Violet Town Football Club began its 2006 campaign with a convincing win over Greta in the Benalla night series on Sunday.
With a few familiar faces returning and plenty of new ones, the boys adjusted quickly to coach John Trotter’s game plan and looked really good running through the middle and linking together.
Old firm of Bo, Jezza, Sean and Timmy ran hard all evening and did the bulk of the midfield duties. While new recruits Frank Masal, Ryan Trotter and Ryan Moore showed plenty of pace and good football knowledge around half back. The return of Rob Saker and Luke McCarthy was a huge bonus, as both showed their strength and determination will be a real asset. Robs sheer attack on the footy and ability to run the ball from defence was sensational, while Luke proved his eyes are only for the footy and took some very nice marks for his efforts.
Shining light of the night was young Scotty Woolcock launching himself in the ruck contests to great effect. Scott has obviously grown his ruck talent with a year at Benalla and confirmed his future as a top class ruckman.
Violet Town's forward line functioned quite well despite gusty winds affecting delivery. The boys led well, with Man Mountain Chris Hayes and Matt Holmes marking strongly and new recruit Carlton Quay crumbing well. Carlton finished with a couple of goals, as did Chris despite giving a couple away.
The form of the young Lions coming up through the ranks was most encouraging. Tyson Doyle was fantastic with his speed and courage, while Tom Saker moved well and provided a big target. Ryan Smyth played well in the difficult role at centre half back and gave his all at every contest.
The fitness of Bo Harrison is undeniable as he pushed to help the defence, as well as drifting forward to covert a couple of goals personally. Goal of the Day went to none other than Sean the freak Horsburgh himself. After latching onto a loose floater near the point post, Sean accepted the umpire’s angle, pretended he was going to pass it and then casually placed the footy on his left boot and straight through the middle for the highlights reel. Nice one 22.
In all, a well needed hitout, provided plenty of positives for the season ahead.
Congratulations to John Trotter on his appointment as coach and the winning culture that follows him everywhere and also to the committee for their contribution to last week’s highly successful Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony event.
Violet Town: 1-0 6-0 8-3 8-3=51
Greta: 1-4 2-5 2-6 5-8=38
Goals: Carlton Quay 2, Chris Hayes 2, Bo Harrison 2, Sean Horsburgh 1, Matt Holmes 1.
Best: Frank Masal, Rob Saker, Bo Harrison, Luke McCarthy, Scot Woolcock, and Tim Ross.
All content copyright © Euroa Gazette Newspapers and its respective contributors, 2012. All rights reserved.