| From the Committee
A great start to the day last Saturday (apart from the road works on Port Rd) with both the C and B grade notching up impressive wins against Portland.
The C Grade continue to thrive under the tutelage of Nick 'Daisy' Day and it was fitting to have such a comprehensive win to celebrate Tom Hyde's 150th game for the Club.
The B grade have been working towards a win and it was a good reward for effort. As mentioned in previous weeks the B's are a particularly young side but well led by Coach Tom Colebatch and Captain Nick Marwe.
We look forward to the continued development of the C and B grade throughout the season.
It is fair to say the A grade result was a tad disappointing. The match report below sums things up pretty well. What I will say though is that knowing the character of the group I am sure they will bounce back quickly and rekindle the intensity, support and confidence shown in the first two games of the season proper.
This week is Past Players Day as the A and B grade take on Sacred Heart OC and the C Grade Scotch at home.
We are also taking the opportunity to formally recognise 17 great servants of the SPOC FC as Life Members;
Phil Cheney
Andrew Beaven
Richard Milne
Andrew White
Fergus McLachlan
David Brooke-Smith
Adam Sheridan
Alex Bond
Guy Butterworth
Steven Worthley
Will Lyon
Ryan Florence-Rieniets
Matt Allen
Lachlan McEwin
Nic Bailey
Ben Kilsby
Sean Cantwell
We look forward to seeing you on Saturday as we celebrate the past, present and future of the SPOC Football Club.
Go SPOCCOS
You are invited to attend the 2016 SPOC FC Past Players Day.
When: Saturday 14th of May
Where: St Peter's Back Ovals
What: We will be inducting the new life members into the club We would love to see as many past and present players on the hill as we play SHOC and Scotch. For all past players your first drink is free and then will be some of South Australia's finest beer and wine to enjoy. Mr Milne will also be on the tongs turning the snags and creating some ripping cheese burgers for you all to tuck into.
We would love to see as many past players out there as possible to see the newest group of inductees into the life members club.
A Grade Match Report
PORTLAND 13.16 (94) defeated SPOC 5.12 (42)
Goal kickers: T Schulz 2, A Matheson, R Obst, L Trenorden, 1.
Best Players: H Hayward, T Fotheringham, B Haysman, T Butler, S Roberts.
In trying to describe the A grade game on Saturday, the word forgettable came to mind. But it was much worse than forgettable. As a proud football club we cant just write it off as a bad day, we cant ignore the warning signs, and we should recognize the symptoms. There was not enough commitment, not enough effort, not enough care for team-mates, or the members and supporters.
To kick only 5 goals on a smallish ground in good conditions, against a recognized bottom 4 side, was a really weak effort..
We did have lots of injuries, but we went into the game with a strong expectation that our senior players would stand up and provide leadership to the younger inexperienced boys who had been promoted to fill the gaps. We expected some inspiration, persistence, courage, but not enough of those characteristics were evident. Of our 5 best players, (and there were not many other contenders,) 3 were from the young first or second year players. Harry Hayward was terrific, really having a crack by putting his body in to mix it with the experienced and aggressive Portland players. Harry’s second efforts are a great example for the whole club. Ben Haysman showed his class, with great skills, courage and persistence, and Sam Roberts showed a very strong attack on the ball, particularly in the first quarter.
Of the older players, Tom Fotheringham really tried hard, never gave up and held the remnants of our defence together, and Tommy Butler continued his good form with great run and enthusiasm.
It is really important we don’t let such a poor performance get to us. This week we really need all players to get to training both Tuesday and Thursday, regain the confidence of just 2 weeks ago, and approach this week’s home game with enthusiasm and discipline. We can and should beat SHOC, and get the season back on track.
B Grade
SPOC 10.15 (75) d Portland 6.3 (39)
Goalkickers: Marwe 5, Robey 2, Kidman, Hunter, Faunt
Best: Marwe, Hunter, Woodard, Edwards, Robey, McLaren
The B grade were thrilled to see Jack Altschwager, Ryan Findlay, Angus Matheson, Ryan Obst and David Sawers make their A grade debuts for the season (Peter Matsoulaidis was also named in the A grade but pulled out due to injury). Whilst the B grade would always love to win more games, we also get great delight in seeing the development of players so they can play at the highest level when called upon.
Portland is one of the longer road trips we'll face this year, however it was really pleasing to see such a switched on squad ready to give the best. As was the case with the A's, we were missing a large number of regular players, though some new faces fitted in with ease. Henry Edwards was welcomed back to 'The Family', a group of seven or eight dour defenders with sufficient confidence to generate such a moniker. Tom Kaldis and Anthony Niarchos showed promising signs in a variety of roles, and provided great run on the wings in the last quarter. Charlie Kidman - when he wasn't offering his unique brand of trash talk - was a great target in the forward line and will be one to watch in the future. Cam Virgin played a cracking game as our ruckman, throwing himself into tackles with little regard for his own well-being. After a two year absence due to injury Sam 'Snowy' Valkonen returned and added immediate strength and experience to the midfield, and could consider himself unlucky not to be named in the best six.
The game itself was quite one-sided, with inaccuracy in front of goal the only downside in an otherwise pleasing performance. 'The Family' (Belperio, Colley, Blight, Carter, Edwards, Porter) had assistance through Hood, Faunt and McLaren, allowing few opportunities for their opponents. Faunt's last quarter left the coach wondering whether a more permanent role up forward should have occurred earlier in the season, with sound grabs and a superb ability to read to the play ahead. Hood - who had spells in pretty much every line - continues to impress and worked well when linking up with the midfield. Nick Algie returned to the B grade and was instrumental in finding the feet of the big forwards.
Our forwards worked tirelessly, with Marwe kicking five and could well have had double figures with a few more plucks sticking. Tom Woodard and Ed Trenorden are two young talented players who are beginning to work well together. Alex Robey played his finest game for a long time, and despite giving away his second 25m penalty in two weeks (hence earning himself another week of guernsey washing), was critical at stoppages. Tom Lawrie appeared to follow the coach's Thursday night advice to the letter, and got back in form via a Friday night on the tiles. It worked, with great run and carry through the midfield. Jamie Hunter continues to play well, especially during the third term when he drifted back to offer the Family some support. Valkonen and Porter were of great help throughout the day with the management of players onfield.
Whilst we are under no illusions that Portland were weak, this was an important game to win. Next week we have Sacred Heart at home, and depending on the player movements in the A grade, confidence of a second win is strong.
C Grade
PORTLAND FC 3.2.20
SPOC FC 22.20.152
3 games and 3 wins. An incredibly promising start to the season with another strong performance taking an away win at Portland. We travelled up port rd with many SPOC players understanding the trouble Portland had been facing with a recent forfeit for lack of numbers and 2 other very large losses. As a team it could be said we didn't pay our opponent enough respect in the first quarter and as football so often teaches us if we don't go into a match looking to play our role in the team and getting ahead of ourselves, results won't come our way.
Our first quarter was some of the worst football we have played this year, we had accountability issues in many positions on the ground and as a result we took a narrow 2 goal lead into quarter time. As a team we swung the changes and started to play the way we hope to through out the year. Although not kicking into top gear we started to control the play and this was reflected on the scoreboard.
Tom Hyde, as he has done in all our games this season was dominant in the ruck and celebrated his 150th in style. Nic Bailey, Matt Allen, Will Lyon, James Bartold, Nick Tideman and Ben Marwe were the main benefactors of Hydeys ruck work all running away with numerous clearances.
Toby Pym in his first game for the C grade legends was exciting and brought a massive amount of energy to our forward line. With 3 or 4 withdrawals of tall forwards we were left without a tall full forward, Co-captain Nick Cook took the reigns booting four goals and presented extremely well.
Guy Butterworth started down back but was thrown up forward in the last quarter and made the most of the opportunity, kicking 3 goals, which could have been 6 or 7 had he kick straight. TVR was another one who was thrown forward and offered a spark looking very dangerous and teamed up well with Tommy Wait to kick our "Team goal of the season" Oscar Rogers and Luc Minnicozi both kicked 2 and also looked menacing in the second half.
Nik Byrne, Harry Wilson, Simon Pigot, Tim Cook, Justin Christie Taylor and Jack Yates spent the majority of their time down back and all were very tight and played with a strong defensive mindset.
An enormous game for us this week against Scotch in a game which will certainly let us know where we sit. We all understand we have to perform for four quarters each playing our role.
The amount of players out of the A's and B's last week is sure to make selection this week a nightmare. Put your best foot forward by training as much as possible. Big week for us...
Up Coming Social Events
Past Players Day is to be on the 14th May on the Mighty Caterer. We will be inducting 14 new Life Members in a half time presentation. All past players will be offered one free drink on arrival and we would love to see you all make it. It would be a great way to catch up with some players who you may not have seen for some time and watch the new crop of players strut their stuff.
Country Day will be on the 16th July. Keep a look out for more details in next weeks newsletter.
The 1996 Premiership Reunion lunch to be held on Friday the 15th of July with The Factor organising the day it will be one not to miss.
End of Year Presentation will be held on the 24th of September, please add this to your diary, it will be a great night.
Player Auction Update
1st Group 7 on 12 points
2nd Groups 2, 5 and 8 on 8 points
3rd Group 6 on 7 points
A Grade Team
B Grade Team
C Grade Team
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