It seemed only yesterday that the Roy Girls were on the bus heading to Beaumaris, but here we were again facing the long haul down south, this time to face old foes St Bedes. And the uninitiated might be forgiven for mixing up the destinations and confusing the ground for long sandy beaches.

For Ressies’ coach Mick McFarlane, this was always going to be a great test against a surging opponent. “St. Bede’s brought a good crowd with plenty of volume,” Mick says, “coming out hard with strong contests and a very well structured game plan."

So much so that he conceded that the Roys 2s were lucky to be level at the first break. 

“But Elaine Murphy was excellent in shutting down opponents while rebounding aggressively, and the second quarter was definitely better with us playing a smarter though less aggressive style to gain the momentum."

Hayley Fitzgerald and Alice Lietz were influential, dominating the midfield with fantastic skills. In fact Hayley's goal effectively changed the momentum dramatically and resulted in the Ressies scoring three goals in the final five minutes and utimately proving the difference in the game.

“The players have relished the last three weeks against quality opponents leading into finals,” says Mick, “but proving we still have a lot to do in incredibly physical game with some sore bodies at the end.

“To their credit, the Roys 2s stood up in pivotal moments, especially Lily Prowse-McKeown and Gif Hassan who both played on after big contests, and joined in best-on-ground performances by Hayley Fitzgerald, Alice Lietz, Elaine Murphy, Calypso Poole and Aspen Wagner.

Back in charge this week and overseeing a handful of changes, Senior Coach Nathan Jumeau concentrated on everyone just playing their role.

“We started off well but were then confronted with a bit of an arm wrestle through the middle of the game. By the first 15 minutes of the last quarter we’d had the majority of the ball in our forward half but St Bede's were doing well defending our forays.”

As the clock ticked down, the Senior Roys seemed to go into panic mood and abandoning their characteristic style of footy. But nothing daunted and on reflection, the coaching group was excited by a good chunk of the game and excited at the prospect of making amends when they face St Bedes in the upcoming finals.

"Especially with the signs exhibited by the likes of Simone Mooney who was outstanding in the middle, winning contest after contest," Ju says, "and Nessa Cooney Hunt playing arguably her best game of senior footy up forward, flying for marks and getting front and centre.

"The perennial Tess Young was also impressive playing a great game down back with her voice, leadership and drive."

With our Senior Men facing their own dour battles in their A Grade entrée, the Roy Girls are injecting the hope and optimism of the season for Old Fitzroy.

Just one more home-and-away game to go before their finals campaign and I, for one, am looking forward to seeing just what they can do.

JG Gorilla

Photos courtesy Elaine Murphy