It saddens me to inform you that OSFC hero and premier sports writer Nich Hildebrandt has fallen victim to work this week, and cannot bring you his usual creative genius of witty remarks followed by facts that officials from the AFL are still puzzled to find.
The much-needed break allowed players time to give those niggling injuries a week off and be ready to take on the top of the table Collegians at K2, in the hope that we can knock off a top four side over the coming weeks. Hamish Dick was injected into the team after two strong weeks in the reserves.
The first quarter was not the start we needed, with Collegians applying strong pressure through the middle of the ground resulting in goals from their forward thrusts, and a few dubious umpiring decisions putting the pressure right on the Scotchies. Houla stood up late in the quarter to dob a very classy goal after selling some candy to the purple men who were eager to accept. Quarter-time saw the purple men four goals clear of the home team.
The second quarter saw a swing in the momentum of the game, with Scotch getting on top but not being able to capitalise on the opportunities with poor ball use and costly turnovers. A terrific second effort and handball from Tommy after a ruck contest found Walsh deep in the pocket slotting through a definite contender for the Cannon Toyota Goal of the Day. Although there was constant pressure from renowned performers in Eva and Sherwen, Collegians were still able to pile on four for the quarter leaving a six goal deficit going into half-time.
With the belief that the game was far from over, Scotch came out with the determination to bridge the gap in the premiership quarter; however, it was not meant to be, with missed opportunities going begging and Old Scotch only adding 1.5 to the scoreboard as Collegians skipped away. Hammer and Ash Lim worked hard to turn the game around, providing hard fought contests and a spark through the middle of the ground.
The final quarter saw an even contest but the game was all but over. The highlight of the quarter was the CANNON TOYOTA GOAL OF THE DAY through Paul Ellis, who put his new found love of dancing to the test, read the crumb perfectly and skipped around some purple men to snap a great junk time goal. Leithy worked tirelessly all day and kept his dangerous opponent out of the game by shutting his run down off half-back.
With some top of the table opponents to come in following weeks, we need all the support we can get to try and claim a scalp or two and damage some confidence of the teams heading into September.