In what would be the final hitout for the first half of the season, strong numbers flocked to RMIT University on Saturday June 10th to first battle security at the front gate, before getting one last all-important SAFL run up their sleeves prior to the Swans officially splitting up for summer-break.
In true mid-year Vietnam style, the heavens opened up just minutes before the first bounce, to wash off the sins of Friday night and set the scene for a scrappy yet fiercely contested Round 2 of the SAFL season. This time the Bears teamed up with the Tigers, as back-to-back premiership Bears Ryan Tishler and Jono McKay licked their lips at the thought of once again leading their collective to glory against the formidable and well-drilled Crocs/Vipers combination, however Rusty Clarke and Will Sandman had other ideas and it was evident from the opening bounce.
The Crocs/Vipers midfield got the upper-hand early on the back of some great tap ruck-work from Hannah Walsh and solid positioning from Rusty, Will and Brodie around the contest, which resulted in a couple of early goals and a great start to the game for the home team, holding a 3 goal lead going into the first break. The Bears/Vipers had their opportunities but were incredibly poor in front of goal, an area that would haunt them throughout the course of the day.
The Vipers had their own accuracy issues in the 2nd quarter, but were still dominant around the ground with their players seemingly having more run in the legs and a bit more desire at the coalface. They attacked the big sticks relentlessly again, and although somewhat inaccurate, managed to keep the opposition goalless for the entire first half and went into halftime with a 30 point lead.
The ladies on both sides took centre stage in the last half with some great footy from both sides, Brodie looking especially dangerous and cult hero Tram-oi throwing herself at every contest, while Katie, Evrena and Jen did their best to turn things around for the away side with some great attack on the footy and link-up through the middle of the ground. The Bears/Tigers clawed back some of the lead, before a couple of quick late Crocs goals and a disgusting miss by fan favourite Cam King from 30cm out saw the game all but over at three-quarter time.
The Bears/Tigers came back hard in the final quarter with great goals from both Katie and Jen, however not enough to bridge the gap and the Crocs/Tigers ran out easy winners in the end.
Final Scores
Crocs/Vipers
3.3 – 21, 4.8 – 32, 6.10 – 46, 7.11 – 53
Bears/Tigers
0.1 – 1, 0.2 – 2, 1.9 – 15, 3.13 – 31
Goalscorers
Crocs/Vipers – Will 3, Trenta 2, Rusty 1, Dino 1
Bears/Tigers – Andy G 1, Katie 1, Jen 1
Best Players
Crocs/Vipers – Brodie 3, Rusty 2, Will 1
Bears/Tigers – Cam Pirret 3, Katie 2, Bill Crang 1
