Old Ivanhoe vs Parkdale Vultures (U19s)

Emotions were high after former President (and Legend of the club) Kevin McLean unfurled the 2017 Under 19 premiership flag.

A scoreline tells it all. A closely fought contest where a mix of accuracy for Parkdale and Inaccuracy for OIGFC resulted in a 5-point nail-biter.

Amidst clearing rain and wind, the OIGFC U19s were challenged on the Section 2 stage, where OIGFC going up a section, were met by Parkdale who had come down for Premier section in 2017. There were hints at their B-grade senior side, holding space well and forcing OIGFC to lift their accountability.

The combination of Jones, Minehan, McIntyre and Willison in the centre had plenty of opportunity coming the way of Old Ivanhoe’s forward line, but the real catalyst for Old Ivanhoe’s gritty 4 quarter performance was Zambelli whose desperation and hardness at the ball drew praise at half time. Coach O’Neill asking Zambelli’s teammates to lift their hunger to his level and not let him go at it alone.

The Back Six worked tremendously hard, with late cramp indicating just how hard they were running. The Coulter brothers, Knorr & Davies were defensive rocks for OIGFC, and were well supported by others who rotated through.

How the team moves the ball forward and impacts the goal will be a focus for the training track this week. However, in this game with a funny shaped ball, the end result could have been different with a dribbling shot on goal from Willison almost making him the hero of the day in the final moments.  The final scores were Parkdale 11.8.74 v OI 9.15.69.

Old Ivanhoe Grammarians