Men’s M1W v Brunswick
The Sopranos 6 def Brunswick 1
A new hockey season. New rules. A new grade. New faces.
After spending much of the summer suffering flashbacks from their second consecutive Grand Final loss, the Sopranos were looking for a fresh start. And they got it. Some of us enjoyed preseason training on the way to the game – by turning the heater on in the car. Some of us had several drinks the night before at the Harp night and were just happy to get some fresh air. Clance was just happy with the two practice traps that he completed as his preseason training – one of which was a mis-trap!
The first victory of the year for the Sopranos came at the coin toss. Unfortunately, Captain Lachie made a fatal error at the home of hockey and took the ball rather than keeping with tradition and heading to the freeway end. The Sopranos were not happy. Luckily, the Sopranos converted their anger with their Captain into scoring opportunities. A goal was the result from the first circle penetration. A similar result came from the first short corner. The Cumbers were thinking that these new rules were pretty good as their opposition struggled to clear the ball from the 16′s and the goal scoring opportunities flowed.
By half time, the Sopranos had iced the game (5 – Nil) and were looking for the ice themselves. In the bright sunshine, with no preseason behind them, the Sopranos wilted and had to settle for a 6 – 1 victory.
An excellent overall team performance, however it was the quality of the new “old” faces such as Tim “Judas” Watts, Simon “yes, I do have a certificate that says I am clinically insane” Cleave and Ben “how’s the hammy” Johnston that made the difference.
Goals: Tim Watts 2, Simon Cleave, Drew Morrison, Barney Allen, Charlie McNamara
