Our game against Mazenod was really a tough one to analyze.  A win would have put us right into top 2 contention and a loss put us back with the pack, so to say there was a lot on the line would be an understatement.  The lads obviously had plenty to play for but unfortunately the wonders of 2s footy took over our week and we went into the game with our most depleted squad for the year – we had anywhere up to 15 outs and started with only 2 on the bench.

Mazenod were all over us in the first half, they felt very little physical pressure and more or less did what they pleased.  Defensively they were just as good and choked us to the point that we failed to kick a goal in the half.  We were staring down the barrel of a 20 goal loss so we urged the lads to forget our limitations and aim to win the 2nd half.

Fortunately a few boys lifted and we fought back with a few nice goals and managed to stem the flow from Mazenod.  Unfortunately our first half meant that a win was beyond doubt, but we were happy that we showed enough pride to keep within 10 goals of the firing Nodders.  The game was not without positives -  Robbie Ralph showed his class & kicked 3 nice goals; Charlie Hess made a big return from his broken collar bone and shut down the dangerous Cunningham; Boz continued to show his class and Pirrie bought in some much needed grunt through the middle.

There was a lot wrong with what we did on Saturday, but at this stage of the season we have written off the loss and are moving on.  We will not dwell on it and we back ourselves to win the next 3 as we head towards September.