Over 55s Match Report – Round 2 vs Geelong, April 13th

Match report by Dusty


I was proud to be part of the inaugural Eastern Warriors 55s team that ran out in blazing sunshine at the disgracefully scruffy Crispe Park in Reservoir on Sunday.  As something of a connoisseur of turf, the playing surface was definitely sub-standard when compared to the verdant sward that is our normal home ground at Edinburgh reserve. The ground was hard and dry, and the temperature hovered around thirty-three as the new team emerged from the change rooms.  But we were full of expectation as we took on an experienced Geelong side.  I was named in the back pocket and as I sauntered into the backline I began to scan for my preferred opponent: fat (tick), bald (tick), slight limp (tick), bandages (none to be seen).  As I lined up next to him I discovered his nickname was Porky (double tick).  He also turned out to be clueless, so I spent the entire first quarter following him around as he managed to get precisely nowhere near the football. 


The rest of the Warriors side was getting plenty of the pill.  Sammy was slippery and delivered the ball to a potent forward line where Killer was typically lethal, Marko elusive and Fitzy consistently appeared at the right place at the right time.  It was a tragedy when our full-forward Lou went down with what appeared to be a nasty Achilles injury.  Louie, with his long greying beard, twinkling eyes and flowing locks looks like he would be more at home as a yogi in an ashram humming mantras and waving incense than as a key forward.

But looks can be deceiving, his skill and strong overhead marking were a real loss. As I jogged through the heat haze to the quarter time huddle I was considering that if I stayed on Porky I might not get a touch for the entire game.  In the second term Porky went off and my new opponent was much more intent on getting into the action, so I could pick up a few possessions. 

A lovely one-two handball chain with the courageous Thorny followed by a scrambled kick to Frenchy typified our defensive connectedness and preparedness to work together, whilst shouting and pointing at the same time.  It’s hard to believe Frenchy is 55 – he looks sixteen and runs like a toddler on an Easter Egg hunt.  It was also great to play footy with Mitch again, (I think the last time we were on the field together was in 2017), his elite kicking skills and loose-limbed running seems undiminished. 

Geelong hit back hard in the third term and seemed to be full of running, even though Damo was herculean in the ruck, their midfield got on top and our defence was hard pressed.  I was back on Porky again – and at one point we found ourselves pursuing a ball towards the boundary line.   I thought it would be a good idea to bump Porky to allow me to get to the ball first. Porky obviously had the same idea at the same time, we bumped each other, fell over in opposite directions and watched the ball trickle slowly over the boundary line. 

It was a thrilling final quarter, the Warrior side drew deep on reserves of sweat and sinew – Magoo made a few masterful changes and when Jezza’s miraculous shot on goal hit the post we were in front.  We hung on in the dying seconds and scored a first up win for the newest/oldest Warriors side.  

Final Score
Eastern Warriors 5.4.34 d Geelong 4.6.30