June 7th 2014 Maulers, Saints and Roos.

Last time the Maulers made the trip up to Brohult a bit over a month ago for the first round DAFL clash they were greeted with a paddock full of unmowed grass that was in need of a herd of cattle. This time the grass had been mowed, the sun was shining, but noone had made the hay and the Saints were busy with 10 or so rakes picking up and moving grass like a bunch of hillbillies in the hot conditions.

By the time the field was ready to play on everyone was more than warmed up and the Maulers got straight into it. Helsingborg had a few new and old faces and The Maulers were weary that they could have their work cut out for them, Johan Lantz, Emil Åberg and a few rogue Aussies were being closely watched. The Saints lack of a solid ruckman  made it difficult for them to win the ball in the middle but they did put in a good effort and tried a few different options to try and overcome the Maulers centre combination. More often than not though it was Tony Mac that ended up with his hands on the ball with Tim Lindgren and Chris Mårtensson playing fantastic support roles around the centre circle. The first quarter didn’t show much on the scoreboard and The Saints managed to get plenty of ball and move up into their forward line but were quickly shut down by the  strong defensive line of Tony Persson, Rich Renall, Daniel Scotford and Denis O’Riordan. The Maulers work around the contest was exceptional, never giving up o the ball and constantly applying pressure on the Saints.

The second quarter was also a slow scoring affair with the half time scoreboard showing 1.3.9 to 3.5.23 in favor of the Maulers but in the 3rd, goal scoring machine Wayne Schuck came to life, again giving a textbook display of how a full forward should play and the margin soon grew to 52 by the end of the 3rd quarter after a flurry of round the body snaps at goal, smart leads and solid shots at goal from a good distance out.

The 4th quarter was quiet, ending up goalless for both teams and the final scoreline reading 1.4.10 to 9.9.63 and the Maulers coming out convincing victors. Siggy Kristansen, Chris Mårtensson and Ben Polmear chimed in with a goal a piece just to help Wayne out a bit, cheers guys we can’t wear him out too much. We sang the song with gusto and then sat and watched the Aalborg Roos and The Saints fight it out in the heat while we thought about how we lost to the Roos the week before when we’d just showed ourselves how well we can play as a team. Aalborg came out on top against the Saints 69 to 25.

It was time for the Maulers to take on the fast improving young premiership contenders The Aalborg Roos in a 9 a side battle that was sure to test everyone. The Roos also brought 3 competent Odense players with them for the road trip and looked quite strong on paper. In the first 30 seconds the Maulers won the ball and pumped it into the forward line and came away with one of those quick goals that lifts a side, and then continued to pile on the pressure the whole first quarter leaving the Roos feeling like they’d been hit by a landcruiser in the aussie outback, ROADKILL! with a 1st quarter scoreline of 4.0.24 to 1.1.7. At the break the focused Maulers were now well aware of what we are capable of when we play selflessly and support each other constantly.

The 2nd quarter was a similar story with the Maulers talking well, using the ball effectively, and structuring their attack in a manner that frustrated and wore out their opponents and left the halftime scoreline at 7.1.43 to 2.2.14. The Maulers had effectively shut down The Roos strongest players and therefore taken away most of their effect on the game giving every Mauler the chance to show what they’re made of. The 3rd and 4th quarters were slower in regards to scoring but the Maulers continued on their merry way towards the final siren and a winning scoreline of  9.2.56 to 4.4.28, the heat was starting to take its toll on everyone and we were glad to crack open a few cold ones. The goal scoring was shared around, Wayne Schuck 3, Mårtensson, Scotford, Macloughlin, Kristansen, Davidson and O’Riordan all with 1 a piece. Our more compact players such as Tobias Gogu and Jonas Lovén put there bodies on the line against Aalborgs tall strong outfit with 1 instance stuck in my mind of Tobias putting a hit on one of The Roos larger lads, he didn’t think twice and it was by far the bravest move of the day, Well done! Måns Hammarstrand was a handy man to have around playing in the centre and on the half forward line giving much needed support to a Maulers outfit that gave 100% over both matches. Welcome back to Chris Mårtensson and Rich Renall, your efforts were both appreciated. Best on ground for the day was captain Daniel Scotford but it was a hard decision to make with so many Maulers performing well on the day.

GO MAULERS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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