Peninsula vs Old Ivanhoe

The first match of the year against Peninsula OBs promised to be good early test; Peninsula had come down from B-Grade and if past indications are any guide, relegated sides often return to their previous grade immediately.

After a typical early dead-eyed Adrian Del Monte snap, Peninsula managed to equalise and then took an early lead flowing from some good overlap through the middle of the ground to result in their 2^nd goal.

Peninsula’s lead was short-lived however following a strong mark and goal to “General” Brandon Lee.  Not long after Nick Reeves-Smyth also marked strongly & kicked truly.

At ¼ time OIGFC 3.4.22 led Peninsula OB 2.2.14

The 2^nd Quarter saw OI begin to take control of the game.  With onballers Sam Wilcox and 1^st gamer Daniel Cookson racking up possessions and “General” Lee causing major headaches up forward, it was only a matter of time before the Peninsula dam wall began to crack.  Goals to Adrian Del Monte and Nick Reeves-Smyth extended the lead, which by half time stood at an even 5 goals with OIGFC on 7.9.51 and Peninsula 3.3.21

The 3^rd quarter saw Peninsula kick the opening goal to give them some hope of reeling in the OI lead.  These hopes were snuffed out almost immediately when Adrian Del Monte snapped truly after an unselfish assist from Nick Reeves-Smyth.  Nick himself kicked the next goal which was followed soon after by another to Daniel Cookson, the result of some sustained forward line pressure that eventually saw a swarm of OI jumpers streaming towards goal.

By now the lead had swelled to close to 50 points which effectively put an end to the contest.  Richie Skok was causing havoc across half-back, running the ball superbly and opening the opposition up repeatedly.  Deeper in defence, Tom Kellock provided further evidence of his continual development and improvement and showed excellent poise at fullback.

To the credit of Peninsula, the ¾ time deficit of 51 points was reduced to six goals by the end of the game, with the final score being 16.15.111 to 11.9.75.

Congratulations to the four debutants, Daniel Cookson, Justin Powick, Matt Vacirca and Sam Keogh, the latter two who were members of last year’s U19s Premiership side.  All 4 handled themselves with aplomb.

Best Players: R Skok, S Wilcox, A Del Monte, M Mitris, D Cookson & T Kellock

Goals: A Del Monte 5, N Reeves Smyth & B Lee 3, D Buttifant & M Del Monte 2 & D Cookson