Around the Grounds

The second last Round of the Season saw some competitive games down at Westside and also on the road. With this weekend being the last Round of 2023, our teams will be looking to finish on a high, followed by Celebrations on Sunday for our Junior Presentation Day.

U6 Tigers

The Tiger played Pine Hills Dingoes for their final away match of the season. The Tigers faced this side previously in Round 4 for a 9-6 loss. In the initial minutes of this match the Dingoes came out strong catching the Tigers out of positions for an easy first goal. However, from that moment onwards it was the Tigers dominating every aspect of the game. Asher led off the scoring for the Tigers and finished the day with a Hat Trick. Max S got the second and third goals to go into halftime with a 3-1 lead; and also finished the day off with a Hat Trick. Theo got a double, Ryker had one but most notably on the scorecard for the day was Blake for scoring his first goal of the season off a beautiful kick from midfield.

The Tigers victorious against the Dingoes with a final score of 10-2, but this was not an easy win.  The Tigers’ great hustle to defend their goal to save several Dingoes attempts, and their great effort to challenge for the ball every time it was in the Dingoes possession gave them the upper hand in this match.

This was a very enjoyable match to watch if you are a Westside supporter. The Player of the Day award this week went to Blake and Asher.

U9 Falcons

The Falcons Round 17 fixture was away, playing against the Gap U9 Aberdeen. This match was a one-sided affair unfortunately against the Falcons. The defensive structure was absent in this match as the boys were slow to challenge for the ball and allowed the Gap forwards to have too many shots on goal.

There were some great moments in the second half for the Falcons in attack and goalkeeping, and some individual brilliance by Ryan to create chances to score but the Falcons struggled to mount any serious threat going down 7-nil.

U9 Raptors

The Raptors took on Newmarket Dynamo at home in Round 17. They were down Coach Jason and a player in Will T with the Thickett’s sipping on cocktails in Bali, however, assistant Coach Matt stepped up to take the boys for a well-fought 2-all draw. Max and Jax received the Player of the Day awards. Check out the highlights reel below:

U10 Dingoes

After a forfeited game, the Dingoes were eager to play and win their penultimate game of the season. TJ scored the opening goal in the first three minutes, thanks to a beautiful assist from Harlem. From that moment on, the Dingoes dominated the Dragons in all areas of the pitch.

TJ scored a hat-trick, with his third goal coming just a few minutes into the first half. Max made a fantastic interception, while Elliott’s defending was outstanding, preventing the Dragons from scoring multiple times. Noah was performing well in midfield and getting involved in the game. Ryan and Diego scored two great goals each, adding to the score. Harlem’s natural striker instincts placed him in the right position at the right time, allowing him to score from a rebound.

Overall, the Dingoes gave a dominant performance, with every team member contributing to the victory. This win sets the boys up nicely for their final game of the season next week.

U11 Wallabies

The Westside Wallabies zoomed over to Zillmere today to take on North Star who were represented in striking blue and white.

The home team had plenty of subs and supporters but appeared to lack the confidence that normally comes from playing on home turf. So unnerved by the idea of sharing their side of the sideline they had to ask the ref to intervene to ensure the field of play remained a virtual barrier between both team’s supporters. This minor drama though was thankfully overshadowed by not so much a game of 2 halves, but more a polarising 50 minutes of end-to-end action that ultimately failed to deliver anything that would determine an ‘official’ winning side.

For the majority of the 2nd half of the season, our team have been hampered with injuries by way of snotty noses, sore throats and other ailments that 10-year-olds attract like highlanders to haggis. With 2 casualties this week again, this meant that our boys were on the back foot from kick-off with only 1 sub.

The 1st half saw a flurry of fancy footwork and tough tackles by both teams and some refereeing decisions that are to be expected in the learning years. To be fair the home side were arguably looking like the favourites, but Lysander-the-cat kept us in the game with a couple of well-positioned saves. Noticeably missing last week but back in defence today, Charlie also had a lot to say (silently) about curtailing North Stars attackers.

At the other end the blue and white goalie was not to be outdone and when Remy was through, and it was one-on-one their kid with the gloves was there again to keep the lid on our party. Nash was truly in form today on the right and on more occasions than not, put himself in the right place at the right time. Coach Brett moved Jack-right-back to Jack-attack for this half hoping to unleash “something” while Eddie remained in the centre of the field tackling, taking on players and distributing like we’ve become used to him doing. The 1st half ended with lots of thrills, but no goals.

The 2nd half was not unlike the 1st only the Wallabies were definitely the stronger side and were showing a lot more spirit. Alex held his position well and was a thorn in the side of the Stars with some timely toe-poke tackles. Lysander was a powerhouse on the right while over on the left Benson controlled the tempo as Rhys supported the forwards and defenders like the mature midfielder he is.
Then the North Star looked like they were going to take the lead from a diagonal run at goal. With Charlie between sticks, there was a ponderous moment as he read the play before he burst off his line and out to clear the ball just before the Star striker was able to direct the ball netbound.

I did say it was end to end and on one of our attacks, Lysander hit a beauty to the bottom right corner that was once again stopped by the ‘Jim Leighton’ of the U11s league. Not long after (either before or after) Ethan was robbed as the keeper expertly tipped his shot over the bar. But that wasn’t the worst of it! Another of Ethan’s hits ricocheted off the post – and from all accounts bar the referee – just crossed the line, but the goal was not given.

Sadly, this penultimate game didn’t see the goals that the amount of action, quality passing and team spirit warranted, and the result was the 1st goalless (though Ethan really did score a goal that any old VAR would’ve confirmed) draw of the Westside Wallabies season. Seemingly

Unfazed at the end, the boys seemed tired but in good spirits as Coach Brett handed out the coveted Player of the Day awards this week to Charlie for his solid defending (par for the course to be fair) and reading of the play, and Nash for his intensity throughout the match and for making space to give his teammates options. A takeaway from today might be a reminder that (as someone said to me, reiterating one of many infamous Aussie sayings) “we’re not playing for sheep stations”.

99.99% of us turn up every Saturday for the love of our kids, happy to see them off their devices, getting some exercise, learning some life skills and mixing well with their teammates. On occasion in the heat of the moment (and sick of listening to a 0.01 percenter) it’s easy for some of us (well maybe just one) to forget this, but it’s NEVER okay to bring behaviour more suited to the terraces of an old firm game, to our kids safe place.

U12 Warriors

The Warriors took the drive over the range to Samford for their Round 17 encounter. Both Coach Greg and Assistant Coach Shane were away for the match, with one of the dads, Josh, stepping in to manage the team on the day. The Warriors have had two losses to Samford in previous Rounds, and this was another tough encounter going down 2-nil in the end.