By Marcus Uhe
Hidden away on the outskirts of the Yarra Valley and bordered by the lush greenery of gum trees, you’d have no idea Mount Evelyn Recreation Reserve was there if you were simply passing through the area.
Access to the ground takes you up a snaking long driveway off York Road before the piercing high-pitched siren informs you that there’s a game of footy to be played amongst the majestic emerald backdrop of native fauna.
With the ground bathed in sunshine on a glorious late-autumn afternoon, the weather gods couldn’t have done much more to provide a quality spectacle between two sides desperate to register their first victory of the competition in 2023, in Mount Evelyn and Pakenham.
But for one side, the ambience and the setting would all mean for naught come the final punctuation of ambience from the end of game alert.
Few things make people immediately stop and snap their heads quite like the shrill blast of cork in an official’s whistle.
For the Pakenham coaching staff, that very clatter would have kept them awake on Saturday night, a constant reminder of where their issues begun to unravel early in the game.
From Mount Evelyn’s eight goals in the first half, three were a result of free kicks and another two heavily influenced by conceding 25-metre penalties.
Poor communication in the defensive 50 after the umpires advanced a Rover saw Matthew Brierley unmarked in the forward 50, who gleefully welcomed the ball into his open arms to get the ball rolling.
Not long after, they had their second, after Tom Hillard tackled an opponent following an uncontested mark to gift another 25-metre advancement.
When Jayden Silva’s attempted switch came unstuck at the top of the opposition goalsquare, the Lions were three goals down after 20 minutes having not found the key opening themselves at the other end of the ground.
With Jake Barclay supporting Jordan Stewart in the back half, there was plenty of drive and run and carry out of the back half.
The problem for their two leaders was that the ball would come back just as quickly as it exited.
When they were able to run and carry through their creative types such as Bailey Styles and Tahj De La Rue, they looked dangerous, and spread the ground as much as they could through the wings and flanks.
Maybe that’s a by-product of playing on the expanses of Toomuc Reserve, but it resulted in difficult shots on goal, as they missed their first seven.
By contrast, the Rovers were direct through the middle and got opportunities closer to goal, which they took with both hands, kicking 4.1.
Josh Haggar’s first goal of the day got the Lions on the board, but their battle with discipline continued.
Another brain fade from Hillard and a high tackle from Silva resulted in two more majors, as the Rovers kept finding answers for everything that was thrown at them.
Haggar added a second and third, but not consecutively.
Four goals to three in the home side’s favour reflected the arm-wrestle that played out within the boundary line, but Pakenham would have been left frustrated by an inability to capitalise, having possessed the ball more in their forward half but finding themselves 23 points down at the long break.
Defending the length of the ground was proving problematic all day – in part due to a lack of experience, in part due to the lack of pressure in the forward half.
Having missed yet another shot on goal in the opening minute of the second half, there were no excuses for the next concession as the ball bounced from their back 50 to the other at rapid speed.
With Mount Evelyn taking extra time to regather the Sherrin after it became lost in the narrow wooden vertical grandstands, there was ample time to establish their defence.
The ease with which the Rovers sliced through the temporary barricade erected by the visitors must have felt like a kick in the shins for the Pakenham brains trust, and it was worsened in the following few minutes when the lead reached 39 points.
Compounding matters was the finger injury suffered by Ben McDonald, who was whisked away to hospital midway through the third term.
Ruck Blake Cuttriss converted with a long set shot, and when Haggar kicked his fourth, shortly followed by another to Joel Sarlo on the back of some Kamikaze ball movement, there were signs of life.
Much like the first quarter when the blueprint was to get the ball in the hands of Barclay, Stewart and Stiles, Pakenham’s run and carry led to good things eventuating forward of the ball.
Kicking the final two goals of the quarter would have provided a spark going into the final term, but yet again their lack of discipline got in the way.
On a fast break escaping from the defensive 50, Hillard’s temper got the better of him.
High contact on his opponent at centre-half-back saw the umpire stop play to penalise the defender, and grant the Rovers possession from where the incident took place.
The resulting goal was flattening for a young side battling so hard to keep pace, but ultimately not up to the challenge.
Shadows lengthened across the ground in fading sunlight as time ticked-away, much resembling Pakenham’s hopes of a first win.
An impassioned Ash Green implored them to lift for a final effort, knowing the first goal of the term would go a long way to determining the outcome.
It took nearly 10 minutes, in a final quarter battle where Pakenham seemed to have the ascendency.
Both sides had their chances to make a statement, and responsibility would fall to Stewart, drifting forward in his aggressive defensive role.
Shortly after, Hillard looked to make amends for his earlier errors with an ingenious piece of play showcasing his football IQ.
Under pressure deep in defence, he rushed a behind, but wrapped his arm around the goalpost and slung himself back into play with momentum.
Up the guts he went, and within seconds Jake Thompson had the ball going over the goal umpires head at the other end.
23 points behind was as close as they would find themselves, however, as two late goals to the home side, including another from a free kick, shut the door on any potential comeback.
For Green, there was no secret as to where things went wrong for his young, inexperienced outfit.
“Turnovers cost us, that’s probably an issue not only this year, but in the last couple of years,” he said.
“It comes down to kids getting to the right positions, getting down low and tackling, all that sort of stuff.
“That’s what we’re working on at training at the moment, it’s just basically simple things.
“Do the simple things well and you’ll take the umpires out of the contest.
“What we’re trying to bring with a young side is excitement and enthusiasm with the way we play our footy.
“At times we do that and that’s a confidence thing, but when you turn the ball over as much as we did at times, you can probably lose your confidence fairly quickly as well.
“I’m proud of the way the guys got around it and finished the game off.
“As long as we learn from that, we can hopefully get better for it.”
At 0-3, Pakenham has played good football in patches against good sides, but not for long enough.
They kicked four goals to nil in the opening quarter against Woori Yallock, and made Narre Warren work hard in the first half for their slender advantage in round one.
There’s more beyond the simple win-loss ledger, Green says, having had their hand forced through injuries to key players such as Stephen Morey and Matt Debruin.
“We’ve got few young kids who need a few more of the older experienced heads around them, which we don’t have,” he said
“They’ve been thrown in a little bit, it probably gives them bigger exposure to the system.
“We’ve changed a lot of it (the defensive system) up, and to be fair, we played our captain Jake Barclay down back who normally plays in the midfield, so we’ve got guys playing unfamiliar roles this year where in the past they’ve probably played certain roles.
“It’s more about spending time together.
“We’ve got Stephen Morey out, Zac Stewart out, Ben Green out, but ultimately you can’t do anything about it.
“I think if you start getting focused with a young group about where the ladder is position-wise, it can start working against you.
“It’s more about getting the confidence up, get them around each other and support each other, and hopefully things will turn.”
The quest for a first victory resumes next week, hosting the third-placed Upwey Tecoma at home.
You would hope that the ringing in the ear from the official’s mouthpiece has worn off by that stage, replaced by cheers and the tune of “it’s a grand old flag.”
