Griffin Tale Round 6

Catch y’all at Snowy Oval, Cooma for what will be a memorable tripleheader in the Snowys!

Congratulations to Jono Dean who runs out for his 150th game for the club this weekend. An absolute stalwart of the Griffos whose achievements are far too many to mention (but we will give it a crack). 'Snags' Dean boasts an impressive CV as a two-time premiership captain (amongst his lazy four flags with the club) as he led the Ressies from 2013-2016. He has shown no signs of slowing down though, earning himself the 2020 Best and Fairest where he spearheaded the midfield to another Ressies premiership. He backed this up with with more B&F honours in 2021 and he’s not showing any signs of slowing down.

Jono is one of the most loved Griffs, best known for his ferocious attack at the footy, playing 100% gametime for whole seasons and gently letting his teammates know when he thinks they could do a few things better. Jono is always the loudest to sing the song in the changerooms and the first to check in on you after the game showing his genuine care for people at the club.

The club is a much better place thanks to Jono's involvement and we all thank him for everything he has given for us. 150 more?

A - is for Adam, I had no idea beery had a first name

B - is for Had's last quarter bag of goals

C - is for coffee's before the game thanks to mountys Canberra connections to his regular suave cafe

D - is for debut, well done Charlie Kenna unreal effort

E - is for evaluating our goal kicking ability

F - is for fun

G - is for Gus the dog making me do this

H - is for Heff

I - is for Izzy and Ine, who's efforts don't go un-noticed

J - is for just can't believe i thought this was a good idea

K - is for kierens model shots

L - is for laundry, Beery and Wello lots of respect for you two especially a white football kit

M - is for Mug, well deserved Wello too bad Eurovision was calling (Ukraine unreal am I right)

N - is for Never give up, the attitude Griffos show every contest

O - is for overall unreal effort from the boys

P - is Pride round

Q - is for quick, try and keep track of Josh Macdessi because he makes fast people look not fast

R - is for Ruckman, credit to Damo and Sammy, f*ck I'm glad I'm a small

S - is for Silky skills, how good is alliteration right

T - is for Tuan , solid coaching performance and encouragement of the corporate wear

U - is for unreal, just ask Guy how many times I say unreal or just look above

V - Is for vodka Cruisers at Hellenic, ask Robba

W - is for "watt a mark from Connor Watt right at the death of the game"

X - is for x-factor, what Harry campbell brought to the backline

Y - is for Y is mounty in my girlfriends mums bed (context my girlfriend's mum was not in the bed)

Z - is for Zero "thats how many positive reviews i will get from this Tale"

Saturday’s game marked an important milestone for the club- the annual pride round. Not only does this game mark a milestone for LGBTQIA+ members in the club, but it is also a very important game for our friends at Diversity ACT. Last Saturday was also Gracie’s wedding- a very busy day for everyone involved (congrats Gracie woooo)!!!

Our morning started off at the ripe hour of 8:30am, where the Buzzies (miraculously) arrived despite having an approx. 5% attendance on training last Tuesday and Thursday. No, it wasn’t Covid, it was much worse- the Hellenic-flu. We kicked off with an intensive (wet) warm up which set the intent for the day. The game was preceded by the presentation of our Pride Jerseys, which were beautifully designed by members of the griffs community. Unfortunately- many of the buzzies did not consider their choice of underwear for Saturday’s game. Following many photos in our jerseys and special gear (and the juggernaut’s lack thereof), the game was pre-empted by a speech from Diversity ACT, which reminded us of the history and importance of this round.

The game started off a bit wobbly. With the Juggernauts quickly securing 3 goals within the first half. After a bit of a rhythm reset in the halftime, the buzzies played incredibly during the third quarter (championship third, foot on the throat, wrecking ball quarter etc. & all of the above), and played arguably one of the best quarters of football we played all season. Securing our first goal by Larkey, the quarter brought us to the front of the scoreboard. Unfortunately, we were unable to hold off the Juggernauts in the final quarter, with the final score ending at 38-28 to the Juggs.

Whilst we didn’t secure the outcome we were hoping for, it was an incredibly proud day to be a member of the Griffs. Not only did I feel lucky to be a part of a community that is supportive towards all members, but the ability of the team to keep our spirits high and fight until the last second of the fourth quarter shows the strength and grit of the girls on our team- the loss will always come second. I’m very excited to get back into training this week, working to fix any errors we observed on Saturday, and training harder than ever before to bring back the (boot scootin’) win.

Go buzzies!!!

I sit here recapping Saturday and the burning question I face is "how do I know less about Molonglo after playing them?" They are a juggernaut of unanswered questions: a juxtaposition of incredible warmth and support, but the ability to antagonise instantaneously.

Over its 115 kilometre course, the Molonglo River alternates between long broad floodplains and narrow rocky gorges several times. Perhaps these broad floodplains, which provide rich soil fertility to surrounding agricultural land, epitomise the welcoming spirit of the club. And perhaps these narrow rocky gorges signal a warning to tread carefully. Or maybe the Piallago Estate olive grove that thrives on the Molonglo River provides the pinnacle metaphor: the Jugs are a team who will selflessly extend an olive branch, but with a couple of thorns that will hurt you if you blindly accept.

Maybe we will never have the answers to the nuanced existance of Molonglo, maybe it's okay for every 4th grade comp to have one team with existential ambiguity; but on the whole we had the answers to their best efforts on field.

Buoyed by our 4 debutants in Mitchell "2001: A Space" Oddy(ssey), "Young" Henry Schlechta, Alex "Flat Track" Bulley and "Dorsal" Finn Bradford, we left the pre-game meeting buoyed by the new energy, and pondering how Henry had gone to every training even while catching covid. Maybe a bit of pre-game pondering helped take our mind off the excruciation that a gentle warm-up had somehow given in muggy conditions, because we started the game pretty red-hot.

There's an old "mi casa su casa" style adage that applies to 4th grade footy: "well if you back Will Backwell well, Will Backwell will back you well as well". And in a physical game, that rang true, with swarms of bigger bodies unable to contain the man. Harvey Clements had a larger clearance figure than the Molonglo River Bridge Crossing and alongside Nilers, put it on a silver platter for the forwards.

The "kick it to Skronk" plan worked perfectly, to the tune of 6 goals; and Downers got in on the action with 3. I even found the recipe to set shot kicking with a poke in the eye affecting my depth perception enough to make me think I was within range. Rich, Wags, and Gus also hit the scoreboard, which Gus and I would later celebrate with frappes at Maccas.

Finn Sleigh won just about every tap, at a ground where an effective tap was at a premium - given they mostly just spurted out uncomfortably warm water. While we're on the subject, thanks to Izzy Van Ree for running for us and somehow finding the holy grail that is chilled water.

The Woden Light Rail Project wasn't the only thing under construction on the eastern side of Phillip Oval, with about 90% of our possession chains out of defence being built on the far wing. For that we can thank Ed Lowe and Gus's run down the wing, and the marking prowess of Tom Michie and Simon Tuan. As an aside, mark 2030 in your diaries as the year that Tuanny's 500th game coincides with the opening of the light rail.

Finally, a shout out to the ever-reliable Tory, Scotto, Thorney, Murph and Arch in the backline who battled a few man-mountains and performed a Scrivener Dam like regulation of Molonglo's flow.

And for those that just wanted to know the score rather than a deeply philosophical and hydrological assessment of the game, we won 106-40.

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Hello Round 7 !!

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Player profile: Al Thorne

MLNG1001:Molonglosophy

By Ryan 'Smiles' Mannes

We are excited to announce our partnership with Capital Brewing!

MARSH Insurance cover - the must know's

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