Coopers - Friday Footy Review
Andrew Thomson
Undermanned Woodsmen Outfit fail to lock up 2nd spot
The Woodsmen let one slip on Friday night against a determined Morningside fighting for a finals spot in a tough battle on Friday night. In a game that could have almost locked in 2nd spot, the Woodsmen failed to convert opportunities early and were uncharacteristically sloppy with their ball use coming out of defence, with several poor options and skill errors leading directly to Morningside goals.
The defensive unit was missing several key components of the back 6 setup, and while they were strong at defending early entries – the composure and teamwork were lacking at times due to new faces, so when the ball was rebounded back into defence the Woodies were often caught out of position as a result. Combined with an unwillingness across the whole team to put in the required work, and in particular play tight on an opponent who is getting on top – and the result was unsurprisingly a loss.
There were some positives out of the match, with Sam Curtis making a strong return from recent injury through the midfield – Scotty Matthews very strong in a key defensive post and Jay Baker showing his best form isn’t far away with some strong marks and 3 goals. With BG day at the club the following day, the Woodies were also able to squeeze in Dean Parkin for a cameo appearance after 12 years out of the game and he certainly enjoyed pulling on the boots with some of his former teammates.
Toohey, Mihalopoulos, Parkin, Matthews, Baker, McEvoy from the 2005 Pies lineup!
It was a competitive match with the margin just 3 points with 10 minutes to play, however the Woodies lacked a bit of discipline with a handful of 50m penalties at crucial times and some quality sharp shooting from the Panther forwards giving them the edge late in the game, as they celebrated like a Premiership Cup was on offer!
Panthers 11.10 – 76
Defeated
Woodsmen 9.6 – 60
Best: Parkin, Young, Baldwin, S.Matthews, Toohey, Garland
Goals: Baker 3, Moore 2, Garland 2, Mihalopoulos, Fuentes 1