ANOTHER GREAT SONG, BUT LET’S CHANGE THE ENDING!

In what turned out to be a very close – and after last week – very courageous match, the Twos had some of their best performers step up to the Seniors (Steph Amy, Jess Anticaglia, Liz Olney and Aspen Wagner), with six replacements in total filling the ranks. And filling in with style it must be said. Sadly though, the Two’s gutsy and irrepressible captain Vette Godby was injured in the first quarter and taken to hospital with a suspected broken leg (thankfully not the case).

Still very much in it in the third quarter with just one goal the difference, the Roy W2s held

Old Caulfield to the wire, owning the football for the ensuing 18 minutes. But with the footy gods still continuing to deny us, Old Caulfield got away with one in the very last minute.

With Vetty out of the game, vice captains Emma Bourke and Ruby Thompson stepped up, putting in stellar performances, with Ruby amongst the best on grounds along with Anna Morrow and Clare de Stefano. 

In what’s becoming an all too familiar story, yesterday's game for the Women’s Ones was another one we let slip. But the refrain also features the story line of another great performance marked by courage and determination in spades. With seven changes and four senior debutantes – a tantalising mix of 2017 foundation players in Jess Anticaglia and Liz Olney, first year players Step Amy and Aspen Wagner, and 16-year old Sara Lay joining older sister Amelie, this squad was never going to give up without a fight. 

And hard-fought it turned out to be. It must be said that Caufield got the better of us in the early minutes, scoring an easy goal. But to the Roys’ credit, we got one back pretty quickly, thanks to the true boot of Robyn Randell whose great form in season 2023 is continuing unabated. 

The second and third quarters proved a bit of an arm wrestle, with the Roys dominating the play but not managing to slot a major. Conversely, Caulfield kicked a goal just before the third break time. 

With their characteristic never-say-die determination, the Roys fourth quarter proved to be their best for the day, getting the game on our terms in convincing fashion. In only her second senior game, Sara Guerra kicked a bomb from outside 50 and was awarded with best-on-ground plaudits from coach Nathan. With the ball in our forward half for the last five minutes of the quarter, the Roys had again left their run a but late and didn't manage to slot that all-important goal to win the match. 

Lucy Kerr’s 50th game was deemed her best for the year, acting as a link player through the middle of the ground and deadly dangerous around goals. In her first senior game for the seniors, Aspen Wagner’s lock-down role was truly impressive, keeping one of the leading goal kickers in the comp goalless.  

And as always, we can’t complete a JG Gorilla write up without mentioning the evergreen Lauren ‘Jacky Fowler’ Atkinson who was great down back, not getting beaten all day, and marshalling the young backline with authority and grace.

Image: The universally respected LJ cheered onto the ground for her 50th great game.