WSL2 Report by Torben Fink-Jensen

6pm is definitely too early to try and start a WP game, especially one over at Melbourne High School. Nevertheless, Essendon had 8 players by kick-off, whereas NYP had to get by with just 6. Their 7th players showed up a couple of minutes into the game but not before Essendon had shot their first goal. Within a couple more minutes, NYP had 10 players against our 9, and it was looking like the tables had turned. But NYP struggled to settle, partly because their goalie was one of the late ones and the interim goalie was not in the same class. NYP had only two shots on goal all quarter, whereas Essendon were quite quick to get into a rhythm and scored . At 2-0 we had a penalty scored but then disallowed for the player being over the 5m mark, which seemed a bit harsh when the ref had done the lining up prior to the shot. Essendon were soon out to 5-0 before NYP grabbed one back at the end of the quarter. The tables were somewhat reversed in the 2nd quarter with Essendon struggling to put their shots away. NYP were stronger on defence and making holes in Essendon's defence to get the score to 6-5. However, NYP's success came at a cost with one of their players fouled out. Essendon weren't far behind with Sarah on 2 kick-outs. In the third quarter the momentum shifted up a gear as both sides tried to gain the advantage. This time Essendon was the beneficiary as we went out to a 9-6 lead, despite a missed penalty. Essendon swapped Sarah into goals for Katie to avoid the potential for Sarah to get a 3rd major, and Katie took her chance to go on attack. NYP lost another player fouled out, and then a third player received a head knock and couldn't carry on, leaving NYP with just 7 players for the final quarter. In the 4th quarter, NYP were starting to play in a more measured way to avoid overstretching themselves which made it hard for them to attack. Essendon were still going hard and kept putting the ball away with Maria and Dani moving out front. NYP lost another player to injury with 2.5 minutes to go and were ready to throw in the towel. Essendon missed another penalty but still managed to stay in front for the win.

Essendon defeated the NYP Dragons Blue : 13 – 6

Goals : Maria 4, Alex 3, Claudia 1, Phoebe 1, Kate 1, Dani 1, Sarah 1, LisaAndo 1

WSL2 Game Night Photos (courtesy of Torben Fink-Jensen) - see more on our FB page

WSL3 Report by Lisa Murray-Segal

With players away, we had a reduced list of 9, that dropped to 8 late in the afternoon. At least we had a spare. Another new pool venue at East StKilda meant further travel time for some but everyone was raring to go by game time. We started strongly putting the first goal away through Clare but DVE came back with two of their own by the quarter time break. We had a better second quarter, scoring through Clare again and Taryn. We were getting alot of the attacking play but failing to get the ball into the net. Our defence was tight with Sally and Sher covering potential breaks and Sandra swatting away shots in goal. So it was 3 all at haftime as we switched ends and made plans to surge ahead. But DVE had their own agenda, and we struggled to man up in the third as they used their speed and arm strength to put 2 goals away, before we manged to come back with another goal through Clare. We were all tiring by the start of the final term, down 4-5. Isi and Taryn worked hard up front with Georgia and LisaMS holding the defensive line, but it was Clare who was having a purple patch, and shone through with 2 goals for the quarter to keep us in touch, though DVE had moved forward again with 3 of their own. A close game where the outcome could have gone either way. A good start back from the break.

Essendon were defeated by DVE Aquatic : 6 - 8 Goals : Clare 5, Taryn 1

MSL3-4 Report by Marcus Jones

Some things are best kept vague and non descript.

Yes, we were pumped.

Essendon/Monash were defeated by the Old Melburnians : 3 – 13 Goals : Lucas 1, Lee 1, Kai 1

MSL6 Report by Nick Downing

Last night was a wild ride for the Essendon Water Rats as they took on the formidable NYP Dragons in a water polo showdown. Despite being a man down for the entire game, the Water Rats put up a valiant effort, swimming their hearts out and giving it their all. Despite their best efforts, the Dragons proved to be too much for the Water Rats, securing the win with 7 goals to the Water Rats' 3. The game was filled with close calls and near misses, as the Water Rats just couldn't seem to get past the Dragons' keeper. Despite the disappointment of the loss, the Water Rats can take solace in knowing that they gave it their all and fought until the very end. The effort was there, but the accuracy just wasn't on point this time around. If only we had a little more finesse with our shots, the outcome might have been different. So what's next for the Essendon Water Rats? Well, let's just say that it's time to hit the training pool and work on our accuracy. We won't be defeated so easily next time! To all the Water Rats out there, let's remember to hit the pool and work on our game more often. Here's to a better tomorrow!

Essendon were defeated by the NYP Dragons : 3 – 7 Goals : TBC

JNR MEN Report by Mike Holtz

Summer holidays. Love them. School goes back this week, which means that – wait – water polo starts over the long weekend? Before school? Gotta be a mistake. Nope. Pretty sure that went through many parents’ heads when the notices about last weekend’s games went out. Fortunately, the U18s had 6 players available, and we were able to rustle up 2 x U14s (Ben and Darcy) from the game before ours to have a bit of a bench. Our opponents, DVE, had similar issues with key players unavailable for the match as well. The contest started fairly level with shots from Lucas, Will, and Josh finding the back of the net and DVE adding 3 as well to level the scores by the first break. Our pair of U14s looked a little stunned at the size of the boys they were playing against but kept up well with Ben subbing into goals and Darcy playing in the field. The arm wrestle continued into the 2nd with Nic joining the goal scorers and Will continuing with solid play. Ben kept his cool in goals, but DVE snuck in a pair of their own to end the half level again. Following a half-time talk about communication and intensity, our defence lifted and we held DVE scoreless in the third while adding 2 more to our tally to finally take a lead. We continued to press throughout the fourth, and hats off to Ben who kept his composure in goals, making some good saves and protecting the ball from eager attackers. Darcy showed a lot of fire in the final quarter as well and held off attackers with a strong press. Nanai produced some key intercepts late in the quarter that kept the pressure on DVE. We were awarded a 5m penalty in the dying seconds to cement the win by 2 goals. Well done boys!

Essendon/MC/Richmond defeated DVE Aquatic : 8 – 6 Goals : Will 3, Nic 2, Lucas 2, Josh 1

U14 MIXED Report by Alex Steere

Our first game back was against DVE/NYP at Melbourne Girls Grammar. We had good numbers from both teams with 8 smiley faces ready to go for Essendon. With no training session before the season restart, we took a little while to get going. In the first quarter while we couldn’t find the back of the goals our defence held them to just one. The second quarter was similar, but they got the scoreboard ticking over with 4, leading into halftime at 0-5. We won the next quarter, by holding them to a single goal, while Toby and then Amelia scored one each : 2-6. The last quarter was an arm wrestle, Beth slotted our only goal for the quarter.

Essendon were defeated by DVE Aquatic / NYP Dragons : 3 – 8 Goals : Toby 1, Beth 1, Amelia 1

U14 BOYS Report by Darren Steere

So with the first round of the new year played the week before school goes back, many teams were caught with minimal players. This was our case, however some teams didn’t show up at all. We had 4 and Monash/NYP had 6. So we organised a scratch match with 5 a side (they lent us a player). This lead to a very open game with plenty of space and time. Our players enjoyed this situation and goals came freely, while our defence remained strong. While the offical result is an 0-8 forfeit, the scratch match result had us winning by a couple.

Essendon were defeated by Monash / NYP Dragons : 0 – 8 (FORFEIT)