Paddington Colts Match Reports, Round 6 & Round 7

Hi Colts Family,

This match report includes two reports, for our match against the Dundas Shamrocks and last Sunday's match against St Charles

20/5 v Dundas Shamrocks

Victory 36-20

Our match against the Shamrocks saw the boys venture far from the familiar eastern Sydney coastline to face a well-prepared and confidant Dundas outfit. The Shamrocks, who were sitting with us in equal third position on the ladder, showed nothing of the characteristics of a small young sprig that their mascot would suggest, came out breathing fire and posted the first points of the match. But displaying the composure our team has developed over the past eight weeks, our boys steadied the ship and on the back of the foundation laid by the likes of Cy and the very busy Julian up front, wrestled their way back into the contest and into the lead by the halftime break.

In the second half, the Colts orchestrated a number of effective plays around the ruck to build pressure and with that our scoresheet. However, missed tackles and silly errors kept Dundas in the contest, which nearly cost us the game. In the end, we got away with a valuable if not a dazzling victory. Key takeaways from the match include our ability to grind out a victory even when we don't play our best football, discovering fire ants have escaped their exclusion zone in Queensland and taken up residence in the Dundas Valley, and never let a Victorian now living in Sydney's eastern suburbs drive you into Sydney's western suburbs. Special mentions include Peter who maintained our width in attack and ran with real purpose whenever he got the chance, and Harry, who played with a broken toe and deservedly picked up the John Sattler Award for bravery.

27/5 v St Charles

Victory 32-8

Back at Burrows Park, the home of rugby league, our match against St Charles loomed as a defining game for the team, as both teams were locked in second place on the ladder and marked the point in the season where all teams had (in theory) locked horns at least once.

The game itself was a terrific game to watch and I was really impressed with how all boys were eager to get involved both in attack and defence. St Charles has some great players, with a good balance of strength and size in the middle of the park and genuine speed out wide. It certainly required our boys to be switched on and be prepared to work their way into the game. Our forwards ran the ball with gusto, avoiding some spirited early defence from St Charles and earning us valuable field position which we converted into points. Jasper did well in organising our attack in the first half, highlighted by a sweeping backline movement that set Kubi racing away for a well-constructed four-pointer. 'Champagne rugby league' was how it was described from a nearby onlooker as he smashed his way through a steaming hot 'four n twenty'.

As the second half progressed, our boys gained the ascendancy and kept the scoreboard ticking over. We took the opportunity to execute a few attacking kicks and offloads between the forwards, and we seemed more willing to pass the ball wide. We are certainly trying to encourage the boys to catch, look and pass, and exploit some of the great speed we have in our outside backs. Some scintillating line breaks by several players including Jamie capped off an impressive all-round performance from the young Colts. Special mention to Max O who played his best game so far this season and made several strong runs, and Alex Da Beast Vesper who showed great mental aptitude to withstand the mind games from his St Charles schoolmates. Finally, congratulations to Jasper for picking up the Solo Man Man Can this week.

Keep an eye on Team App for details about our next match.

See you on Sunday

Cheers, Jimmy Vesper
0449 262 475