Photos of the Brunmeier's game against Claremont

9 June 2007- Round 11, West Perth v. Claremont

We have played all eight teams in the WAFL and in Round 10 we started from the top again. The first part of our season has been ordinary. The reserves sit second from the bottom and hold a record of 1 and 8. This is not where we saw ourselves at the beginning of the season.

East Perth beat us last week by 40 points. The game was close until the fourth quarter when they ran away with it. This week we had Claremont in our sights. First time up against them they gave us a true pasting. They are the only team who dominated us and kept us completely out of the game. This time we faced them at home. And since we were sitting second bottom and they were sitting at they the top, we hoped they maybe would relax a little and give us a chance.

The weather Saturday was sunny and warm as per usual. The ground was a bit slick with dew but we guessed that would dry up as the game went on. Our focus in the team meeting was pressure, pressure, pressure. We could not afford to give them time with their disposals. They are a better skills side than us but we had to deny them the opportunity to utilize it. I started out in the back line tagging one of their bigger but less mobile players. The game started off well for us. We got on the scoreboard first and then it was on. Back and forth it went through the first two quarters. They had more shots on goal but we were more accurate. When the siren blew at half time we were trailing by a goal.

Our pressure in the first half was fantastic. We equalled our tackles from the week before in just two quarters. As for me, it was up and down. I was slow in adjusting to the guy I was guarding and as a result he assisted in a few goals. Taking the advice of the runner Steve Morgan I started playing in front,  instead of next to him. This allowed me to cut off his leads and as a result his touches dropped off. Jared and I are known for our tackling skills with our gridiron background. I usually get at least one free kick from a tackle a game. In an ironic twist, I found myself on the receiving end of one of those text book tackles. The ball had come down to the back line where one of the backs brought it to ground. Luke Thedesco scooped it up and looked for an option. Running off the back of the pack I called for it and got it. I must of been grinning when I got the ball because all I could think about was the open wing I was about to run onto.  Maybe I could even carry the ball and have a bounce before sending it up the wing. That wistful thinking was quickly shattered when I got the hand ball and turned into the waiting shoulder of one of their forwards. 'He should not be there', I thought as he lifted me up and slammed me into the ground. The umpire  immediately pinged me with holding the ball. That gave the forward a shot on goal from 10 meters out. He didn’t miss.

The third quarter was much the same as the first two, back and forth, us always trailing by the slightest margin. Luke Thedesco kicked a goal on the run from the 50 meter arc. Not bad for a half back. Things were looking good, until the first five minutes of the fourth quarter. We went from trailing by a few points to trailing by three goals. That so far was the story of the season. We fought hard for three quarters, always in the game. But for some inexplicable reason, we collapsed in the fourth quarter. It is not our fitness, we are a very fit team. We must just get complacent. At any rate, seven of our previous games turned out the same.
I was on the interchange when the downfall began. I could only shake my head in disbelief. Not again, I thought. After all our hard work, don’t let it slip away again. I am sure this thought was echoed across the field by all our players. Turning our thoughts into action we slowly but surely clamped down their run, put them under pressure again and started chipping away at the lead. Pretty soon we were five points away from them. There were about three minutes left in the game and I quickly sprinted off the field to bring Tristin Holden on to give us height. We moved the ball down the field where Jay Van Berlo, one of the up and comers at the club, took a strong mark in traffic. He lined up at a slight angle about 40 out. All we could do was hold our breath. We had nothing to worry about, he smashed it through. 

There were two minutes left, we were winning by one point and could at no cost give them a shot on goal. They cleared the center bounce and immediately kicked it within the 50 meter arc. This started about a minute of frantic play with spoils, tackles and smothers. We got the control of the ball and started eating away at the clock. Back and forth our backs kicked it. We looked safe until Jai Menegola kicked it up the middle to Andrew Crosby. It hung up just a second too long giving Claremont a chance to bring it to ground and try and get a shot off. They didn’t get it. The siren blew. Game over. We just beat the top side. A side that had previously beat us by 90 points.

We ran onto the field as if we had won the grand finale, which is exactly what it felt like. Everyone got around Van Berlo and just about tackled him to the ground. Our hard work finally paid off. All our aches and pains were forgotten and there was only one thing left to do. Sing the song. It never sounded better!

- James Brunmeier
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