Round 4 meant the slushies hit the road for the second time this season and made the short trip to Elsternwick to take on the wicks.  The state of the oval was the main topic of converstion as the reserves started to gather for the 10:30 meeting in the centre circle. The centre of the ground was particularly concerning as it looked to have been re-sodded the night before.  The oval did get signed off though so the sides had to prepare themselves to do battle.

The house started the first quarter playing with a strong wind which was blowing towards the golf course end of the oval. They made the most of this wind and wasted no time getting some majors on the board.  The wicks kept in contention though and kicked two hard worked goals against the wind. At quarter time the house were leading 4-3 (27) to 2-1 (13).

Big Eddo was switched from full forward to full back at quarter time to minimise the damage Elsternwick could apply with the wind.  This proved to be a good move from the coaches box as the house only conceded 3 goals in the second quarter and went into the major break trailing by a soliatry point.

Unfortunatley for the house they had a slow start to third quarter and even though the tacked on 4 goals for the quarter they also conceeded the same amount.  Tyler Hincks started to have an influence on the game in the third quarter and Paul McNulty was also seeing plenty of the pill.  Edoo was being well marshalled in the full forward line and had to break past two to three players to get even close to the footy.  Elsternwick are one of the more physical sides in the comp and with the small oval there was plenty of big hits going in.  This meant there was a lot of tired bodies on the ground at three quarter time.

The house had a slender one point lead starting the final term and it was going to be a battle to the end to maintain that lead.  Elsternwick managed to get two goals early in the quarter and even though the house replied with one from Chocco they couldnt find a second goal which would have seem them take maximum points for the day.  There were chances and the players should be credited with never throwing in the towel.  It was a tough challenge and now give the side extra focus for next weeks trip to Kew

Goal Kickers: F. Macak 2, M. Spiliotalopoulos 2, P. Edwards 2, P. McNulty , J. Kurts , J. Whelan , A. Collett

Best Players: M. Spiliotalopoulos, P. Henshaw, S. Watson, B. Leske, D. Burnside, P. McNulty

The teamsheet had its familiar number of changes for round 3 with plenty of ins and outs.  The inclusion of Tails, W Old, N. Moresi and Bakers Delight Fiorini was encouraging and brought a vast amount of experience to the side.  Lenny Ercoli, Brendan Counsel, Nick Brown and T Patralakis were representing the house for the second time and were eager to impress the coaches.

Big Drew informed his troops they were to play into the wind for the first term.  The homeside piled on the pressure from the throw in but the backline led by Nathan and Tails meant there was going to be no easy goals conceded.  In fact they kept the wick goaless for the quarter and took a tidy 3-1(19) to 0-5(5) lead into the second quarter.  Paul Washinton was flying high in the first quarter and took some great marks in front of goal which he duly converted.

The Wicks decided to defend in numbers in the second period and with only one player in their own half of the field it was always gonna be tough to get clean possession in the powerhouse attack. The forwards were bit wayward with the shooting in this quarter but this was mainly due to the amount of pressure being applied.  At half time it was 5-10 (40) to 1-2 (12) in favor of the slushies.

Warde was not a happy camper at half time and let the players know that the level of effort being displayed in the first half was well below his expectations.  This seemed to hit home with the players and they showed a higher level of intensity in the second half.  Steve Devine was putting in a stellar performance, reading the game well and finding himself on the end of countless clearencesfor the Elsternwick defence.  Jados was also working hard and getting plenty of work around the middle.  Ash was doing his best to root up the freshly laid sod and must have taken a truck load of soil home with! The third quarter was another low scoring one and at the final break the score was 6-12 (48) to 3-11 (29) to the house.

There was no way back for the home side in the final term and with the house eager to finish strong they kicked 5 unanswered goals.  It was a hard slog all day and the Elsterwick bench was depleted with numerous injuries.  Powerhouse didnt escape either with Tails leaving the ground in the second quarter suffering yet again with a calf injury.  This was a major blow for both Tails and Powerhouse as he has worked so hard to get back from injury.  Matt Wall had to bow out early too with a knee injury and hopefully both players will be back fighting fit before too long.

Goal Kickers: P. Washington 5, J. Fiorini 2, D. Ashworth, L. Ercoli, A.Kuhanez, G Norris

Best Players: S. Devine, J. Fiorini, P. Washington, L. Ercoli, C. Whelan, A. Rankin