The Cygnet Football Club made the long road trip to Shark Park last Saturday and spent a long day at the office, with only the Colts returning with a victory, the Reserves gallant in defeat, while the Seniors were basically mauled by a more skilful and determined Dodges Ferry outfit. The Colts after an early start to their day were looking forward to the challenge of taking on the young Sharks on their home turf. They again got off to a good start but the Dodges side was not to be denied and things were very even at quarter time. The Port managed to get their running game going after the break and started to take advantage of the match, going into the three quarter time break with a handy lead. Will Ford, Sam Dean and Tom Nichols were playing well for the Port but a last quarter fade out, and concentration loss allowed the young Sharks the chance to kick easy goals and get very close to the young Port side. Thankfully for the coaching staff, time ran out for the fast finishing Sharks and the boy’s registered a good 9 point win, however it should have been far greater, and “Ejaz” has something to work on at training this week. Best for the Port were Captain, Will Ford, Sammy Dean and Tom Nichols who mopped up tirelessly in defence. Ben Halton and Max Carter finished good games with 3 goals apiece and Loic Auderset was strong in the ruck over four quarters. It would be a long time since the Colts have won at Shark Park, and the boy’s should be very happy with the victory. A depleted Reserves side took to the field with the barest of numbers but keen to register a win all the same. They allowed the Dodges side to dominate the first quarter and struggled to get into the game. In the second quarter the boy’s switched on and with Peter Roberts, Marcus Synnott and Jason Strong starting to run the ball, they all rallied and piled on the goals to get close to the sharks at half time. The rest of the game proved to be an arm wrestle, but eventually the Sharks with superior fitness and pace pulled away to record a 42 point victory. Marcus Synnott led all day by example for the Port while Peter Roberts continued his career best form with another lion-hearted display in the ruck. Stuart Eaton continued his consistent form while Matty Slater worked tirelessly in defence for little reward. Simon Slater and Jason Strong both worked hard all day around the ground. Jason Clark used all his experience in and around the goal square to kick five goals, with Marcus Synnott completing a good day at the office with four. Again the Club acknowledges the young Colts who had to play two games to help the Club field a side, and Damien Burnett who came out of retirement to assist and kicked a good goal. The Senior side were confident of a good showing but got off to a very slow start in the first quarter before kicking four late goals to be well in the game at quarter time. Things went horribly wrong from there and the Sharks piled on six goals to two to put the game beyond doubt at half time. The Port had no answer to their relentless run, pressure around the footy and their ability to clear the ball from the centre contests and stoppages. Running in numbers their on-ball brigade placed tremendous pressure on our backline players and were basically lining up to kick goals. Young Rhys Jennings and Shane Clark were doing their best to keep the Port in the game while Coach ‘’Pud’’ Darcy worked hard around the ground to muster his troops into action. But to no avail and by the final siren the Sharks had kicked 33 goals to maul the Port and record a huge 141 point victory. The Port was best served by Rhys Jennings who never gave up all day and played a great game while Shane Clark shut down his opponent when placed in a tagging role. ‘’Pud”’ Darcy and Matty Creek battled hard against huge odds, while Marcus Synnott in his second game of the day marked strongly and used the ball well. Young Will Dean provided drive and showed pace until sustaining a game ending injury. Up forward, Sam Walter marked well for his 3 goals, as did Shaun Townsend with 2. The other major goal-kicker was Jamie Direen who battled hard in the square against multiple opponents for 2. Congratulations to Sam Dean on his senior debut last week. Sam put in an honest effort in his first game for the Club at senior level. Well done Sam! It is no secret the Club is decimated by injuries and struggling at present, with up to 15 senior and reserves players on the sidelines. This has created the non-ideal situation of players, in particular our young Colts, having to double up and play two games. Players need to commit to training and come along to support their coaches and help their team mates. This is in no way an excuse for any performance so far, and the Club has a bright future ahead. You learn a lot about your Club during these tougher times, and to the players who continually put their bodies on the line each week we salute you all. To those players sitting at home not prepared to do the hard work, now is the time to get serious about your football, do the hard yards and help the Club out! Hopefully, things will improve in the player numbers department over the coming weeks as our injury list hopefully subsides. The Club wishes young Colts player Cameron Potter a speedy recovery after sustaining a suspected broken leg in last Saturday’s game. This week we again face the long road trip to Triabunna, and urge all and supporters to make the long drive and ‘’Support the Port’’.

PORT VOLUNTEER OF THE WEEK:
Fred Miller is this week’s volunteer of the week. A Life Member, Fred has dedicated himself to the Cygnet Football Club, whether it is goal umpiring, time-keeping or just helping around the Club. Well done Freddy!!