Strikers News 2005

On a cool night in early winter a young man lies on his side on the turf near the north-eastern corner of Perry Park's main pitch. He has his left leg drawn up at the knee and placed over his outstretched right leg, his muscular shoulders pressed to the ground as best he can, his face contorted into a grimace.

Kneeling over him, with his weight pressing down hard on the young man's upper leg and left shoulder is an older man who, at this moment, is largely responsible for the grimace and an occasional grunt of pain. "Exhale", the older man says. "That's it. Yeah, it's out again, isn't it?".

A couple more of these stretches are negotiated with much the same painful results. Then the younger man is released and gets up. The older man turns to me and, in his animated manner says "His back's out again. It happens all the time. When I pressed down on him I could hear it all clicking back into place - like snapping dry sticks of spaghetti". As he spoke, he scrunched his large hand into a fist as he imagined the abused strands of pasta that were, coincidentally, at this moment holding the upper half of the younger man's body upright.

The younger man is Antony Hall, the Brisbane Strikers' Premier League goalkeeper, and the older man is Gary Disney-Smith, his goalkeeping coach. Along with David Pattinson, the reserves team 'keeper, they are 'warming up' for a training session amongst themselves while the rest of the team works with head coach Bobby Hamilton and his assistant, Gordon Livingstone.

Hall and Pattinson have already gone through a series of exercises involving stepping sideways, back and forth, between closely-set cones. This is to get their footwork organised. Footwork, explains Disney Smith, is the basis of everything a good goalkeeper does. Small, dancing, sideways steps allow a goalkeeper to position himself at just the right point from which to launch himself, if need be, at a speeding rocket heading towards the top or bottom corner of his goal, and they allow him to do so without taking his eye off either the ball or the kaleidoscopic player movement that might be happening in front of or around him. Watching Hall and Pattinson's feet move, they are reminiscent of tennis players hugging the baseline. The same curiously unnatural grace is evident, as is the capacity it provides to cover precious metres of ground while keeping the upper half of the body and the head steady.

The two goalkeepers have also worked between more generously spaced cones, diving low across the ground to their left and right, tucking one leg under them as they do so to use it like a coiled spring to propel them back to their feet again without the need to use their hands. It is very important, Disney-Smith explains, that both hands are kept free as the exercise is meant to train his 'keepers to dive low to parry a shot and then spring back up again in readiness to make a double save.

"Everything we do here is meant to simulate what happens in a game", Disney-Smith explains as his proteges lie on their backs, linked side-by-side near the ankles. One pulls himself up via his abdominal muscles to throw the ball from behind his head to the other, who catches it on his way down. Up and down they go, in a see-sawing motion, the ball moving rapidly between them. "It's mainly for their abs", says Disney-Smith, "but it's also to get them warmed up".

With each keeper now breathing heavily (particularly Pattinson, who is battling a dose of the 'flu) Disney-Smith moves them over to another set of cones. In the centre of a v-shaped layout are two cones -one about three metres forward of the other. To each side of the back cone are at least two others, fanning out some five metres apart. At the extremity of each "V" is placed a football, while about five metres out from the forward cone Pattinson stands over a bunch of about a dozen footballs. Hall takes up position in the middle of the "V" behind the back, central cone.

Suddenly Disney-Smith calls out "Go, Hally!" and Hall is off, scampering towards the football ten metres out to his left. He throws himself at it, shoulders and outstretched arms hitting the dry turf, sending grass clippings and dust airborne as he grasps the ball in both hands. Then he springs up to sprint back towards the middle cone. A second later Pattinson drops a ball out of his hands and volleys it flat and hard towards Hall, but slightly back in the direction from where Hall has run. Hall does his best to defy the laws of physics and flings himself backwards to get a hand on it, keeping it out of his imaginary goal, and then springs back up to continue his run to the central cone, where he cops another volley from Pattinson but parries it away before darting towards the forward central cone where Pattinson hits him with another. Then a short retreat to the back central cone and a sprint out to the right-hand extremity of the "V" where he dives headlong to grasp the ball placed there. "SSSSSssssss", hisses Disney-Smith loudly, and on it goes again, with the coach sooling his charge along almost like a shepherd would his sheepdog.

It is high intensity work and, after three or four rounds of this, Hall is permitted to stop and suck in a few deep breaths. "A couple more?", Disney-Smith asks, and Hall nods. Off he goes again, completing his repetitions with no less energy than before. Next it is Pattinson's turn, as Disney-Smith confides to me and admits "you have to be a masochist to coach this".

Pattinson is noticeably struggling and can't keep up the same intensity as Hall, needing a longer break as his 'flu-congested airways struggle to pull in enough oxygen. Disney-Smith explains that he has to be sensitive to how his goalkeepers are feeling physically, because if he overworks them and fails to be receptive to problems, he runs the risk of leaving them less than 100% fit, or worse, unable to play on game day. "Then who looks like a d***head?", he asks. "Me, of course". A masochist with sensitivity, then? Probably.

The next exercise is to be performed between the real goalposts at the northern end. This prospect seems slightly disturbing for Pattinson who, as well as having the remnants of the 'flu, has a painful grass burn down the outside of his left arm. He is eyeing the sparse turf on the goal line with trepidation. But again, it is Hall's turn first.

Disney-Smith lines himself up with Hall's right post, and Pattinson with the left post, each with half a dozen balls at his feet. Hall stands on the line in the centre of the goal. Then, at Disney-Smith's command, Pattinson strikes the first ball low and just inside his post. Hall dives to his left, getting his left palm to the ball at full stretch, then bounces up to charge back to the right post, where Disney-Smith has thrown a ball at the top corner of the goal to an area where, in Alan Hunter's vernacular, the spiders live. It seems physically impossible for Hall to get to this. But with a huge, straining grunt he gets airborne and, again at full stretch, his right palm emerges to cut the ball off in full flight and tip it onto the post. Hall finishes up in a bundle on the ground outside the post.

"Great save, Hally!", Disney-Smith enthuses, as Hall launches himself up off the ground, dances back along the goal line and gets down wide to his left to save Pattinson's next post-scraper.

If the previous exercise had seemed frenetic, this one is an eye popper as Hall repeats it until all the footballs are used up. Each time it looks impossible for him to reach Disney-Smith's cruel spider-blaster, Hall's airborne body appears from nowhere to get something, if only a finger tip on it. Watching Hall fly through the air, I get the feeling that this is as close to non-mechanised flight as humans are ever likely to get. Seen in silence, it would be poetry in motion. But there is something about the sound of Hall's straining as he springs off the ground, and the thud as his body hits the earth, that makes thoughts of poetry seem somehow inappropriate. It's bloody murder!

When Hall can do no more, it is Pattinson's turn. To the goal line he goes, and Disney-Smith reverses the order of high and low delivery so that Pattinson does not have to dive low onto his sore left arm, but low onto his right. Pattinson gets down low into the corner to save the first, and springs up to dance effortlessly along the line and intercept the spider-blaster with just the merest of jumps. His footwork is so nimble he doesn't need to dive on this occasion, but it soon becomes obvious that the reserve keeper has a serious mental block against launching himself to his left if his footwork fails to get him close enough. Several of the high balls make it into the top corner, with only a split-second's worth of hesitation by Pattinson doing the damage.

"Young people today...." Hall remarks, turning to me with a grin and a wry shake of the head. "No guts".

Disney-Smith, however, is more sympathetic - mindful again that the reserve team must have an able-bodied and mentally switched-on 'keeper in two days' time. So he goes easy on Pattinson and soon changes the drill.

The coach and reserve keeper next stand behind the goal, with Hall positioned beneath the crossbar. Disney-Smith and Pattinson lob balls just a few inches over the bar, with Hall required to jump high enough to get his hand above the ball and slap it back over. This is presumably designed to build the explosive strength in the calf muscles that is necessary to enable 'keepers to jump "above their height". Once again, despite the rapidity of the repetitions, they make it look easy and the only clue to the effort that is actually required lies in their anguished grunts as they spring off the ground.

They save one of the best drills 'til last. Disney-Smith goes to a softer area of turf and sets up a couple of cones roughly a goal's width apart, and then positions half-a dozen tall cones (about two feet high) in staggered formation in front of them. Pattinson takes up position behind a cluster of footballs about twelve metres away. "They're meant to simulate players", Disney-Smith explains, pointing at the tall cones. "When the shot comes in, it might deflect off them and go in any direction". Hall takes up position on the goal line and Disney-Smith takes me behind the makeshift goal. Pattinson drills the first shot low and hard, and it misses the top of a cone by a mere centimetre or two before ending up in Hall's outstretched gloves as he dives away to his right. "You have to make a decision", says Disney-Smith. "Do you go for it or not? The margins are very fine, but you have to be sure".

Pattinson fires them in for several minutes. The occasional ball bounces off a cone, usually accompanied by an "Oh, you bastard", or something of that nature, by the diving Hall whose nerves and reflexes are getting stretched to somewhere near breaking point. All the same, few balls actually make it past him and the 'keepers both sound like they are having fun.

Disney-Smith and I are only metres behind the goal but, after a while, Disney-Smith turns his back to the action as he chats to me. Out of the corner of my eye I keep a slightly anxious watching brief. Occasionally, a ball looms awfully large in my line of vision and I prepare to take evasive action, only for Hall (and later Pattinson) to arrow through the air and snuff out the danger. Again, it seems effortless and Disney-Smith's nonchalant indifference begins to make sense. He has great confidence in his students.

Soon, Bobby Hamilton calls his goalkeepers over to join in a scratch game with the rest of his squad, and Disney-Smith shrugs his shoulders and looks at me. "Sorry it was a bit low-key tonight", he says. "Usually we've got more 'keepers here and we'd have been able to work them a bit harder, and Bobby doesn't always call for them this early".

The apology is slightly wasted on me. 'Low-key' or not, I'd been impressed enough with the effort the two had put in, and I felt I'd learned a little about what makes goalkeepers tick. On another night, perhaps I'd have learned more, or different, things. But that night, what I'd learned was that if you want to be a top quality goalkeeper you need more than just the natural attribute of quick reactions and quick-twitch muscles for the explosive power without which, of course, you cannot possibly succeed. You also need other, learned qualities. For example, the ability to master the footwork so that it becomes automatic.

But as well as, and perhaps more importantly than, the physical attributes required there is the stuff that happens between the ears. You need to develop the self-discipline to work as hard as you can on your game without the extra motivation provided by having platoons of your team mates working alongside you to share the load. Goalkeeping is, in some respects, a lonely sporting pastime. And it seems you need to develop the ability to impose mind over matter. That is useful for such things as blocking out pain and denying yourself that micro-second of hesitation that can make the difference between a good decision and a bad one, between success and failure for yourself and for your team.

No wonder goalkeepers are renowned for being strong-minded characters!

15/06/05 Solving A Puzzle Each Week: The Brisbane Strikers' Season So Far

With the Brisbane Strikers about to resume their Premier League campaign after having a one week break while Premier Cup fixtures were played, perhaps now is a good time to take stock of what we have seen so far and the prospects that might lie ahead for the team.

With ten rounds of the Premier League to go, the competition seems sufficiently even for the battle to secure top four positions to go right down to the wire. The Strikers are among the teams that are in with a chance, being currently in fifth spot - five points behind the pacesetters, the Palm Beach Sharks. That position could have been better, but the Strikers have slipped from the third position they occupied a fortnight ago courtesy of two disappointing results against teams positioned below them on the table - a quirk that is in danger of becoming a habit this season.

But considering some of the conundrums that have confronted coach Bobby Hamilton and his squad since the moment he walked into the job two weeks before the season kicked off, it is hardly surprising that Hamilton told the BSSA a little over a week ago that he was happy with his team's position on the league table.

It is not an exaggeration to say that Hamilton has been solving a new puzzle almost every week. The team he took into the season had been recruited almost completely without his input and many of the players were still trying to get to know each other, let alone their new coach. Therefore, Hamilton's first task was to sift through the talent and personalities at his disposal and choose his best combinations. As football coaching goes, there's nothing new or overly challenging about that. But it left him significantly behind the eight ball when compared with the task of coaches at, say, Pine Rivers, Palm Beach and Rochedale Rovers - all of whom began the season with settled and well-performed squads whose players knew each other's games well. Incidentally, it's worth taking a look at the league table and seeing where those clubs are right now.....no prizes!

Hamilton opted for a line-up for Round One that featured primarily experienced players recruited from Brisbane City and Brisbane Lions, augmented by others who had 'remained' with the club from the North Star and Brisbane Strikers (NSL and Youth) teams. Hence, the eleven who took the park against the Brisbane Wolves at Wynnum were Antony Hall, Jamie Lowndes, Dimitri Theochari, Adam Webber, Damien Waugh, Stewart Drinkeld, Michael Butters, Nathan Carloss, Brad Stevens, Greg Di Losa and Russell Woodruffe. While pre-season injuries had ruled out Matt Bell and Michael McEvoy, there is little doubt that Hamilton's initial first eleven had the ability to compete with any team in the league. All that was needed was time in the heat of battle, and on the training paddock adjusting to Hamilton's methods, to turn them into a cohesive unit.

So went the theory, and for the first four rounds it looked pretty good. Two wins against underdone opposition (the Wolves and Brisbane City) tuned up the Strikers for higher octane opposition in the form of Rochedale Rovers and Pine Rivers. When the Strikers outlasted Rochedale to win 3-2 in a titanic contest and dominated Pine Rivers in a 1-1 draw, things looked decidedly rosy. The starting eleven seemed relatively stable, giver or take some minor experimentation and fine-tuning, and the shape of the team (based on a 3-5-2 formation) was coming together quite nicely. After four weeks Hamilton could have been excused for thinking things were just too good to be true.

They were, for within a few weeks things had not merely taken a turn for the worse, but were unravelling at a giddying rate. First, a little complacency took hold in the team, which was lethargic in a 1-0 victory over the winless University of Queensland. Midfield lynchpin Lowndes suffered a potentially season-threatening knee injury in that game to put an early dampener on proceedings. The next week, having survived their complacency against UQ, the Strikers reproduced it against lowly Eastern Suburbs and were deservedly beaten. To make matters worse, Waugh - another key midfielder - was red-carded and suspended for three games for an indiscretion late in the game.

To lose Lowndes and Waugh was disquieting, but things really began to go pear-shaped as Hamilton's squad was rapidly decimated by a glut of further injuries (incurred mostly on the training paddock) to Carloss, David Thomas, and Daniel Leach and by the absences of Drinkeld (nuptials), Daniel Dreger and Brad Lacey (released to Taringa Rovers), Woodruffe (released to Central Coast Mariners) and Theochari (in dispute with the club). By the time the crunch fixture against the high-flying Souths United arrived, Strikers supporters were genuinely wondering how on earth Hamilton was going to find eleven fit players of Premier League standard to put on the park.

In the event, Hamilton came up with a three-pronged approach to solving the team's problems. Firstly, he elected to change the formation of the team in an attempt to provide some solidity at the back at a time when the influx of a swathe of new players was likely to produce a loss of cohesion further forward. That, in turn, would mean the team having to do a lot more defending. Under those circumstances, it probably made sense to have four defenders rather than three, so Hamilton changed to a 4-4-2 formation.

Secondly, he performed a few square-pegs-in-round-holes tricks by pressing naturally attacking players (Ross Duncan and Brad Stevens) into defensive roles. And thirdly, he gave opportunities to young players like Michael Zullo, Eli Gilfedder, Carlo Giannangello and Ross Cunneen. Most of these players produced eye-catching performances in a 2-1 loss to Souths. In particular, sixteen-year-old Zullo's storming debut in the centre of midfield left supporters open-mouthed in astonishment, while Giannangello and Eli Gilfedder also produced outstanding efforts in their first starts for the season.

Although much the same group of players fell victim to Peninsula Power the next weekend in the Premier Cup (when Di Losa was also rested because of a groin injury), they performed extremely well to beat the Toowoomba Raiders when the Premier League resumed, and then played out of their skins the following week to beat the previously unbeaten Palm Beach (when Waugh and Drinkeld were both back on deck). The mini-crisis seemed to be over - a false impression that was enhanced when the improving Taringa Rovers were disposed of 3-1 at Perry Park.

But over the next two rounds, with first Di Losa and next Webber unavailable, further shuffling of the pack was required. And a distinct impression emerged that perhaps Hamilton's squad had finally been stretched too thin to cope as the Strikers went down 2-1 to Mitchelton and drew 0-0 with the Wolves. Incidentally, the starting eleven against the Wolves contained only four of the players who faced them in the first round - Hall, Waugh, Butters and Drinkeld.

Hamilton has been concerned since before the season kicked off that his squad is bereft of good quality striking partners for Di Losa, who has found much of his good work going to waste for the want of them. The team's current haul of just nineteen goals is proof enough that Hamilton was right, as it represents only about half of the totals achieved by Palm Beach, Pine Rivers and Rochedale Rovers. It's just as well that the Strikers currently have the second-best defence in the league. If they didn't they would probably be languishing near the foot of the table.

If the Strikers are to be genuine contenders for a top four spot as the season enters its home straight, Hamilton has to fix the "goals for" column somehow, and soon! His options from the stocks that existed within the club a week ago were few, with Barry Browett representing the best hope of finding a capable partner for Di Losa when he regains fitness and sharpness on his comeback from a major knee injury.

But the Browett option was always going to need time to bear fruit. Therefore, it was from outside the squad that perhaps the best option to either form a productive partnership with Di Losa, or to revitalise the team in some other way, might emerge. The club had been talking for some weeks with Malaysian-based Stuart McLaren with high hopes of regaining the services of the man who, by some freak of nature, had become a 'favourite son' of both the Brisbane Strikers and North Star. The Strikers were eager to re-acquire a player who is not only a class above most in the Premier League, but probably its most versatile - with the capacity to play almost anywhere that Hamilton wants him to.

Last week, after McLaren was released from his contract with Sarawak FC, Hamilton got his man. Perhaps - just perhaps - it is alongside Di Losa that Hamilton might see the greatest need to employ McLaren. If not, McLaren's inclusion elsewhere in the side will enable Hamilton to assess other options.

Over the next month or so Hamilton is also expecting to regain the services of Carloss and Lowndes. But it would be foolish to think that the return of these players, along with McLaren, will automatically signal the end of the team's problems. Successfully re-integrating Carloss and Lowndes with the squad could be a tricky business, given that they will need to be nursed along for a while until they regain full fitness and sharpness. Hamilton faces another juggling act in this regard, which will also involve deciding which of his current crop of players, primarily youngsters, will make way for them. If Hamilton's words the day after his team drew with the Wolves are any indication, some of them might not make way at all.

"Unless something drastic happens", he said "with the break I can see us getting players back again, and Greg Di Losa should be fitter and sharper. I'm hopeful of getting Stuart McLaren, and Nathan Carloss should be fit and part of the squad again. Some of the young boys have done extremely well and will still be in the side. But I think that the players coming back will add some new dimensions and imagination and I think you'll see a different level of performance".

That different level of performance, and the re-integration dilemma that will hopefully produce it, will probably occur against the backdrop of testing encounters against Rochedale Rovers and Pine Rivers. It is not difficult to imagine that those games will ask some really hard questions of Hamilton's team and every point gained in them will be hard-earned and extremely important in determining whether the Strikers make their final charge for the top four in a confidence-boosted mindset or with a backs-to-the-wall mentality.

The prospect of those difficult games probably means that Hamilton will be targeting this weekend's fixture against bottom-of-the-table Brisbane City with the sort of barely restrained carnivorous ill-intent that a fox regards a henhouse. While he won't be underestimating a City team that has shown tentative signs of improvement recently, he will see the fixture as one from which his team must take maximum points. If they don't, and they go on to struggle against Rochedale and Pine Rivers, the run home over the last eight fixtures will leave little margin for error.

Watching it all unfold certainly promises to be fascinating.

 

31/05/05 The Opposition: Half A Season Of First Impressions

Regular readers of this BSSA publication will agree that we've written a lot of words in it this season about the Brisbane Strikers. But what of the other teams in the Premier League? With the season at its halfway point perhaps it is time to share a few first impressions formed about the other teams on the days our team played them.

Brisbane Wolves (Wolves 0, Strikers 2) - The Wolves looked underdone and projected as a battling sort of team who lacked creativity and an accomplished finisher. But Anthony Roche did not play that day and neither did Danny Flaskas. With those players on board recently the Wolves have become one of the form sides of the league and might yet sustain a late charge for the top four. Standouts on the day: Adrian Ghidella (gk)

Brisbane City (Strikers 4, City 0) - City were the Strikers' weakest opposition so far this season, offering very little in possession while absolutely negligent at the back. The Strikers were 3-0 in front at half time and were guilty of coasting thereafter. On the sort of form they showed at Perry Park, it was easy to see City contesting the wooden spoon. Sad to see a once-proud club struggling so badly. Standouts: Nick Serra

Rochedale Rovers (Rochedale Rovers 2, Strikers 3) - On the evidence we saw, Rochedale must be termed "The Entertainers" of the league. Inventive, intuitive, aggressive and a little unpredictable going forward, their ability to score goals is not in doubt. Alex Panic was a revelation and apparently Cole Stojakovic, who has come into their team since, is from the same mould. But there were some question marks over their defending as they were caught out three times under the high ball from set-pieces. Finally, we must ask a question: When they have a team that regularly plays such entertaining football, how do the Rovers supporters stay so quiet? Standouts: Alex Panic, Greg Thomas, Kieran Galloway

Pine Rivers (Strikers 1, Pine Rivers 1) - Rivers were a tight, combative unit boasting two very useful strikers in Josh Rose and Tim Smits. Smits is a tricky little customer and former Brisbane Striker Rose moved with the speed of light. When you've got two forwards as troublesome of these, the temptation is to get the ball to them as soon as possible, let 'em rip and back them up from behind. That's what the Rovers did and, while it was a little predictable, it was also effective. Standouts: Rose, Smits, Aaron Thiesfield

University of Queensland (UQ 0, Strikers 1) - The amateur Uni lads belied their pointless status by giving the Strikers a hard run for their money. Uni were an awkward team to play at home, with their swarming style on a smallish pitch. Although deficient in finishing finesse, they showed enough heart to suggest they might avoid the drop if they could find a quality striker. Standouts: Andy Oar

Eastern Suburbs (Strikers 0, Eastern Suburbs 1) - Easts went into the game with poor form but lots of attitude and triumphed over a Strikers outfit that went in with good form but minimal attitude. Easts didn't play pretty or dominating football, but they refused to play second fiddle and eventually Paul Brownlie bobbed up to head a goal that inflicted the home side's first defeat. Brownlie and fellow forward Michael Brockwell are good in the air and have good skills for big men, but were assisted by naive marking. If Easts could bottle the attitude and uncork it each week, they'd be a real problem. Standouts: Joachim Klein, Michael Brockwell.

Souths United (Souths 2, Strikers 1) - Souths played skillful, free-flowing football with an emphasis on stretching the Strikers wide across the park before penetrating through the middle. A very attractive style to watch, losing little in comparison with Rochedale. Experienced central midfielder Craig Collins was pivotal to their performance and they have notably struggled to maintain momentum recently when he has been injured. Our best 'away game experience' so far, with a sizeable and appreciative home crowd who seemed to welcome the antics of the away team's supporters. Standouts: Collins, Cody Lovell, David Parra

Toowoomba (Strikers 2, Toowoomba 1) - The Raiders were a pleasant surprise. They were up for a contest and showed they could play some good football. In Michael Giallourakis they have a striker with pace and a hunger for goals and although the Strikers got out to a two-goal lead, they didn't have it easy at any stage - particularly over the final twenty minutes when the Raiders came at us like Pit Bull Terriers in search of an equaliser. No team should find them easy pickings. Standouts: Giallourakis, Liam Riedy

Palm Beach (Palm Beach 0, Strikers 1) - Unbeaten prior to this match, Palm Beach looked a solid unit without ever taking their football to the levels of ingenuity we saw from Rochedale and Souths. Perhaps they had an off night. What they did show us in a bruising encounter was a very tight defence that yielded very few genuine opportunities, and a willingness to trade blow-for-blow in the physical aspects of the game. Not an inviting prospect to play, but not to be unduly feared either. Standouts: Brad Ditton, Daniel Fung

Taringa Rovers (Strikers 3, Taringa 1) - Produced some good spells but also seemed to switch off sometimes, as young sides are inclined to do. Another team with a useful forward pairing in Andrew Imrie and Reza Aysen, but they lacked the depth in midfield to keep them well supplied. Had trouble lifting themselves late in the match when the Strikers shifted up a gear, and they were caught out ball-watching. Standouts: Aysen, Willie Tumusiime, Brad Lacey

Mitchelton (Strikers 1, Mitchelton 2) - Mitchelton took the points but were not particularly impressive in doing so, as the Strikers self-destructed through poor finishing and one or two moments of clumsy defending. Mitchelton showed competence without much sparkle when going forward, but were porous at the back. But having also beaten the Strikers in the pre-season Silver Boot tournament, Mitchelton can perhaps lay claim to being our 'bogey team', so it's not encouraging that we must play them last. Standouts: Michael Christiansen, Andrew Balzat, Josh Condon