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Chehalis Washington was picked as the location for the second game in the 2008 Portland vs Seattle series. Seattle brought a strong squad.
Seattle clearly had the advantage in size and experience. Portland were determined to get off to a flying start and catch Seattle by surprise, kicking with the wind. In the middle Portland battled hard early to get the clearances and it looked like it would pay off. Portland had plenty of the ball, but failed to capitalize under the pressure from the Seattle defense.
Opportunities were wasted and then Seattle came back hard with strong play from the half backline, lead by Chris Richmond and Ryan Kastl. Seattle's forwards weren't so wasteful and they quickly put goals on the board through Eric Butler and Adam Cannane another new guy, both dominating. Portland was saved from a shut out, when ruckman Morgan Will tapped perfectly down to Martin Coventry 25 yards from goal. Coventry snapped across his body with the left boot, straight through the middle with a banana kick. Quarter time Portland - 1.1.7 Seattle - 3.8.26
The second quarter was highly competitive again, but Portland couldn't match Seattle on the scoreboard. Center breaks were going in both directions, with Morgan Will trying to fend off switching ruckmen. Coventry went toe to toe with Ross Tucker, in another close match up. Seattle did a great job of keeping fresh legs around the ball and Portland had the same crew all day. Seattle had many opportunities down forward, but Portland never let up the defensive pressure. Jeremy Cover and Paul Spencer clamped down on the the two big forwards and this cost Seattle on the scoreboard with inaccuracy. Big forward for Seattle, Jack (and we mean big), started to exert some influence with some nice marks. Hard ball gets were the name of the game, umpire Donlen letting both teams get stuck in. One of Portland's few high lights, a goal from coach Glen Green. Seattle won the quarter 3 goals to 1. Half time and it was Portland - 2.1.13 Seattle - 6.14.50
Portland were still determined to make their mark in this game. The defense was asked to move the ball more quickly, the experienced Todd pushed into the middle and Ben Cyphery dropped back to the half back line, to give them some height and run. Despite to first goal going to Seattle, due to a manning up error, Portland played their best quarter. Pressure was applied across the field. The on ballers started working together with combinations from Green, Todd and Coventry. Ben Cyphery started rebounding the ball off the half back and Michael Robertson came alive at half forward with 3 goals for the quarter. Spencer's kicking from full back was spot on, hitting Coventry and Green on many occasions, getting the run going. New players Scott Hager, Jason and Cooper were getting a sniff, after early jitters. Cover was on fire in the backline and the Seattle forwards went quiet. The last few minutes Portland slacked off and Seattle again gained the upper hand. Portland couldn't keep up the cracking pace and the Seattle interchange payed off. Seattle won the quarter 5 goals to 3. Portland - 5.3.33 Seattle - 11.16.82
The fourth quarter could have fizzled, but to Portland's credit, they battled valiently. Determined to 'win the last quarter'. However, Seattle wouldn't have a bar of it and played just as hard. Morgan Will was out of the game in the third quarter and replaced in the middle by Aaron Winkler, who rucked hard against the taller Seattle players. Seattle were still full of run and the backline was under constant pressure. Cover and Cyphery lead the way, backing themselves for big marks and going hard at the ball. Jason starting to get lose on the wing and took a couple of high flying marks despite the slippery ball in the last quarter. Robbo popped up for another goal, making it 4 goals from 5 kicks. Cooper, after some good scrappy play all day, kicked his first goal for Portland. Seattle won the final quarter 4 goals to 2.
Portland - 7.4.46
Seattle - 15.21.111
GOALS -
Portland - Michael Robertson 4, Glen Green 1, Martin Coventry 1, Cooper Bombadil 1.
Seattle -Mike Liddell 3, Ryan Katsl 3, Eric Butler 3, Adam Cannane 2, Jake Lynch 2, Rob Young 1, Tom Keane 1
BEST -
Portland - Jeremy Cover, Martin Coventry, Michael Roberston, Paul Spencer, Ben Cyphery
Seattle: Mike Liddell, Ryan Kastl, Justin Peel, Eric Butler, Adam Cannane, Matt Muller
Umpire: Andrew Donlen
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