Week 1 finals wrap up
It was going to be a showdown, against our old foes…. Inverleigh for our Seniors and Reserves. Who was going to come out on top? We start with our reserves. Ready to atone for the 2 loses during the H&A season, our young crop of players were ready to hit the ground running. With over ¾ qtrs of the side playing their first Senior final, it was going to be a hard ask against the seasoned Inverleigh side. The first qtr was a close affair, with both sides having their chances. But it was in the 2nd qtr that Inverleigh stamped their authority, kicking 3 goals to our 3 points. 4th qtr is where Inverleigh turned on the jets and kicked another 6 goals, keeping us scoreless, Inverleigh winning by 58pts. Our lads now have a 2nd chance for redemption this weekend against Geelong West.
Our Seniors were also ready to atone for the 2 loses in the H&A season, with milestone games for Brett Harding (BJ) and Luke Bowdern (Dewy) also front of mind. A quick start by Inverleigh had our boys on the back foot. We quickly countered with a couple of goals, but some inaccurate kicking allowed the hawks to lead by 19pts. At the half the lead went out to 23pts, with our boys still in the hunt. But Inverleigh switched gears and left us behind. Convincingly winning every contest, they led at 3qtr time by 40 points. The game was sealed, only a miracle could help us. A spirited 4th qtr by our lads helped but the score line finished with the Hawks winning by 42pts with a few missed shots on goal and it could have been worse. The lads regroup for a showdown with Bell Post Hill on Sunday to continue the dream.
The dream for our A grade to be back to back champions ended at the hands of a very strong Werribee side. We had our moments to turn the tide of play, but Werribee were too strong across the court. Dominating at either end, Werribee were strong in defence and took their chances in front of goal. We too had chances to ensure we stayed within touch, but our shooting game was not on, which in the end, hurt the ladies. Werribee winning by 13 goals.
Our C grade ladies faired better. Playing against Winch, they were set to change the lose they had in the 2nd last round to a win. Pushing out to a 5-6 goal lead, the ladies were dominant around the court and sharp in front of the net. Winch tried to charge home, but our ladies kept them at bay, winning by 3 goals and moving on to the semi final where the loser bow out (c’mon Tigers).
It was only Netball for finals this round. We had our U19’s and U15’s GDFL side play for a continued spot in the finals, whilst our U17’s and U13’s had a bye as they were straight to the Semi’s. Our U15’s played on the Saturday, playing a strong Werribee side, or that is what we all expected. This was not to be the case. The young ladies moved across the court with ease, keeping Werribee on the defensive all game. A couple of changed positions, saw a strong, cohesive side. Something you don’t see or do going into a final, but it worked. Werribee, never able to challenge, the ladies skipped away every qtr to win by 20 goals. This now sees them play East Geelong in the Semi-final. A couple of wins away to make the GF!!! Come on girls.
It was a different story for the U19’s. They came up a against a very strong Thomson. Our ladies were just not able to match it with them. They threw everything they had at them, even making some changes in the last to bridge the gap, but it was too much in the end. The ladies can hold their head up high, going down valiantly by 18goals. The junior ladies will make great additions into our Senior ranks next season.
Lastly, our U13 gold team in the AFL Barwon competition. WOW, WOW, WOW. It was an amazing game to watch on Friday. The ladies playing the same team they bet in the qualifying final by 2 goals. It was a show down, with Torquay wanting revenge. The game was played in challenging, slippery conditions. Torquay jumping out early, our girls finally settled and got into a rhythm. Both sides had chances to skip away, with Bannockburn ceasing the opportunity to take a 6 goal lead into the last. Torquay challenged strongly with a couple of errant passes, bring the gap down to 3 in the dying stages. Not deterred, our girls keep that margin, winning at the final hotter, to become the U13 Div 6 Champions. Well done to Coach Ty and his volunteers and his chargers continuing the domination we have had in our U13 junior divisions.
We now turn our attentions to the U13’s (Sat @8:25am) / U15’s (Sat @9:15am) / U17’s (Sat @10:05am) and C grade (Sun @12:55pm) teams to keep their dreams alive, split over this weekend.
