ROC coach Hayden Stanton lays down the law to his charges at threequarter time on the weekend.ROC seniors were outplayed by a side hungrier for the ball and now have to fight their way back into the five, after a disappointing loss to Pakenham on Saturday.
Despite leading for most of the game, ROC could not withstand the strong finish by the Lions and were completely overrun in the final term against the strong breeze.
The Lions could have had the game sewn up much earlier, but poor kicking for goal, largely due to the pressure applied by the Kangaroos, allowed ROC to keep its nose in front for the first three quarters.
However a total of 41 scoring shots to 17 showed that Pakenham was superior for most of the day and deserved the win.
There will be plenty of soulsearching ahead for the Kangaroos who need to find quick answers to their inability to stay with the top teams for the four quarters.
Both sides were hard hit by injuries prior to the game, but Pakenham was better able to lift its output to cover the losses and played the conditions much more effectively than ROC.
Ben Tivendale, Tyler White and David Main worked tirelessly for the Kangaroos, but their efforts were not given enough support to turn the tide.
Scores: Pakenham 13.28.106 d ROC 7.10.52.
Goals: Anthony Jones 3, Nathan Jones, Clint Williams, Darren De Jong and Kevin Quinn, 1.
The Elders WGF Player Awards went to Ben Tivendale, Tyler White, David Main, Luke McGee and Anthony Jones.
RESERVES
A disappointing loss for ROC as the injuryhit Kangaroos went down to a committed Lions outfit at Pakenham on Saturday.
The Lions played the windy conditions much better than the Kangaroos and scored a welldeserved eightgoal win.
The Kangaroos were forced to call on three under18 players to help make up numbers due to injuries and unavailability.
The young Roos Damien Talbot, Sean Sullivan and Scott Rankin acquitted themselves well in their second game for the day.
The disruption caused to the team by the many changes resulted in a lack of cohesion and numerous turnovers.
The Kangaroos were not able to make good use of the strong breeze and struggled for accuracy by both hand and foot.
There were good performances from Peter Tucker, Phil Johnson and Luke Byrne, but few other highlights for the Kangaroos.
Scores: Pakenham 12.7.79 d ROC 4.3.27.
Goals: Rhys Nisbet 2, Luke Byrne and Damien Talbot, 1.
The Shanika’s Restaurant, Berwick Player Awards went to Peter Tucker, Phil Johnson, Steve Nuutinen, Steve McIntyre and Luke Byrne.
UNDER 18
The young Kangaroos went down by 11 points in a close match against Pakenham.
In very windy conditions, Pakenham got off to a good start kicking three goals in the first quarter and keeping ROC scoreless.
The remainder of the game was a close struggle in very trying conditions with the breeze playing a big part in determining the scoring opportunities.
The Kangaroos had the breeze in the last quarter, but were unable to bridge the gap created by Pakenham’s firstquarter efforts.
Scores: Pakenham 8.8.56 d ROC 6.9.45.
Goals: Brenton Cowell 2, Max Sanderson, Scott Rankin, Jamie Glen and Nathan Phillips, 1.
The Hermitage Homes Player Awards went to Sean Sullivan, Scott Rankin, Nathan Phillips, Robert Borlase and Shaun Main.
CLUB NOTES
The Annual Sportsman’s Night this Saturday promises to be a big night.
Guest speakers include Brian Taylor, Danny Frawley and Doug Hawkins, plus popular comedian ‘Pommy’ Johnson.
Tickets are $50 and include a sitdown meal, happy hour and lucky door prizes.
For bookings phone Dick Francis on 0438 401 405.
