The Yass Roos had only their second loss for the season on Saturday, going down to the ADFA Rams in emphatic fashion by 46 points.
In front of a boisterous ADFA crowd, the ladder leading Roos struggled out the gate and conceded four unanswered goals in the opening term. It was clear to everyone in attendance that ADFA was up for the fight, and it was going to be an almighty task for the Roos to turn things around.
In the second quarter, the Roos began to wrestle back some of the momentum. Despite only narrowly winning the quarter, the competitiveness lacking in the opening term had returned, and the game felt more even than the scoreline suggested. Half time scores were ADFA 5.6-36 to Yass 2.2-14.
The third quarter was a similarly even affair, with ADFA narrowly winning the quarter but taking a verging on insurmountable 26 point lead into the final term.
ADFA kicked the first goal of the fourth quarter, and the game was essentially over at that point. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse for the Roos from there, as ADFA went on to run away with the game kicking four goals to one, as the ball barely left their forward half.
The final scores were ADFA 11.9-75, defeating Yass 4.5-29.
For the first time this season, the Roos had no multiple goal scorers. Amongst the best were dependable defender Peter Collins, speedy halfback Toby Serafin and powerful utility Jordan Hudson, who played his best game for the season.
The loss is a wake-up call for the Roos, as ADFA appeared the significantly fitter side. Like most sporting teams in the Yass Valley, the Roos have had an interrupted training regime in recent times due to grounds being closed, and Saturday was the first time they have seen the effects of this. Coaches Dominic Johns and Jarrad Forlonge will be eager to return to Joe O’Connor Park for training this week, as they aim to make the weekend’s performance an outlier and not their reality.
The loss is not as damaging to their premiership hopes as first thought, with fellow top-three side ANU forfeiting their game on the weekend against Goulburn, reportedly due to concerns regarding Covid in the area. The Roos have the bye this week and should finish in 2nd place if results go as expected.
The Murrumbateman Eagles will be disappointed after going down in an upset to the Molonglo Juggernauts by 9 points.
“It is disappointing. We got off to a great start and then kind of went into a hole. I think we were three goals up there at one stage and we just went back into really poor decision making and the confidence was shot down. To their credit they jumped on that and got away with the win,” said Eagles Coach Brent Fraser.
The Eagles led the game at every break, but in a five-goal to one final quarter, the Juggernauts stole what was only their third win for the season.
“They had nothing to lose and played off a lot of passion. They worked for each other and their crowd got behind them, and they showed a lot of excitement and that got them through.”
“For a side that was struggling all year they did really well,” said Fraser.
The final scorers were Molonglo 8.7-55, defeating Murrumbateman 7.4-46.
This year it’s been a common theme for the Eagles, as they are always competitive against the top sides but fail to really assert their dominance on the sides below them.
“We’ve definitely struggled coming up against those bottom sides all year. Against Yass and ANU we felt really competitive but we’ve struggled playing lower sides. We seem to not be able to take that next step up and show them why we are above them,” said Fraser.
The game was a traditional battle of the full-forwards with a new recruit to the Eagles, Jordan Flanagan kicking five and at the other end, Isaac Van Bockel kicking five himself for the Juggernauts.
“He (Flanagan) has just come on board. He had a good day out and they ended up double teaming him which is a good feather in his cap. He hasn’t played for a long time and moving out to the community has allowed him to play some footy,” said Fraser.
It’s been a frustrating year for the Eagles, who won their first three games of the season. Unfortunately, they’ve only managed three more wins from the nine games they’ve played post round three. Injuries and other unavailabilities have hampered their season, and one would imagine that it’s likely robbed them of a place in the top four.
“The ball hasn’t bounced our way this year in that regard and even on the weekend, no excuses at all, but we had a lot of guys pull out last minute with family commitments and some illness. They were good players and it’s been frustrating on that side of it all year but with one game to go I am proud of the way we’ve gone about our business when we haven’t had our full strength side in,” said Fraser.
Their final game for the season is against the Googong Hogs, who are similarly a mid-table side. However, despite the game having little consequence on the end of season result for both sides, the Eagles Coach emphasised its importance for his group, who are aiming for a better outcome in season 2022.
“As coach I just want to see the boys finish off strong. It’s our last game for the season and it’s been a frustrating season with injuries and I really want the guys to come away from the game, one with a win and two that they played to their ability. There’d be nothing worse than coming away from the last game and not finishing off strong,” said Fraser.
The Eagles get to play their final game for the year at Murrumbateman Rec Grounds starting at 2:00 pm.
Max O’Driscoll
