Under 13 – Sponsored by Betta Quality Curtains and Blinds

Mark Lemmey – U13 Coach

Under 17.5’s – Sponsored by Rainmaker Properties

Flagstaff Hill 3 8 26 defeated by Reynella 11 1 67

Best Players: Ethan Johnson, Brodie Sisson, Riley Stone, Callan Coats, Jay
Scanlan, James Keating.

Goal Kickers: Fraser Knuckey 1, Hugh Nash 1, Jacob Ladbrook 1.

I’ll start with a delayed congrats to Ethan Johnson, Ben Jeffries, Aiden Carney and
Riley Stone for making the final team for the SFL U17.5 Association side. They all
played a role and were part of a solid win over the GSFL.

After a couple weeks off for the rest of us, we finally had some footy with an away
game against a great rival in Reynella.

With SANFL having a bye, this gave an opportunity for a number of players to come
back to their local clubs for a run and both Reynella and Flaggy had a few on board.
This created a step up in class of footy but doesn’t always make an instant
connection within the groups. Ethan Johnson was one player making his 2023 U17.5 return after
playing solid footy at West Adelaide and enjoying a couple of runs in the Flaggy A
Grade side.

After going down by a solitary goal in rd 1, we were keen to level the ledger with a
solid brand of footy in boggy conditions.

We were lucky enough to have the wind in the 1 st qtr but unfortunately our direction
into the forward 50 was a bit wayward and were unable to capitalise on the
opportunity. With only 3 behinds on the board at the first break compared to the
Wineflies one goal, it was a challenge from that point.

Reynella took full toll in the 2 nd qtr and banged on 6 goals straight to our 1 and the
damage was done. The boys stuck at it though and finished off the game well,
eventually going down by 41 points. Even though we only had 1 less scoring shot,
Reynella kicking 11.1 was always going to difficult to overcome.

Unfortunately we lost Aiden Carney in the second half due to a head knock but this
allowed Callan Coats to step up and take on the number 1 rucking job and he stood
up well.

Ethan Johnson was best afield for us with his drive through the middle while Brodie
Sisson bravely battled on all day against a solid opponent and Riley Stone just willed
himself to every contest.

We look now to getting back home to Flaggy next round to face the Cobras who
have found some mid-season form. Another one to look forward to.

See you at the footy
Bunga

Craig Bunworth – Under 17.5’s Coach

 B Grade – Sponsored by Flagstaff Hotel

Flagstaff Hill 7 10 52 defeated Noarlunga 1 6 12

Best Players: Matthew Caire, Declan Tomkins, Huw Channing, Mitchell Johnson,
Ethan Wildman, Nash Mitchell.

Goal Kickers: Ethan Wildman 2, Mason Carney 2, Brendan Hillier 1, Declan Tomkins
1, Taaid Fallah 1.

Heading to the Reynella Community Centre, Oval Road, Old Reynella is always
confronting, knowing the calibre of the club and the teams that they roll out.  Add in
that they were the only team to beat us in 2023 so far and the constant threat that we
may need to leave the oval in a hurry to board the arc, made for an unsettling trip to
the oval.   A quick review of the opposition showed that they had a very talented
squad of players with many having represented the club in A grade this season.   We
lost a few to sickness and Draper to a hamstring which provided opportunities, for
others.   

On arrival, the new clubrooms were a sight to behold and the oval in  surprisingly
good condition.  The wind blowing in a north easterly direction across the ground
 was unseasonable and made for an interesting contest.  The whistle for the first
bounce was sounded and we kicked into the wind.  Mitch Johnson returning to footy
after a long layoff due to injury was tagged, which probably put our opposition in the
undeniable mindset of saving the game.  We started really strongly, sharing the ball,
moving it quickly and hitting targets.  We hit the score board and at the end of the
first quarter we had 2.3 to 0.2 points into a significant breeze.  Our backline was
relishing having Timmy Meinecke as their backline Chief, running the set ups and
positional considerations.  Matt Caire set the tone with a ferocious attack on the ball
and body.

Kicking with the wind we made some minor positional changes and dominated the
second quarter – our speed on the ball, ability to stick our tackles had Reynella
rattled and stifled any possessions they won.  By the half time siren we  had kicked
another 3 goals to Reynella’s one point.  Half time 5.5 35 to 0.3 3 – my half time
address was pretty obvious – we had the same score line in Round 1 and lost – I
sensed this was not going to be a repeat of that match.  Suffice to say we continued
to pile on the pressure and by the final siren we prevailed at 7.10 52 to 1.6 12.  We
had around 50 effective tackles for the match, and 12 to 15 inside fifties each
quarter, this demonstrates that we are going as hard in the last quarter as we are in
the first.  We played the majority of the match between our half back line and our
goals, turning over their forward entries and punishing them on turnover.  Matt Caire
dominated the contest in conditions that make him smile, he is a big bodied
midfielder who is making us all walk a little taller,  Declan came back and with Huw
dominated the ruck contests around the ground and up forward,  Mitch Johnson
worked his way into the game and stood out head and shoulders during the third
quarter when he elevated above all others, he kicked the footy on more than one
occasion which went flying past the coaches box at a fast rate of speed, you rarely
see a footy move like that in B grade!  Ethan Wildman  and Nash Mitchell rounded
out the nominations and both used the footy to our advantage all day, kicking goals

and providing lots of opportunities.  Special mentions to Mason Carney who started
the game like a player coming back into the side and Fizz who completely dominated
their goal sneak and shut down many forward entries.

It was a solid game of footy and has set us up for the second half of the year,  the
challenges going forward are now to build on what we have achieved, get fitter and
stronger,  demand more of each other and enjoy our time together.

Graham Tomkins – B-Grade Coach

Flagstaff Hill 16 10 106 defeated Reynella 3 7 25

Best Players: Kobe Cavouras, Sam Jacobs, Nicholas Bailey, Aiden Grayson, Joshua
Rosman, Reece Milsom.

Goal Kickers: Sam Burbridge 4, Sam Smith 3, Nathan Beenham 3, Blake Aldridge 2,
Sam Jacobs 2, Josh Rosman 1, Reece Milsom 1.

Round 10 we played the reigning premiers and second placed Reynella on their
home deck. After a tough game in the wet vs Noarlunga the previous week, we
assessed training to ensure the boys would be feeling fresh coming into this big
game. The weather had different ideas on the Thursday night with 20 mms of rain
and strong wind forecast, this didn’t deter the group for what I thought was our best
training set for the year with the energy the entire senior squad brought to training in
tough conditions, this set us up for a big day.
 
The boys started well kicking with a breeze that was slightly favouring our end, the
most pleasing part was the way we set the tone for the day of our pressure around
the ball and trapping it in our forward lines. Our first quarter was led by the Sam
Show with Sam Jacobs instrumental in giving us first look, Sam Burbridge impacted
at ground level by hitting the scoreboard and Sam Smith’s strong marking in wet
conditions along with his forward chases and tackles had the group upbeat at quarter
time. During the break it was pleasing to see the group enjoy their success of the
first, but quickly vocally remind themselves that they hadn’t achieved anything yet
and needed to replicate this effort especially going into a breeze. The boys adjusted
well to the conditions and our pressure continued to be the difference with our 1%
efforts and team first footy leading the way, this was portrayed best by Aiden
Grayson who playing as a small forward identified we were outnumbered in their
front half and he ran the length of the ground to apply a goal saving tackle deep in
our back pocket, shortly before this Aiden then marked a ball 15 metres out directly
in front with no Reynella defender between he and the goals only Blake Aldridge
standing next to him to which Aiden passed to Blake to allow him to kick an easy
goal instead of himself. These team first efforts were praised by the group at half
time and Aiden was rewarded with the players player award after the game. At half
time we led 10.6 -66 to Reynella 1.2-8
 
The second half delivered much of the same as the first with our pressure at
Reynella continuing and embracing the conditions of the day were most pleasing for
the coaches. We managed to extend our lead in the 3 rd  and during the three quarter
time break the group was insistent that we wanted to win all 4 quarters of the game
on the scoreboard. Reynella tried a few different structural changes and were able to
move the ball better in the last and scored 2 goals, the group again adapted to this
and we were able to come away with a win the last quarter and overall win with the
score Flagstaff Hill 16.10 – 106 to Reynella 3.7 – 25. Sam Burbridge kicked 4 goals
and some important goals in the first, Sam Smith kicked 3 and Nath Beenham
continued his great return by kicking 3 as well. All played well on the day and was
very tough to pick best players.
 

We look forward to Cove this week, their side will look different to the last time we
played them with some key players back so we will have to be bring the same effort
again, see you there!

Zane Kirkwood – A-Grade Coach

Under 14 Girls – Sponsored by Bliss & Rose

Dave Hodgson – Under 14 Girls Coach

Under 17 Girls – Sponsored by Style FX Hair, Nails & Beauty

 Mark Baker – Under 17 Girls Coach

A Grade Women – Sponsored by KX Pilates

Michael Hegarty – A Grade Women’s Coach

C Grade – Sponsored by Charlesworth Nuts

Wade Stone – C-Grade Coach

Milestones

Kobe Cavouras – 200th Club Game 🥛
Macca Short – 150th Club Game
Mitch Johnson – 150th Club Game
Huw Channing – 100th B Grade Game
Taaid Fallah – 50th Club Game

FHFC Debuts