Footy returned to Bennettswood Reserve on Saturday, with Emmaus St Leo’s women’s team taking the field for the first time in many, many days. Proceedings kicked off at 9:20am against the Bulleen-Templestowe Bullants before the unfurling of the Animals’ reserves 2019 premiership flag. In typical triple header fashion, the men then systematically dismantled two Westbourne Grammarians sides, while elsewhere at Melbourne High School, the Thirds suffered a loss to bring Emmaus St Leo’s day to 2-2. Whilst it wasn’t the win the Emmaus St Leo’s women’s team were after, they did those watching on the sidelines very proud with the effort they produced, particularly in the second half.
First-year players in Vic Holt, Molly Tancred and Mel Barlow ran amok in the middle, providing a spark in an otherwise dour day for the Animals as the rain fell and the Bullants consistently piled on the goals. The first half showing from Bulleen-Templestowe had them 54 points up at the main break, but a rousing half time speech by Head Coach Roy Fenton kicked his charges into another gear for the last half of the game. Despite not making an impact on the scoreboard, there were some good signs for the team going forward.
Assistant Coach Geoff Koop believes that ‘there’s a lot of promise and potential in this group, and from all areas too.’ He lauds their reaction after halftime and ability to take it to a good side shows what the team is capable of. ‘When you have 16 debutants, either fresh to the game or still very early on in their footballing journey, there does need to be a level of expectation. That’s what makes the second half so pleasing.’
Although one player who wasn’t able to return for the Animals in the last half was first-year player Lilli Fogarty, after her valiant attack on the ball resulted in an injured collarbone in the second term.
The second half in question had the Bullants score only 1.9 after beating the Animals both on the scoreboard and to the ball in the first two quarters to go up 8.6.54 to 0.0.0. With the scoreline being relatively high, it should be said that the Emmaus St Leo’s backline stood up as well as they possibly could despite the onslaught, with debutant Eilish Wallace and newly-appointed captain and club stalwart Dee Burden embodying the Animals spirit for four quarters, deserving every bit of their best on ground commendations. Susan Sohar’s first game in the blue and blue was also best on ground worthy, with her efforts up and down the wings providing at least some run from the Animals’ halfback line.
For Koop, he sees the slow start as the biggest area of improvement, declaring that ‘you can’t start slow 14 times a year and expect to be competitive, but with some more experience and work on the track, this side will be a difficult team to face.’
This weekend, the Animals take on Hampton for their second home game in a row, with the Rovers coming off a comfortable win on their own turn against Oakleigh. There’s a competitive edge that Emmaus St Leo’s have that will allow them to take the game to their opponents, and it all starts at 9:20am. The Animals will have some seasoned players looking to make their return, but their depth of squad won’t be the only contributing factor as they attempt to get their first win of the season on Saturday.
