The Collingwood Victoria Wheelchair Football League (VWFL) and the Community Wheelchair Football League (CWFL) teams both came away with wins on the weekend, triumphing over Richmond at the Diamond Valley Fitness and Sport Centre.
Due to previous matches against the Tigers, the game was shaping up to be a physical one. Coach Andrew Paddles told the team pre-game not to be afraid of any contact.
Paddles asked the group to have short and sharp handballs where possible to give the Pies the best chance to control the ball moving forward down the court. From his perspective, the Collingwood forwards also needed to communicate and work well together to create space in front of goals.
The Pies started the game strong, but the match was a seesaw.
Martyn Ford scored consecutive goals in the first quarter helping Collingwood get the jump early, but Richmond never gave up and came back during the second quarter to keep the Pies scoreless.
Ben Jankowski scored two during the third giving Collingwood more confidence in keeping Richmond at an arm’s length.
Arnold Razon, Josh Christian, and Will Crooks ran down the clock brilliantly in the last few minutes of the game ensuring Richmond didn’t have an opportunity to gain possession and make a last minute come back.
Anthony Perito’s last minute clutch goal gave the Pies the lead late in the game to secure the win.
COMMUNITY WHEELCHAIR TEAM
The Community Wheelchair Team were looking to keep their undefeated streak alive coming up against a very physical team in Richmond.
In his pre-game speech, Coach Paddles assured the team that if they were clean with the ball, scoring opportunities would present themselves.
Paddles noted that the team needed to be patient when in possession and not rush to create goal opportunities. He emphasised keeping their handballs short and sharp to ensure Richmond couldn’t gain easy possession.
Aaron Cutajar was impressive throughout the match, keeping elite pressure on his opponent whenever the ball was near.
Jack Elliot had several attempts at goal and his celebrations never failed to disappoint.
A long bomb from Andrew Paddle in the last quarter was a huge confidence booster for the team along with Matt Blunt putting his body on the line to secure a close win over the Tigers.
Upcoming matches for both teams are as follows:
Collingwood VWFL – Sunday, July 9th against Hawthorn, Starting at 11:30am at the Wurdi Baierr Stadium in Torquay
Collingwood CWFL – Sunday, July 9th against Hawthorn starting at 10:30am at the Wurdi Baierr Stadium in Torquay
VWFL TEAM RESULTS
Collingwood 4.1 4.1 9.2 10.4 (64)
Richmond 1.3 3.4 5.5 9.5 (59)
Goals:
Collingwood: Perito 5, Ford 3, Jankovski 2.
Richmond: Henderson 6, Kotsanas 3.
CWFL TEAM RESULTS
Collingwood 1.2 1.5 2.5 4.5 (29)
Richmond 0.0 0.0 3.1 3.2 (22)
Goals:
Collingwood: Elliott 2, Paddle 2.
Richmond: Secombe 3.
