It was a beautiful Autumn day at Southern Rd this week, sun was shining and breeze was light making it a great day for an afternoon footy game. We were fortunate enough this week to have 2 new boys sign up for the season boosting our numbers 17 which is a real bonus but still requiring some of the under 11 boys to play up as they do , and they certainly never let us down. Welcoming Jett Ellaway to the team , Jett having played in the past with East Brighton has decided to play along our boys this year and he looks pretty smart in the Tigers jumper , secondly , welcome Riley Dix who is playing his first ‘Club’ football. Riley is a familiar face from Auskick days and Mentone Primary and is raring to play. Captain for the Day was Luis McLaren , he lost the toss and we kicked to the northern end for the first quarter. The Hawks took their position and it became evident that they feed the boys well in Waverley , with boys built like young adults , plenty of height and solid. Luis took on his role as a leader from the very start and drilled the ball straight out of the middle , we were off to a promising start goaling early with Oliver Zalakos taking control in the forward line. Jett Ellaway on his Debut was not shy in getting into the play early , getting hold of the ball a number of occasions and creating some great passages of play and aiding the first goal of the day. Jett then following on kick one of his own! The Hawks responded with their forward line well stocked with big boys , given this our backs were able to keep up good pressure and put themselves in hard. The first quarter was a good even quarter with plenty of passages of play and shepparding from the boys. By quarter time we were up by 2 points 15 to 13 and looking competitive. Into the second our boys once again went in hard and tried to open the play up , trying to avoid the tall timber. The Hawks were tackling hard and with their large builds and power they ploughed through a few of our boys , we had a few boys injured in the course of play , with Charlie Beech being stretchered off with a back injury. When we broke the ball loose and found space Luis was able to take a number of runs , unfortunately we could not penetrate into our forward zone and were left kicking one point for the quarter to the Hawks 2 goals. By the third quarter it was obvious to me that some of our boys were finding it difficult against the bigger boys , their confidence was down and they were starting to feel a bit battered and bruised. But with a bit of a pep up and position changes the boys got back to it and put themselves in hard again , the shepparding was a bit lax this quarter and the talk had dropped but they did alright! Riley Dix our new boy showed plenty of courage and was throwing himself into the packs , not scared off by the hulks closing in. Taj Potts caring an arm injury could no longer go on and was sidelined with a swollen wrist and disappointed he could not continue. Thomas Lewis taking a couple of great diving marks and holding up the ruck work with Charlie out of the game was a real work horse. The Hawks were starting to really kick long and use their height and strength , bombing goals in from 30 to 40 metres out with one coming from the 50m mark to the amazement of everyone. By the end of the third we were goaless and the Hawks booting 3 to extend their lead. Into the fourth the boys once again kept heads high and played it out , Adrian Apthorpe with some great hard ball gets and breaking packs to get the ball out of the backline. Jack Davoren , Jack Berry and Will Lomagno never stopped running and were courageous in the attack considering the size difference out there. Our Under 11 gun Xavier Hale was able to intercept the ball in the forward line a kick a ripper of a goal which was well needed to keep the boys focused and spirits up. Once again though the Hawks were bombing goals from all angles booting 5 more for the quarter. By the end the scores were Tigers 3 Goals 6 Behinds 24 points to 14 Goals 8 Behinds 92 points. A 68 point loss in the end. We were undoubtedly under manned with the loss of Charlie and Taj and certainly over powered by the strength and height of the opposition. The boys were courageous and never gave up , another great learning experience as our boys progress into the teenage era , where growth spurts and maturity kick in , leaving some of us behind whilst others move into the Myer adult section for clothing and under arm deodorant! Great effort boys , very proud , rest up and ice those bruises and come out firing next week.