Let it B Let it B

We are the boys from old Fitzroy. We wear the colours, maroon and blue. Happy days are here again, dah dah dah d dah, happy days are here again dah….

Let it B, Let it B “When I find myself in times of trouble, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate loses to me.” There were some words of wisdom spoken behind the goals today and this is something I will return to.
To B Grade, or not to C Grade, that is the answer. B Grade, B Grade, here we come.

It was great to grab Peter Hille, Mick Moran, Charlie Hoskins and Rory and get a photo of us all after the game. Old Redders never die. We just go into B Grade, B Grade, B Grade. Back in the Sixties and Seventies we were always in the lowest grade of the Ammos. That’s why the marriage between the Reds and Fitzroy was meant to be.

Most reading know I am a smart arse of the first order but I am at a loss for words. What should be the reaction to our win today? Keep a lid on it derrinalphil; one week at a time, we still have a mountain to climb. Bugger it, B Grade B Grade B Grade. Go the Redders.

Saturday did not start out well. Laura rang in sick so young Master derrinalphil and I had to shoulder the morning’s work on our “Pat Malone”. Got to remove one wisdom tooth, rotten down to the gum line it was, but the applications of a straight elevator, a bit of skill, and some adept assisting by young Master derrinalphil, nothing to worry about. Out in less than five seconds, couple of sutures and we were on our way to the footy. It took our Roy Boys a little longer to extract the game from Mazenod but the result was never in doubt.

Down to Sandy and Pete immediately got into the health food, a hot dog, coke and an ice cream for lunch. Text message from Rob indicated that the bar was open. This week I knew to park in the street rather than pay twelve bucks to park along the beach. All looked good as the ball was bounced but I think the first quarter is worth looking at closely.
Dom, Scotty and Matty K were up forward. Once again we had a tiny forward line and while we ran over the top of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate it won’t happen next week. Look what happened in the last quarter when Roscoe went forward and took a few grabs. Racovalis must play next week!!!!!!!

One Mazenod player went down in the first quarter never to return, the first of many. They finished up with four players on the bench. Basically, they ran out of players. We had dominated general play but were only a few points up at quarter time. Once again our forward line was too small and was continually, and too easily, bumped off the ball. Once again our forwards refused to, “have a shot” and would look around for any option other than banging at the big sticks. The coach has banned forward handballs (he mentioned the “forward handball” at three quarter time) but I think he should ban unselfish forwards. It was comical in the second quarter when Won’t He Fenton looked once, twice and three times to lay the ball off but, luckily for us, Mazenod had covered all options so he coolly slotted the goal. In the last quarter Rory took a mark a few yards out and passed it off. This will come unstuck in a tight match. Speckie also went the low percentage, wide pass option when in easy goal kicking range several times. Let’s ban goal assists.

Steve Fenton, at quarter time, thought we should play an extra forward so our smaller forwards would not be isolated against their bigger opponents and we could restrict Mazenod’s movement out of their backline.

The second quarter was a ripper. We would score and they would reply. At the ten minute mark we seemed to be dominating the game but during this quarter, Cath, the only good looking and intelligent Tram Conductor, remarked that we let them in for a couple cheap goals. Ablett moved into the centre and started to use the ball decisively, both short and long. Brian made the comment that we were “certs” as long as Ablett stayed on the ball.

Right at the end of the quarter, in the goal square ,Won’t He Fenton was grabbed by the leg, seemingly for ever, tripped up and no free kick. It would have been a certain goal, (given he did not try to pass it off from the goal line), and the Tram Conductors went berserk. Then an interesting thing happened. Joan Eddie (the President) received a phone call and was asked to go and hose us down. There was a sicking odour of righteous indignation up behind the goals as protests, to Joan, were made but we shut up and enjoyed the rest of the game. I was annoyed as the rest of us but thinking back on it shows why the AMMOS are such a wonderful competition. O.K., the umps missed an obvious free kick while the game was still in the balance, but, we needed to get over it, move on so to speak. So it wasn’t Mother Mary speaking words of wisdom it was Joan Eddie.

Two up at half time.

The third quarter, the Premiership Quarter, was all Fitzroy. Mazenod were down to eighteen players and became more dispirited as the game wore on. Scotty Cations, The Scalpel, kicked a couple of goals, one from the boundary line a fair way out: beautiful to watch, one cut, down to bone, clean as a whistle.

Six up at three quarter time and we motored away in the last quarter. Speckie, who has been moving like John Ironmonger, started to glide around the forward line, putting on forward pressure and starting to look like last year’s dominate player. Josh once again got leather poisoning and Simco, especially early on, was probably our best player.

Dalts had a lump on his forehead but I assume he is O.K. No one injured and three chances to win a flag next week.

Go the Redders.