Magpies still winless on their home turf

CRIB POINT FC  – By Jared Newton

CRIB POINT went down in a nailbiter to Frankston Bombers by four points to remain winless on their home deck a quarter of the way through the season.

The game ended in farcical circumstances with the siren blowing during a clear lull in the play with the umpires blaming timekeepers and the timekeepers blaming umpires for not blowing time on. While it was a dampener to an otherwise good game of footy it probably didn’t affect the result as Frankston had possession of the ball at the time and played the better footy on the day throughout.

Crib Point trailed for the majority of the afternoon  and while the Pies were always in touch, Frankston always had an answer to each of Crib’s goals. Dean Kairies and Lee Koerner were superb for the Pies, and Brad Davidson caused a lot of grief around the sticks with three goals and Jon Flack still managed three despite being hampered with soreness. James Cook also had a top knot and top notch game in the ruck.

At 1-3 the Pies season is at risk of slipping away. It’s not insurmountable but a two game away stretch coming up against Rye and Sorrento will really test the Pies’ mettle and decide whether they can back up and be finals bound in 2015.

After a brilliant team effort seven days prior the seconds fell back into some older habits going down by 39 points to a hard running Frankston side.

The Bombers have had the measure of the Pies in the reserves in recent history and despite being a relatively competitive first half you always got the sense the win was a bit beyond the reserves as the windy conditions affected disposal efficiency. There’s no doubt there are some good signs for the reserves there. When they’ve got the footy the side runs and carries and shares the ball well. The big stumbling block for the side is their discipline off the footy and the will to run to position and help out when they haven’t got the football. If that side of their game can be addressed there’s many more wins for them ahead.

On Saturday James Forecast was clearly best afield, with Adam Quinn playing his second consecutive good game across half back.

The under 19s delivered the goods again with an emphatic 62 point win over Frankston in the early game. Justin Rutherford has his charges playing a great brand of footy and they take on their opponents with plenty of run and carry.

Tyler Wilton has been a great target all year up forward and kicked himself another bag with five on Saturday and will increasingly come under the attention of Duane Annable for a seniors recall.  Kye Espenschied and Jayden Deas also won plenty of the football through the middle as he game looked a foregone conclusion pretty early in the contest.

After a solid 3-1 start the boys have a great opportunity over the next several weeks to stamp their authority as a contender in the under 19 competition.

First published in the Western Port News – 12 May 2015