Round 11 Newsletter

Gala Dinner - Saturday 24 July. The Gala is going to be huge, generosity from the Wellers' community has meant some great auction items. Click here to get a sneak peak of what's on offer. More auction items needed too! For the RSVP form click here. RSVP date is Frid 16 July.

There will be a tour of the new rooms this Saturday for those interested. The Tour will take place at 11.30am.

Senior
The Wellers took 5th placed Rupertswood, currently in 4th spot on the ladder, with a 6 point break on the opposition. Last time we met Rupo, we got up by 4 points. It was an excellent opportunity to gain a 10 point break, making finals almost a certainty, added to that club stalwart Benny “The Clamp” Craven was playing his 150th game and all involved were fired up for the big game. Unfortunately we experienced slow start, and under immense pressure from Rupo, a 44 point lead was opened up at the first break. It was difficult to apportion blame to any particular area of the team as the problems were occurring all over the ground. On ballers lacking accountability, defenders struggling to stay in touch with their opponents, and forwards who simply were not able to retain the ball inside their forward 45 to create scoring opportunities. The remainder of the game was spent playing catch up footy, but to the boys credit, they did “knuckle down” to the task at hand, and matched Rupo goal for goal thereafter, reducing the final margin to 32 points. Key players for Camberwell were Cam Wilson, who attacked everything that came his way, Steve Romanin who was very focused, and effective, in his "run with" role, Ruckman Simon Bonyhady, on baller Mitch Hough & Jack Duke. 

Reserve
Starting the game with only 18 fit players and an injured Daniel Schmidt as emergency on the bench it was always going to be a test. In a slow start we found ourselves 3 goals down after 10 minutes. Playing on a surface that was extremely soft underfoot, it took 15 minutes before we became used to the conditions and managed to get our first goal. With Jon Derry then dominating the Ruck we took control of the game and it was another 50 minutes before Rupertswood scored their next goal. . After moving Brett Cottrell into the middle of the ground during the first quarter he proceeded to put on a football clinic for the next 3 and half quarters, while Peter Storey continued his recent good form from his wing and Jarrod Collins was his usual steady influence in defense, well supported by our new found half back Matt Woodbridge. It was great to have Dan Morley back playing football again after his recent injuries and his long clearing kicks from half back created some exciting forward thrusts. The combination of McKenzie and La Fontaine to deliver 5 goals each gave us a sure avenue of attack. Again Tristan Berenger provided a controlling influence in the forward line. A special welcome to our newest member of the team Luke Smith, who slotted neatly into the side and provided excellent support on the ball.

Under 19
With only 16 available and fit players the challenge to redeem our rd 2 loss against Old Melbournians was a huge one. The importance of gaining the four points was paramount to our aspirations of playing finals football. A win could potentially have us in fourth place on percentage. We got off to a flying start kicking the first two goals; however our opposition hit back kicking two of the next three goals. It quickly became apparent that the team that would go inside their attacking 50 would most probably win the match as both forward lines looked very dangerous. Unfortunately we didn’t fully capitalise missing some fairly easy shots. At quarter time we held a 19 point lead. In the second our intensity at the contest and willingness to chase stopped allowed the opposition right back into the game, levelling the score at one stage. Two quick goals late in the quarter allowed us to head in to the main break holding a 12 point lead. After few strong words and challenge thrown to some players the 3rd quarter started with great intensity and commitment. This dedication was most pleasing to see with all players rising to the challenge placed upon them. Unfortunately we only managed to kick four goals four behinds throughout our dominance. A 26 point lead at the final change was well deserved and definitely needed. With some badly tiring bodies and some injuries not to return, the team was asked for one last effort. This effort was given in spades for 15 minutes of the last quarter getting out to a 30 point lead. The last 10 minuets of playing time yielded no score for us and 3 very quick goals from Old Melbournians sent a scare through the entire group but some sure hands and heads deep in defence ensured we closed out the victory. One the entire club can be very proud of!

Under 18
It’s fair to say that after the last few weeks, our season had well and truly come back down to earth with a big thud! Two solid defeats against the top two sides from U18 North and we had slumped from top of U18 South to fourth in the new Division 1 – only one game ahead of fifth place. Despite increasing numbers through attracting additional registrations, we are yet to field a full team. This week’s game was really crunch time for us. We were to play fifth-placed St Bedes/Mentone Tigers who were 4 points behind us. Win this one and we put a 2 game buffer between us. With 2 new signings, we had Josh Kennedy put his hand up and commit to playing a full game for us before playing for the U19s and we had our Assistant Coach, Rockson Kwok, put his hand up to play before he goes under the knife this week for another knee reco. We had 20 players for this important game with a change in personnel of 14 from the last time we played them in Round 7. Considering the number of players unavailable, the ‘newbies’ and underdone blokes returning to play, this was our best team effort so far this year. This game proved to us all how important bonding together, talking, communication, encouragement and on-field support is in creating the foundation for a team to perform at its best. Old Camberwell’s U18s didn’t raise the bar in this game. They finally decided to put the bar down on the ground, forget about it and focus on combining as a communicating, supporting, encouraging UNIT. Everyone in the team contributed to this win which consolidates our position in the four. Thanks to you all for a wonderful team effort. Through a quirk of fixturing, we now play St Bedes/Mentone Tigers again at their home ground next Saturday.

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