2016 ROUND 16 V FITZROY

Teams	1st Q.	2nd Q.	3rd Q.	4th Q.
Beaumaris	3.3:21	8.4:52	11.7:73	15.10:100
Fitzroy	3.5:23	7.6:48	16.9:105	18.12:120
Goalkickers : Rob Cathcart 5, Adam Schneider 3, Daniel Gribbin 2, Josh Ward 2, Drew Kelly 2, Damian Johns 1.

No	Player	No	Player	No	Player	No	Player
2	Robert Cathcart	3	Matt Petering	7	Tom Dean	8	Josh Ward
11	Scott Braithwaite	12	Scott Gower	13	Will Murton	14	Adam Schneider
16	Sam McBain	17	Anthony Carroll	18	Will Edmonds	19	Joel Di Natale
22	Steven Scott	23	Ben McLean	25	Daniel Gribbin	28	Jack Gabron-Uhe
29	Tim Cummings	35	Luke Globan	41	Damian Johns	45	Drew Kelly
55	Will Gillespie	56	Nick Dickinson

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"We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass."

Brian Clough (English football player and manager).

Teams are often motivated by different things. Some teams don't need any motivation. Going into Round 16 we were sitting nicely on top of the ladder in a position where we couldn't drop out of the top two positions. Fitzroy were in third position but, if Monash and Old Scotch were to win, and Fitzroy were to lose, they'd drop from third to fifth and then have to rely on other teams' results to get back into the four. As it turned out, both Monash and Old Scotch did win but Fitzroy were able to keep their own destiny firmly in their own hands rather than relying on other teams' actions. They also did it by playing a committed brand of football that was virtually unstoppable in the third quarter.

Unfortunately our ever reliable cameraman made a rare mistake and he was waiting for the start of the game at Banksia Reserve in Beaumaris. By the time he realised his mistake and made it to the Brunswick St Oval there was only 5 minutes remaining in the second quarter. This was a pity as it was in the first half that we played our best football. While a little sluggish coming off the bye round we were still able to lead going into half time, although Fitzroy had shown glimpses of what was to come with some towering marks and fast ball movement through the corridor. We lost McBain in the first quarter to a double whammy, concussion and possibly a broken ankle (as it turned out the ankle isn't broken) but these things have to be dealt with.

At half time we were leading 8-4-52 to 7-6-48. Gribbin had 2 goals, Kelly 2, Schneider 2, Cathcart and Johns 1 each.

In previous rounds we would have gone on with the game in third quarter. Unfortunately we were about to be hit with a perfect storm and it hit very quickly. Within 20 seconds of the ball being bounced Fitzroy had the first goal for the quarter. They kicked another 4 goals before we registered our first for the quarter. However, we did show that we can score quickly. Schneider sharked Fitzroy's Gaites (#120) tap and passed perfectly to Di Natale. A quick hand off to Dickinson and he found Cathcart on the lead. In all it took 12 seconds from the ball being thrown up till Cathcart took the mark and went back and slotted our first for the quarter. Unfortunately it only took Fitzroy 60 seconds to score the reply through Luke Baker (#31). Fitzroy kicked another goal before Cathcart added his second for the quarter. Fitzroy then kicked another reply to Cathcart's goal before Ward kicked his first for the game. Unfortunately for us, Fitzroy added another two goals to bring their tally for the quarter to 9 while we managed just 3. Braithwaite our only notable ball winner with 11 disposals for the quarter. We went into the final break in unfamiliar territory, trailing by 32 points. The 3/4 time scores; 11-7-73 to 16-9-105.

The final term was going to be a test for the team and it was also going to be a challenge. Within the first 12 minutes of the quarter Cathcart kicked his fourth, Schneider his second, Ward his second and the margin was back to 13 points. With nearly 18 minutes still remaining it looked like we were going to reel Fitzroy in and send them crashing out of the top four. But Fitzroy were not going have any of that and with the next 2 goals to Daniel Bisetto (#11) and Corbin Stevic (#67) they were back out to a 25 point lead. Cathcart kicked his fifth for the day but the contest was over. The final margin was 20 points. Braithwaite and Schneider both had 8 disposals for the quarter. The umpires must have lost the peas from their whistles as only 3 free kicks were paid for the quarter.

In the end Fitzroy deserved their win and they will be a side to be aware of in the finals. Football is a funny game and on any given day any team is beatable.

Don't you just love the footy.

Go sharks.