Round 6 saw Echuca Moama United journey to Sunbury where the sun was out taking the edge off normally cold winter footy.

The team made their way down with 17 players as injuries had depleted the side and in true Masters spirits, Sunbury loaned the EMUs three players to help out for the day.

The EMUs came out of the gates firing, applying lots of pressure to the Lions from the very start, forcing them to make lots of errors with their disposals and miss targets. EMUs on the other hand, found some run through Chris Blake on the wing and Michael Dodd in the engine room. Craig Taylor immediately led the forward line presenting as a strong target from centre half forward.  Sunbury were able to penetrate their forward fifty consistently but the pressure of the backline, led by Adam Richter and Peter Spencer, put strong pressure on them and they failed to convert as many as they would have liked.  Borrowed player Raz was able to convert with a kick through goals in the first for the EMUs, as well as Jack O’Brien after some clean passage of play found him with a handball alone in the goal square.

In the second quarter the EMUs continued with their consistency, continuing to use the football to find targets rather than just pushing it forward to their goals, even linking through the midfield through the likes of Michael Dodd, Jeff Abela and Chris Meehan.  The EMUs added to their totals in the third with a contribution from another borrowed player, Birdy.  The backline remained staunch with their pressure causing Sunbury to fail to consistently put majors on scoreboard through the quarter with defensive pressure.

The third quarter saw Sunbury put their third ruckmen in for the day to battle Justin Voss, who continued to give EMUs first use of the ball.  Michael Dodd seemed to be all over the ground, leading the team with clean use of the ball while Jeff Abela continued to fight through packs to win his own footy.  Jack O’Brien showed strength in a one-on-one competition to mark a contested footy overhead inside the goal square and put it straight through for the EMUs.  The third borrowed player from the Lions contributed to the EMUs score as he kicked his first goal.  Gregory Boisgard was given a defensive assignment and stuck hard to his man showing grit and determination.  Sunbury’s struggles to convert continued with the EMU defenders smothering them at every opportunity and them also missing several set-shots to see the EMUs down by a small margin at the third change.

In the fourth the legs of Echuca seemed to be running out as Sunbury was able to find themselves with space around the ground.  With the EMUs clearing it out of the centre to push it forward it was rebounding into Sunbury’s forward line quicker than some tired legs could respond and Lions were able to convert with better precision than the first three quarters. Craig Taylor continued to be a presence across the half-forward line as a strong target, able to convert with a goal. Chris Meehan made his presence felt off the half-forward flank before moving into midfield, which had remained unchanged throughout the game.

Unfortunately, despite a hard fought battle, the EMUs were unable to claw their way in front but remained extremely comepetitive through much of the game playing some of the best footy for the year through the first three quarters.

In round 7, the EMUs host Shepparton’s GV Giants at home on July 14that the Echuca South Recreation Reserve.  If you’re interested in playing footy for fun, and are over 35, head down Wednesday nights at 6pm for training.

Goals: 2 – Jack O’Brien, 1 – Craig Taylor, Chris Blake, Raz, Irish, Birdy

Best: Michael Dodd, Justin Voss, Kevin Pascoe, Gregory Boisgard, Jeff Abela, Robert O’Connor, Craig Taylor