Well it had to happen eventually! The Crocs have suffered their first loss for 2010 against a determined Uni Blacks outfit at the Crawford Oval on Saturday, going down by only 2 points.

The game was an enthralling contest that pitted two very different styles of play against each other. The Crocs have played a free-wheeling, aggressive running game and the Blacks , with their bigger bodies rely on far more contested football.  The first quarter began well for the Crocs, kicking with the aid of a handy breeze we were able to capitalise on some great ruck work by Duncan Parry to get the ball moving forward regularly. Ryan Pedler was again fantastic against a much larger opponent in defence and repelled many attacks, he was supported ably by Andy Jones whose defensive efforts were excellent. However some crucial skill errors kept Uni Blacks in the contest and they applied constant pressure in our defensive half and were rewarded with a 4 point lead at the first break.

A more composed effort was required by the group and greater accountability to control Blacks’ outside players who were giving us some headaches. The Diles were able to control the ball well through the middle of the ground and were patient going forward. A fabulous run from in-form half back Nick Silk was a great example of his willingness to create and run, and was rewarded with a goal to put the Diles 9 points up at the main break, holding the Blacks goalless with the wind. We had put ourselves in a good position to continue our winning run, however we knew that Uni would come back hard and the 3rd quarter was an excellent standard of rebound football, with both sides not willing to concede. An unfortunate knee injury to ruckman Duncan Parry threw a spanner in the works and Will ‘Alby’ Martin was thrown into the ruck for the remainder of the second half. Juzzy Arnold was getting his hands on the ball in the midfield and Sasan Misaghian began to find his touch in first game for the year.  The ball was moved continuously through the arcs with both team managing to put 3 goals on the board, with the Diles holding a 10 point break going into the final stanza.

With the centre square battle being controlled by Uni, it was a difficult start to the quarter for the Diles, with their bigger bodies starting to have a greater influence on the battle. Blacks got a run on and were able to kick two early goals to put them two points up. From here on in was a battle of attrition, with both sides prepared to hold the ball up in contests and wait for the opportunity to break. We had our chances going forward, however the conditions and the physical exertion of the players was beginning to have an impact with several errant shots on goal falling short and were cleared by the Blacks defence. The Diles back six worked tirelessly, and with the exception of the Blacks full forward, who managed to kick 7 of their 9 goals for the day, were well held. The clock continued to wind down as the ball went from contest to contest, we had our chances to win the game but ultimately it wasn’t our day. Hats off to the Blacks in a game that we allowed them to dictate and they were able to capitalise on our skill errors and poor decision making. We now look to the coming weeks and our chances to redeem ourselves and cement our place in the Top 2. And just as Socceroos captain Lucas Neill put it on Sunday morning, “Don’t jump off us too early”. The Crocs will bounce back!