Monash Gryphons Amateur Football Club

Seniors
21.21-147 BENTLEIGH def
9.6-60 MONASH GRYPHONS
Goal Kickers: N. Rutherford 3, B. Rose 2, C. Leeton 2, M. Davies, J. Watson.
Best Players: N. Booth, N. Rutherford, B. Rose, J. Fraser, L. Wells, J. Watson.

Reserves
21.8-134 BENTLEIGH def
6.4-40 MONASH GRYPHONS
Goal Kickers: J. Ducat 2, B. Lukav, A. Schroth, D. Gwynne, H. Vasconcelo.
Best Players: R. Haughton, J. Ducat, A. Schroth, A. Kooperman, D. Charleson, A. Byrne.

Review:
Daniel McConville, Brodie Hilet, Liam Runnells and Clint Mackie have been amongst our best players either at the weekend or weeks previously. It is my sincere hope that these four men are also in the best for Monash come the corresponding fixture in round 6 2019, as they are the future of the club, and the foundation that our forward planning needs to rest upon.

I have come to the realisation that whilst we continue to have the backbone of our experienced list on the sidelines, we are unable to sustain the effort necessary to win games of football at D3 level. One cannot question our endeavour or desire which sounds strange given the end margin on Saturday, however, it took a determined Bentleigh outfit two and half quarters to ‘Open the Floodgates’.

Our policy for the remainder of the year must be to blood as many young players at Senior Level as possible to make them feel they are required footballers. Only then are we really taking the necessary steps to ensure the long sustainability of the Football Club on the field. The blend of these youngsters and the lessons they will learn from players such as DB & Wellsy can only benefit the club as a whole.

Photos:

Seniors
12.19-91 ST JOHNS def
12.10-82 MONASH GRYPHONS
Goal Kickers: L. Dooley 4, P. Rutherford 3, C. Mackie 2, M. Davies, R. Sharkey, L. Runnalls.
Best Players: L. Wells, L. Dooley, B. Hilet, L. Wilson, C. Mackie, P. Rutherford.

Reserves
8.7-55 ST JOHNS def by
14.10-94 MONASH GRYPHONS
Goal Kickers: W. Pocock 7, B. Murphy 3, A. Kooperman 2, N. Booth, H. Vasconcelo.
Best Players: W. Pocock, D. Charleson, G. Kent, N. Booth, H. Vasconcelo, R. Tuttle.

Review:
For much of Saturday it looked as though it was meant to be. Monash had secured their best ever win at Thomas Carroll (in the curtain raiser) and had clearly come to play. It is possible that St John’s expected an easier ‘hit out’, as the Gryphons had shown nothing of substance in previous weeks, however, this would be taking credit from Monash who made sure the Jocs earned every kick.

Lee Wells was back to his best in defence, Clint Mackie was killing then on the wing & Leigh Dooley was playing well up forward. Also, in a masterstroke from coach Naumoff, Feargal Sharkey was played up the ground and controlled half forward with much aplomb.

A two and a half goal lead at half time was slowly whittled away but the Gryphons held sway until late in the game. St John’s won much of the contested ball in the final term and converted their opportunities more effectively.

If we (as a club) are to salvage anything from this season, an effort similar to Saturday’s is required each week.

Seniors
8.9-57 MONASH GRYPHONS def by
21.19-145 ST FRANCIS XAVIER
Goal Kickers: R. Sharkey 2, J. Watson 2, M. Davies, N. Rutherford, L. Wells, C. Jones.
Best Players: J. Watson, T. Russell, C. Mackie, N. Rutherford, B. Rose, T. Vesey.

Reserves
10.12-72 MONASH GRYPHONS def
17.10-52 ST FRANCIS XAVIER
Goal Kickers: P. Rutherford 4, H. Vasconcelo 2, B. Murphy, D. Healy, A. Schroth, K. Johnsen.
Best Players: N. Booth, H. Vasconcelo, L. Wilson, D. Charleson, P. Rutherford, A. Schroth.

Review:
Daft Punk would hardly have been a chance to win Lyrical song of the year with their 1997 Euro Dance hit ‘Around the World’ as the title was the only lyric and was continually iterated throughout the song. Such is the nature of this report, I believe that many who are to read it will be the converted and I will be simply repeating what I’ve said many times before.

I never expected the senior team to win on the weekend. The Gryphs could’ve been coached by Kevin Sheedy or Norm Smith and the margin would have been 8 goals plus. We have simply been robbed of our ‘spine’ and ‘guts’ with injuries to key players. Most of the 22 that ran out on Saturday played their hearts out and got the best of their ability. Truth be told, many are two’s players and know it. Jono Watson was superb all day and Clint Mackie showed he has what it takes to contribute at Senior Level.

Full credit to SFX for sticking around. It is not like Beaconsfield versus East Caulfield is a Derby! It is imperative that we support each other by watching our mates play (whether it be Seniors or Reserves) and the least we can do is commit ourselves to one drink in the Social Rooms after each game (regardless of Home or Away). Similarly, injured players must come down and help out where they can. It is the least you can do to make sure that the Gryphons are getting our processes ‘off the field’ running smoothly.

Congratulations to Jono and Benny on their respective milestones. Also a good win in the reserves for Vaughan in playing his 100th game for the club.

100 Games – Monash Gryphons
All at Monash congratulate Jono ‘Rubberman’ Watson, Vaughan ‘Milkin’ Coffey & Jason ‘Bluey’ Harrak for notching up 100 games this weekend against SFX. Jono’s trademark ‘high marking’ has been a welcome return to the Senior team after a couple of seasons overseas. Vaughan has shown great leadership over the years and is serving his second year as reserves skipper with superb valour. While Jason is one of the Gryphons true ‘hardmen’. An ‘in & under’ utility who has played a host of positions in recent seasons, but seems to be finding his niche as a senior onballer. Well done to all.

50 Games – Monash Gryphons
Ben ‘Ethereal’ Rose brings up his 50th game for the Gryphons this weekend. Ben has been a catalyst for many recruits to Monash over the past four years and we commend him for his service and loyalty to the club.

Seniors
16.16-112 POWERHOUSE def
6.12-48 MONASH GRYPHONS
Goal Kickers: L. Wells 2, B. Rose, L. Dooley, T. Russell, C. Jones
Best Players: T. Russell, N. Rutherford, L. Wells, L. Dooley, J. Watson, J. Fleming

Reserves
17.11-113 POWERHOUSE def
5.4-34 MONASH GRYPHONS
Goal Kickers: P. Rutherford 4, A. Kooperman
Best Players: R. Tuttle, L. Wilson, L. Monfries, P. Rutherford, J. Hickey, A. Letts

Review:
In relation to Sports, the Oxford Dictionary defines depth as “the strength of a team in terms of the number and quality of its substitute players”. I see this as the definitive issue at the Gryphs at present as we are surely being tested for the quality of our substitute players.

It is a ‘cop out’ to blame injuries to key players as a reason for below average performances, as all teams get their fair share of injuries each year. Therefore, it is now up to the second string of Monash senior players, the Tristan Russell’s, the Tim Vesey’s, the Jeremy Fleming’s: Players who have three or more seasons experience at senior level, to take the next step and be standout players of the competition.

Even though we went down by more than 10 goals at the weekend, I was relatively pleased with our work-rate and attack at the ball. Also, our 1% count was surely up on last week, it was however, persistent skill errors that cost us heavily. Our foot skills are simply not good enough. I feel we should be aiming to kick to advantage in practise drills during the week. Another bug-bear of mine is the number of young players (AFL Included) who cannot or will not use their opposite foot to dispose of the ball. Unless you are an excellent player who can ‘break the lines’ you must be willing to dispose of the ball from your opposite side (both by hand and foot). We must be practising this at training as well.

The game itself was over early in the second half once it was clear we were not going to be able to score enough goals to win. Tristan Russell was our standout player. He must have placed his body on the line on at least a dozen occasions and continually won the hard ball or free kick because of his tenacity. The Gryphons need more of this style of leadership and now that ‘nugget’ is Vice Captain (at least in the short term) we should not expect anything less. Lee Wells played well as always and Nick Rutherford showed his class at times, but it is our bottom six or so players that need to stand up if we are going to be able to salvage anything from this season. Let’s hope they can make this improvement