Round Robin 2 (Aug 15)
RESULT: LOSS 1-3
SCORERS: ANDY
And so ends another season! Unfortunately we lost to All Saints 3-1 so no Grand Final for us this year. But it was a fantastic game with everyone playing their hearts out to secure a win. Unfortunately our hopes were dashed when All Saints scored very early on in the first half and followed up with another shortly after. Being down 2 nil at half time when we need to score at least 4 goals to be in the running was not the best position to be in. But our boys never gave up and continued to give it their all even after All Saints scored their third goal. It was a nice finish when Andy scored the last goal of the season from a great shot off Alex which placed the ball right on the goal line and Andy neatly kicked it in.
It was a pity we didn’t make it any further but what a team and what a year it has been. Coming third on the points table was a fantastic effort, only 3 points behind the two top teams who were both in division one last year. Brilliant! So to all the boys, parents, grandparents and supporters, a big THANK YOU for a wonderful season. And to Gavin – thanks heaps for being a terrific and supportive coach – we all really appreciate what you have done for the team this year and of course, all the other years as well.

Round Robin 2 (15 Aug)
RESULT: Win 2-1
SCORERS: Zachary George 1 Marshall Luke 1
Quote of the day goes to Mic 1 minute into the game “why haven’t they scored yet to make me feel better”. Thankfully he didn’t have to wait too long as Zac put a great corner kick into the mix of players and we were up one nil. This was a great start against Pennant Hills as the honors during the season were one win each and they were ready to remind us.
Pennant Hills had some good opportunities with a shot just clearing the cross bar and a few breaks but once again our defence and midfield continued their season of keeping it tight and clearing the ball and with Sam making some great saves in goal the pressure started to build. This pressure led to another of Marshall’s great runs forward which put us up two nil and gave us a nice lead at half time.
At half time the boys were told that they needed to maintain the tight defence and positive attitude as Pennant Hills would come out fighting for their season which is exactly what happened with them now applying the pressure and scoring around 10 minutes into the second half.
This only spurred our guys on with even more determination to keep Pennant Hills from getting another shot and clearing the ball out of the danger zone. A couple of late opportunities to our forwards towards the end of the half just couldn’t find their mark and after a torturing 15 minutes on the side line the Ref blew the whistle to put us into the grand final. Another great effort by the boys and Mic to finish off the Round Robin with 2 wins.
This week’s player of the match went to Jack who didn’t stop defending the midfield and kept pushing the ball up front.

Round Robin 1 (8 Aug)
RESULT: DRAW 1-1
SCORERS: Nick Grul
Congratulations to PHD Team 16 on their best game of the season.
The first half saw PHD the more dominant and determined team with constant attack and good teamwork. Nick O combined well with the attack passing accurately, while Alex showed committed efforts in defense blocking the ball early. Matt P was persistent in attack with crisp passing and solid teamwork. Aiden successfully took over the sideline throw-ins from Harry with strong throws, allowing Harry to step into the role of goalie for the game and powerful goal kicks were a feature of his game. Mark showed great speed and skill in running down the ball and taking it from the defensive half up to the opponent’s goal. Nick G kicked strong cross passes and successfully landed our goal with a powerful and well-struck ball into the top corner of the goal. Unfortunately our many other shots at goal failed to find the net.
The second half saw Hawks more dominant in the later part and they managed to equalize the score.
Sam L was constant in tackling with effective passing and crossing the ball up into the attack, while Sam H was actively anticipating the opposition’s passes and intercepting before Hawks had a chance to clear.
This game’s feature was the much improved teamwork by the attacking forwarders of Sam L, Matt P, Nick G and Mark and they were unlucky not the secure the win for us.
Great game guys and an exciting game to watch!

Round Robin 1 (8 Aug)
RESULT: LOSS 0-4
An unfortunate start to the Round Robin being beaten by Glenhaven 4 nil. The game started with both sides pumped and determined to win. We got off to a cracking start and the game looked very evenly matched all the way through the first half ending up in a very tense nil all score at half time.
The second half wasn’t so kind to us – Glenhaven managed to score the first goal but we thought we could easily come back and even the score, but it would seem they had the psychological advantage over us and attacked our goal relentlessly scoring three more goals and leaving us in their wake. Not only did we lose, but two of our players managed to get yellow cards. The first went to Harry, because he didn’t take too kindly to one of their players being a little too persistent and pushy in trying to take the ball from him, so a minor scuffle occurred and the yellow card was produced. Zech got his card for simply turning his back too close to their goalie who couldn’t be bothered waiting until he was out of the way and smacked him fairly in the back with the ball. Luckily there were no further incidents so our team is still intact for next week’s game. Not too sure what happened to our team, maybe it was a bit of “jetlag” from ski camp or maybe they just caught us on a bad day, but heads up boys and let’s see what we can do next week to stay in the competition! Man of the match went to Mitch for an extremely difficult and arduous match – well played Mitch – it was a tough call.