The reserves team came into the round 5 clash against St Bedes full of confidence after a very solid performance the week before.
Another small ground welcomed us and whispers of Simon Meehan being the groundsman down at Brindisi Street came to mind! It was going to be difficult as both teams had to counter a wet centre square more suited to mid July and dry outfield.

The boys from Brindisi struck first and then two more times as the boys in black and red tried to find their bearings. After the initial onslaught, David Sapuppo, Dan Rush and Chris Larkins all kicked truly and by quarter time the score line was close to square.
The second quarter was much better and goals were free flowing, kicking with the wind. Liam Ginnivan was hitting packs and dishing off to anyone interested and Dan Rush chipped in kicking four for the quarter. Josh Douglas and Tim O'Meara contributed singles to boost the score in our favour. Tackling pressure, first use and quick movement were on the menu for the ensuing 25 minutes. And coming into the half, we scooted out to a three goal lead which was probably a fair result.
Something or someone changed the menu after the break and the main course orded turned out half cooked as our mojo went missing and the backline in Pete Ryan, Jack Davies, Brent Coburn and co were under fire with Andre' the Giant kicking 3 relatively easy and quick goals. It was an unfortunate sight from the boundary line that our boys couldn't help out down back and this was a common thread for the rest of the game. Patty Myers went down with a back injury which left the backmen a tad short and as mentioned, no help was given to Jack Davies and Pete Ryan in their efforts to stem the big forward from Mentone. A lesson learned me thinks and something to think about, as it's good when things go your way like they have in the past four games, but when we come under fire, everyone needs to chip in and help out!
Going into the final quarter, we were in front by the barest of margins, kicking with a slight wind yet with a depleted bench (no excuses I can tell you that). Again we let St Bedes kick long and high into their forward line without any real pressure and what happened in the final few minutes showed us again that it's not always just up to the backline to defend!
Very disappointing effort but something to learn from going forward.
Notable mentions go to Liam Ginnivan, Josh Douglas, Chris Larkins, Matt Walsh who all put their bodies on the line, something a few of our boys could learn from. Dan Rush again kept us in the game with another bag - 8 goals out of 14.
Finally thanks to the umpires for their sporting gesture prior to our game in memory of past president Robin McCooey.