By Jonty Ralphsmith
Cardinia’s men’s six-game undefeated streak came to an end on Sunday with a 0-0 draw against Mornington-Cerberus.
Playing against an exceptionally fit opposition, the Storm had less space than they were accustomed to in their forward half.
Nick Dzierbicki and Jean-Francois Blignaut presented well and worked hard all day, while Brandon Rose’s size and strength at right-half is starting to come to the fore.
Despite not being able to break through and convert, the game was still largely played on the Storm’s terms against a mid-table opposition.
“Our forward structure was good and we mostly stuck to our gameplan,” said coach Peter Turner.
“We just got caught playing their style at times so it was a bit of a wake-up call.
“It will be a tough week at training – we’ll give ourselves time to adjust and realign with some players returning from injury next week.”
Cardinia’s next assignment is a clash with Collegians-X, which had an upset win over Glen Eira on the weekend.
The women, meanwhile, had a 2-0 win against Casey in the local rivalry.
It was a well played game by the team, working well together and putting into practice some new skills from training this week, with Tina Horwood and Bridie Dillon the goal-scorers.
The Storm dominated the first half, led by Teejay Peterson, who had some fantastic leads and worked her magic moving the ball forward,
Ash Burnett was also key on the wing being ready to take on the ball and having energetic runs down the wing to get storm into the circle.
Several players showed their positional versatility, embracing the challenges thrown at them.
The Storm’s Player of the Match was awarded to Lauren Walsh for her consistency in the half and back line, as she created a wall for her team.
The U14’s came away with a 3-2 loss, but fought the game out in fine style.
Casey Cannons scored their three goals in the first half, with Storm keeping them scoreless in the second half and pushing through with their determination, with Harkeraat Singh Oberoi and Harley Spence the goal scorers.
They switched the ball well, with Luke Holland and Izzy Byron staunch in the backline and Hunter Spence made some crucial saves as the goal keeper.
Craig Holland’s tenacity and determination as left half saw him awarded best-on-ground.
