Under 11s

IT was the blue sky day that Beijing has dreamed of– smog and pollution free, sun shining through.

Both teams ran the full Olympic sized oval, aiming for Gold.

The Sharks’ Lewis Becker was a loose cannon– opening the scoring for his team.

These guys could have entered the handball competition in China with their skills.

Roos fought back hard in the second term, with Tiger Wholagan (up from the 9s) and Joel Colman being “The Great Wall” of defence.

Sam Monkhouse was an “Everywhere Man” for the Roos, never giving up.

The Sharks’ Oliver Quinlan reminded us of basketball star Yao Ming, towering above his opponents.

His team-mate Hugh Hoban showed courage to play on after a heavy fall.

The Roos’ Kye Selbey was able to run Olympic rings around his opponents to score a goal, despite Josh Cribb carrying the torch for the Sharks in defence.

Half time talks by the coaches were inspirational.

“Gentle Giant” Barry Tate asked the Roos to suck in the air and the oranges –and to not drop off the ball.

Eric “the Viking” Becker reminded his players that he didn’t need a personal best performance but a team effort.

Then the fireworks began.

Carlos Mifsud from the Roos impressed by handballing to himself and booting it for an intelligent goal, quickly followed by a second.

Luke Cribb for the Sharks responded by shrugging tackles with the flexibility of an Olympic gymnast and putting through a hard-earned goal.

The Roos’ Liam McGeogh’s speed impressed with the 100m sprint through the corridor.

His team-mate Ryan Tate was important as he ran the marathon as a midfielder.

Kye Selby added to the Roos score and Joe Tweedy played tough footy, shepherding well and going for those second and third attempts at the ball.

Hugh Hoban’s natural talent shone through like the Olympic flame for the Sharks as he ran hard to set up Jacob McMillan to score a goal.

Team-mate Fraser Halden ran a relay with direct kicks through the centre whilst Kieran Cribb tackled like a wrestling champion.

Finn Haslau (up from the 9s Roos) played with courage against monster sized opponents.

The Sharks finished off well with Liam Perich drilling a long bomb and Oliver “Yao Ming” Quinlan snatching a major just before the final siren.

Great talent and Olympic spirit shown by both teams.

Best Players/Awards:

Roos: Sam Monkhouse, Kristian Evans, Kai Selby, Martin Abbey, Joe Tweedie, Brodie Reynolds, Joel Colman and Carlos Mifsud

Sharks: Luke Cribb, Hugh Hoban, Fraser Halden