Unders Division 2 Team are Premiers!
On a wet and cold morning, the young blues led by SuperCoach Luke Fulton-Tindall travelled to Latrobe University to take on the more fancied ladder leading Old Camberwell to decide the premiership for U19(2). In the wet conditions, the Blues won the toss and elected to kick with the wind. Jumping Old Camberwell from the bounce, the Blue’s pressure was elite as they strangled the usually smooth-moving Old Camberwell midfield to take a solid 3.4 to 0.1 lead into the first break. With the wind in the second quarter, the Blues’ pressure in the midfield dropped a little as Camberwell started to get on top. The Blues defence stood tall, keeping the pressure on Old Camberwell’s forwards, giving them very little time and space to have quality shots on goal. In a stanza where Camberwell held the Blues to a scoreless quarter, they were only able to add 1.8 going into halftime with a 7-point deficit, the Blues leading 3.4.22 to 1.9.15.
The third quarter again saw Camberwell get on top of the Blues, who, with the breeze, were unable to muster a clear attack, leading to Camberwell winning the quarter and closing the gap to just 3 points at the last 3.8.26 to 2.11.23. In a simple message to the team at 3/4 time, Fultz asked the team to lift the pressure and believe that they could outwork Camberwell and get the W. It really came down to who wanted it most, and the need to score goals from the Blues was paramount as they had been held goalless for 2 quarters. Old Camberwell struck first with a goal to their Captain, followed by 2 behind and a second goal with 8 minutes to go in the last quarter to have them up by 11 points. The game was a seesaw with the ball going from one end to the other before a free kick, and 50m with 4:30 to go gave George Ingram a shot on goal, which he kicked truly.
Camberwell were able to answer this goal with 2 minutes left on the clock with a goal from the boundary, and they started to celebrate as if the game was dusted. It was looking pretty dire for the Blues with the need to kick 2 goals in less than 2 minutes. A goal with about 60 seconds of game time to the Blues had them back within 5 before Camberwell missed an open goal to take the score to 6 points. Sam Lindsay, who had been a standout down back, managed to hit Sam Ryan up the guts, who played on, and the ball fell to Jasper Cheesman, who delivered over the back to a foot race between Sam Litras and his opponent. A ball up in the goal square with seconds on the clock had Camberwell rush it through for a behind. With next to nothing left on the clock, enter Angus Watson. A missed marking attempt from Camberwell ruckman landed for Angus to collect, and in the process, he was tripped. At 60 metres out it would have been impossible to kick, however, in their enthusiasm to celebrate the win, Camberwell players encroached on the contest leading to a 50m penalty and the chance for Angus to win the game. A back pocket who hadn’t had a shot on goal all year was about to become the hero and win the game. Nerves of steel as he walked in and kicked truly (if only by a foot) to win the game, Blues by 1 point.
Sam Ryan and Finn Hanegraaf were huge in the last quarter, standing up when needed, with Sam Lindsay being instrumental in the backline all day.
Luke Fulton-Tindal now joins an elite band of Bobby Girdwood and Gungha who have coached two premierships at the Blues
A courageous win that goes down in Blues folklore.