nose in a sickening clash midway through the term.
The second half saw the Blacks finally start to genuinely assert their mark on the game. Several passages of free flowing footy were displayed as the half-time pep talk from Supercoach Linc Merlo appeared to hit its mark with the team. One example was when a quick clearance from the centre bounce found Mick on his overly large chest, before he spotted up Robert 'Dukes' Moffatt 30m from goal. When Moff or Mick weren't taking marks, smalls Robert 'Troll' Hand and Sammy 'I swear I was kicking it to you Ed'
Lane were always at hand to either go for goals themselves or unselfishly dishing it off, a la James 'U-Turn' Dunn, to a running Greeny or Murph.
The final term was a satisfying one for the Blacks. Up by only two and half goals Monash could have stormed home to stage a comeback, but again the back line was solid, restricting them to 1.4 while providing great run off the flanks in support of rebounding greats like Captain Matt McInnes, hard man Corey 'Nugget' Watts and perennial performer Swifty. In the end the Blacks were runaway 10.10.70 to 5.16.46 victors.
The match was a solid, if trying performance by the Blackers. Despite being challenged in almost every minute of the game the boys showed determination and spirit in getting over the top of the old enemy.
Although improvement is needed for finals, this win showed the rest of the competition that if it boils down to a game of wills, the Blacks have courage aplenty to battle it out with.
Play of the day goes to Mick's sorry attempt to retrieve a loose ball by scrabbling on hands and knees, cutting a very embarrassing figure in doing so.
Best afield were tireless midfielders Buster, Greeny, Cos and Smash as well as newly reborn Mick and the inspirational Henry Williams.
UNI BLACKS 3.1 5.4 7.9 10.10 70
MONASH BLUES 1.3 3.7 4.12 5.16 46
Goal Kickers: R. Moffatt 3, M. Dwyer 2, S. Lane , J. Dunn , J. Green , A.
Costello , B. Murphy
Injuries: Bruiser (groin), Cos (broken nose)