Hours of studious observation from the confines of our decorous clubhouse each Wednesday allowed selectors to put to the field a team brimming with talent and panache for the 2009 Microfest hosted by Ballina.

Kudos to the Club Executive who arranged for the curtain raiser between the younger Ballina & Casino sides which enabled spectators to get a glimpse of the talent that will come through the ranks to the Battered Prawns in due course. Many a young player then took the opportunity to assume vantage points on the sideline to observe the skill on display and to marvel at and learn from events as they unfolded at the main event.

Bolstered by the influx of prudent off season purchases, Ballina proceeded to dominate the matches they were involved in. Proceedings opened with a hard fought encounter against the Casuarina Cassowaries. Operating at a notch or two above the usual speed and intensity, Ballina opened the scoring with a sweeping backline movement.

A quick reply was posted by the Cassowaries, after which both teams took turns in scoring. Dirty tactics employed by the Cassowaries were seemingly ignored by referee Morgan which resulted in questionable injuries to main strike players McClintock and Lloyd. The former suffering a blow to the head from a loose elbow and the latter looking like the result of 3 rounds with Mike Tyson due to an unsavoury and indiscreet eye gouge.

As well as this, esteemed El Presidente Ward, making his long awaited return, suffered at the hands of an over zealous Cassowary being driven into the ground without the ball, seriously impeding the performance of his drinking arm. Troubled young sensation Dunne then proceeded to execute a cheap head high shot on a runaway Cassowary which then saw him spend the rest of the match churlishly avoiding any contact in either attack or defence, instead resorting to cheap smears and sledging of opposition players, resulting in, overall, an indolent display.

Our second game saw a repeat of the Nash Bash grudge match/local derby with the Lennox Head Silvertails. Still smarting from their embarrassing capitulation last month, the Silvertails deliberately slowed play at each and every opportunity in an attempt to stymie the brilliance of the Ballina side.

This lulled the home side into a false sense of security which saw the game swing on a final inexplicable pass by lumbering forward Murphy to flying centre Dunne where theatrics and a desire to “show-off” to the large crowd saw a simple “catch-draw-pass” process convoluted into something you’d see at a Harlem Globetrotters display, necessitating only a raising of hands by a lazy Silvertail malingerer to catch the sweetly timed intercept and stroll over for the match winning try.

Honourable mentions go to:

• Hume Bradman who after knocking out a quick half century on the turf at Fripp Oval, displayed his multi-season versatility by stumping up to play footy the same afternoon, albeit leaving his chestguard on.
• Poppa Gallagher for bringing to the game the outstanding innovation being trialled in the NRL of a second referee on the field. It just happened to be him!
• Mark McMahon for his vindictive streak in providing boatrace hors d’oeuvre’s where the delicate flavours of anchovies were subtly blended with a blue cheese paste and chilli, garnished with wasabi, encased in golden pastry. Chef de Prix Bill Grace now has a copy of the recipe and hopes to add it to his array of colourful dishes.

Dishonourable mentions go to:

• Chris “Dr. Death” McKenzie, who in an effort to provide a stimulus package to the local area health service and his own practice, proceeded to throw way too many hospital passes for any ones liking.
• Matt Dunne, who despite being offloaded to the Atherton Pheasants to sit out a playing ban and being employed as bar staff at the local football club and delivery boy for the local pharmacist in order to get some reality and normality into his life, still seems to be suffering from substance induced malaise but no one can see how he gets hold of it.

3 points for the day went to big off season signing Andy Wilks for his tireless efforts in the forwards in both attack and defence and his ability to disappear for the boatrace which saw Ballina romp it home because we only had 2 in the team.

2 points went to Gary Murphy, not because of his display on the paddock, but because no one else wanted to go in the boatrace.

1 point went to Pete Lloyd who despite missing a number of tackles and not giving 100% in attack was given points, otherwise we wouldn’t hear the end of it. If Lloyd is to receive best & fairest honours at the end of the year for an unprecedented 2nd time running, his performance needs to improve as he currently sits just outside the top 3 based on current standings.

Sincere thanks go to:

• Chef de Prix Bill Grace for raising, slaughtering, hanging, boning and mincing one of his prize herd to provide the steaks and sausages which sold out on the day.
• Immediate Past President Murray Glass who, in light of his work behind the BBQ on Saturday, has embraced a career change and given the building game away to become apprenticed to our esteemed culinary master aforementioned.
• Tuvaluan Honorary Consul Noel Morgan for a sterling effort in sharing the refereeing duties with a number of active players.
• The roses amongst thorns at the BBQ and bar. WAG’s First Lady Mary Ward; Immediate Past First Lady Steph Glass and Mrs Hon. Sec. Bernadette Grace.
• Armaguard for escorting the Treasurer to the bank on Monday morning to deposit the day’s takings.

Well done to all….

Treas.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 29th, 2009 at 8:41 am and is filed under Golden Oldies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.