Match Report
Senior Match Report - 01/09/2008By Ziggy Arness
On a day conceived in Paradise and on a playing surface appearing almost manicured to match, the Dingoes faced up to their number one nemesis for the right to immediate passage into the Grand Final and its concomitant week’s break. The boys didn’t let themselves or their many supporters down, and are now only four quarters away from the ne plus ultra-the Flag! Who we will be facing off with is anybody’s guess; a proposed meeting of clairvoyants scheduled for this week has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. Despite the obvious competitiveness there is a state of comity between these two protagonists, and for the third time this year the contest was played out in a hard but fair manner. After some early profligacy, Dingley had built a respectable four-goal lead by half-time, due in no small part to the linking up of the Lavars boys, the ingenious work and deadly accuracy of Brett Gniel on the forward line and a couple of scintillating mop-ups and runs out of the backline by young Luke Bartholomew. Brooksy was playing the “I’m-out-here-on-my-own-kick-it-to-me” role to perfection, and it would be difficult to confute that he ended up with best on ground honours.
Many a sapient observer made the fallacious assumption at the main break that all that was left for Dingley to do was to extirpate the opposition in the third stanza. Instead it was a renascent Heatherton, aided by a couple of howling clangers from our boys, who clawed their way back to within 7 points. And those who had contended that our backline was indeed frangible under pressure seemed to have evinced some credibility.
Quinny is not one given to circumlocution and in a very understated three-quarter time address, discarded vehemence in favour of an impassioned plea for accountability. At the end of a see-sawing last quarter, the margin was 15 points. There was no unbridled enthusiasm, that sort of emotion can be put on hold until the conclusion of our next game in two weeks time. There was time to reflect on who our major contributors had been, such as Gnielsy, Brooksy, Morgs, Mainy, Paddy, the Lavars boys, plus many others who can hold their heads high. Turcs battled through despite being on medication for illness and showed sporadic bursts of class and brilliance. He will cause much more damage next time we play.
The twos will have to come through what is known in rowing terms as a repechage to earn the right for a tilt at the flag. In what was a strangely low-scoring affair considering the perfect conditions, we always managed to stay in touch with the premiership favourites, but a couple of quick Heatherton goals in the last ten minutes of play told the tale. Kent Waring, Justin Caine, Andrew Park, Spudda, Adesy, Parky and Sess toiled hard and they all showed enough to suggest that they can turn it around if they get another crack. Even getting that chance may not be as easy as it sounds because Murrumbeena have a strong Reserves team which may now be further bolstered by the eligibility of some of their seniors. A formidable hurdle to overcome and one that will require maximum effort from Sessler’s boys.
A long season of previously unparalleled frivolity in the outer is slowly drawing to a close. No-one has embraced this atmosphere of levity more than our man Feehan whose banner proclaiming the peregrination of the Five Ways boys would have had many of the estimated 1500 strong crowd at the ‘Vale somewhat bemused, if not totally discombobulated.
This week another sizeable contingent of Dingley diehards will sample the culinary delights of the Springy RSL prior to once again taking up their vantage spot on the terrace. They will not only watch the Reserves but they will cast an interested eye on the senior game to see who will earn the right to have a crack at the Dingoes for the Holy Grail. By no means wishing to imprecate disaster upon one’s foes, I still hope they beat the living crap out of each other!
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