Fired-up Aldinga Sharks fall short by only five points in battle against Marion
MARK this down as the day the Aldinga Football Club made a stand. The battling Sharks missed an upset win by only five points.
MARK this down as the day the Aldinga Football Club made a stand.
The Sharks may have fallen agonisingly short of a breakthrough victory on Saturday but on and off the field they took a huge step towards turning their club around.
The team that has been branded one of Australia’s worst after losing its first three games of the season by a combined 711 points, on Saturday lost to Marion by just five.
It was a 249-point improvement on last week.
“They threw everything at it,” proud club president Danny Wilde said.
“That will really bond them. We’ve just got to keep plugging away now.”
There was a different mood at Shark Park on Saturday following a groundswell of support for the embattled Southern Football League club.
The Advertiser’s Spark the Sharks campaign and similar support from Channel 9’s The Footy Show had touched everyone who knows the importance of grassroots sport.
Clubs like Aldinga are the lifeblood of their communities - producing the juniors who go on to play at the highest level but also giving those with less talent a place where they belong.
Several hundred were in attendance on Saturday to enjoy a free sausage sizzle and showbags provided by The Advertiser.
The future was on show early and it looked promising as the Sharks under-16 and under-18 sides both recorded victories.
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After a pre-game rev-up from former Crow and current North Adelaide coach Ken McGregor, it appeared the long-suffering seniors might join them.
Lively small forward Scott Ellis laid a perfect tackle close to goal and converted the free kick to get the Sharks off to a flier.
A team that had only managed to kick eight goals in its first three games of the season was suddenly nailing them from everywhere.
At quarter time, having kicked with the aid of a strong breeze, Aldinga led by 25 points.
Marion was unfairly cast as the villain in this drama and it played the role to perfection in the second term.
Led by captain Jack Carter - who was once listed by AFL club Collingwood and was clearly the best player on the ground - the Rams fought back to edge their noses in front at half time.
You felt Aldinga needed to kick out to a big lead in the third term but Marion managed to bottle up play and only trail by 11 points at the final change.
Aldinga coach Steve Flintham asked his men for one last effort during his three quarter time address.
“Fight hard for the ball, fight hard for your teammates,” he urged.
“This is what we’ve been working for ... today is the day we walk off winners.”
Marion had other ideas and quickly edged in front. The Sharks bravely fought on and managed several forward entries into the breeze but could only manage points when they needed goals.
To make matters worse captain Daniel Dempsey was forced from the field with blood streaming from his face and in the end Aldinga simply ran out of time.
“In a way it’s worse than losing by a big margin,” Wilde said.
MARION 0.2 5.6 5.7 8.9 (57)
ALDINGA 4.3 5.5 7.6 7.10 (52)