Round 8 Women’s Non-Contact Match Report by Sue
Saturday 19th July round 8 at a very windy, very cold Port Melbourne had us all thinking what the hell am I doing? But then we got ourselves together and remembered that we love playing our modified game of footy!
No-one has to suffer shivering at an end where the football doesn’t go because every single player is involved in the game. Before long, goals were being scored at both ends of the ground and we all started to warm up.
As usual Sandra dominated in the ruck in the first quarter but then she had to play elsewhere as that’s the team rules. We all get to play in the different positions so that we all get skilled at playing anywhere on the ground. In the last quarter we relented and let her back in the ruck against me. Thanks to some great ball tosses from Kenny I actually managed to get a few tap outs to a waiting Kirsty. Reyzl and Kirsty battled it out in the middle for a quarter until Kirsty decided to step on Rezyl’s foot to get her out of the game. Her boots were checked and molded stops only – of course it was all an accident.
Each week we see the skills of the women improve along with the confidence to just get in there and have a go. We don’t need every kick to be perfect, every mark to be taken just the willingness to try and with time the improvement has been very noticeable. The team work is outstanding with players always presenting for the next kick or handball. Renata and Jenny showed how much their evasive skills have improved ducking and weaving to get goal after goal. They are becoming increasingly difficult to defend!
Helen’s daughter Sarah joined in for the second half and had a blast but also reminded us how old we are with her ability to arch her back and run away from us.
2 rounds to go for season 2025!

Mordialloc v Warriors 35s – A Battle of Spirit (and Improvisation) by Lou

It was a glorious day for footy – the sun was out, the grass was green, and on paper, the Warriors looked ready to finally notch a well-deserved win. Spirits were high as I arrived, clipboard in hand, dreams of scoreboard glory floating in my head.

Then came the messages …

Carrier pigeons flew in with “unavailables,” smoke signals wafted up with last-minute injuries, and I got more “This person can’t come to the phone right now” replies than a dodgy Tinder date. Some would’ve panicked. Some would’ve thrown the magnetic board through the change room wall. Some might’ve curled up in the corner humming sad tunes. But not this coach. Because the footy gods were smiling.

Enter: Clint – our knight in shining armour (and probably borrowed boots), who answered the call with a firm “Yep, I’m in.”

Huge thanks also go to Obee’s dad, who pulled some strings and found a couple of ex-Cobra lads who were more than happy to swap the couch for the battlefield. Word spread, the Mordy spirit kicked in, and suddenly we weren’t just limping onto the field – we had a full side and three on the bench. The Brotherhood of the Shattered Hamstrings was alive and kicking.

Q1: Right from the bounce, the Eastern Warrior spirit was on display. Mordialloc realised quickly we weren’t going to roll over and play dead – not today. Despite being understrength, the lads dug deep, holding Mordy to just two goals. Not a bad start for a crew that looked like a patchwork quilt of borrowed boots and mystery players.

Q2: Mordy shuffled their deck and started to show their class, but the Warriors held firm. Kris, Bomber, Jamie, and Jeff (who was one cough away from a hospital bed with that side strain – so of course, I made sure to keep him laughing) stood up like true soldiers. The whiteboard looked more like a Sudoku puzzle as I shuffled names and numbers trying to find that magical formula. We weren’t perfect, but the effort was unrelenting.

Half-Time Chat: Simple message: "Keep doing what you’re doing – just with fewer shanks and bounce-of- the-ball disasters.” We were getting it out of defence beautifully, but the footy gods clearly had money on Mordy with the way the ball kept bouncing backward.

Q3: More of the same until the last five minutes – then bang! The chess pieces clicked. Pete B decided he was done watching and started sprinting up and down the wing like a man half his age (and with a quarter of the knee cartilage). Clint was popping up everywhere – forward, back, wing, boundary umpire (almost). Mordy was looking over their shoulders, because suddenly, we were in this.

Q4: The Best Quarter of the Season: No exaggeration – this was vintage Warriors footy. The boys found another gear and pushed hard. Kris slotted a beauty and was inches from kicking a second ( damn post). We kept Mordy to just two goals for the term and had genuine chances to score more ourselves. The crowd – okay, the three dogs and two partners on the sideline – roared in appreciation.

Final Score:

Mordialloc 16.20.116

Warriors 1.4.10

The scoreboard? Yeah, it doesn’t tell the real story. What matters is the heart, the

mateship, and the effort the boys put in. Massive thanks to the Mordialloc lads who

helped us field a team – Footy, Heater, Mark, Chilla, and the ex-Cobra warriors Bow and Jolly. You wore the jumper with pride and didn’t hold back for a second.

To the Warriors who showed up and went to war: our time is coming. I believe in this

team, and I’ll never give up on you – don’t you dare give up on yourselves.

Best On Ground (and then some):

Kris, Bomber, Clint, Jamie, Pete B, Obee, Jules, Heater, Mark, Jolly … and Jeff, whenever he wasn’t flinching, groaning, or glaring at me for making him laugh.


Over 50s match report in next post.