VMNL Men take on Australian 21 & Under Women
On Tuesday July 3rd the VMNL provided a "development" side to take on the Australian 21 & Under Women's' team.
60 spectators were on hand at the Boroondarra Sports Complex to watch the guys take on the girls.
The Men's team was made up of players that represented Victoria at the National Championships in Perth earlier this year in 19's, 23's, Reserve and Open competition.
The game was closely contested throughout, and after a very scratchy 10 minutes the men began to string a few good passages of play together. Like most of his team mates, GA, Dan Ryan took a few minutes to get into any rhythm, but once he did, he was able to settle the team down with 5 consecutive goals toward the end of the first quarter. The boys went into the first break ahead by one.
The second quarter was one of missed opportunities. Under 19's goal keeper, Brydon Allan, teamed brilliantly with Open GD Heath Brown, creating multiple opportunities for the VMNL side to move ahead. Being a combination that had never played together, the boys struggled to capitalise, as the young Aus team began to clog up the middle of the court, forcing the men to take the ball wide, then opt for high risk passes as they attempted to get into scoring positions. The girls turned one goal ahead at the main change.
The third quarter followed a similar pattern of play to the second, with one clear difference. Australian GA, Leah Shoard, really stepped up and capitalised on her teams turnovers, scoring multiple goals and teaming brilliantly with a mid-court that was starting to get the upper hand on their opponents. The Australian team went into the last quarter 6 goals ahead.
It was a very scrappy last quarter. The guys hung on, edging a goal or two closer when GK Brydon Allan was forced to leave the court with a hand injury. Even though the men had to alter their line up, they managed to get a little momentum, getting to within 3 goals before a few loose passes at key times halted their flow, allowing the girls to settle, before opening up a break and finishing with an 8 goal win.