By Alex Woods
The weekend was the last of the Home and Away Season. Finals start this coming weekend and Warburton-Millgrove Football Netball Club are so excited withall teams in finals. Congratulations to the reserves Footy and A and C grade netball on an UNDEFEATED Season and finishing as Minor Premiers. The finals campaign is looking to be strong, with some tough games ahead. Taking the journey to Kinglake, this
weekend was 2 football games and 4 netball games, coming home with 1 draw, 4 wins and 1 loss.
17 and Under started off the morning taking on Yea. A tight game throughout with Yea leading to first half, they managed to control the game and hold a 3-goal lead at three-quarter time. The team fought hard but the game resulted in a draw by the end of the final siren. Great games from Lucas Rush, Emelia Robin and Tahlia Thornton, Tahlia managed to put up 9 goals, Tayah Humphrey with 6 and Amarli Weir with 1. Elimination Final and a big game next Sunday.
D Grade had a bye so C Grade was on next in a battle against Kinglake. C Grade once again, showed their strength and skills and finished their undefeated run nicely. An 8-58 finish and the goaling trio working together nicely in a shared effort. Mel Hancock put up 24, Brooke de Pedro with 18 and Emily Hay with 16. Emily Hay, Ellie Stahl and Melanie Hancock were awarded top performers for the match. Congratulations on the season girls, as they finished 4 wins clear on top of the ladder and back-to-back minor premiers.
B Grade followed after and also finished off their season nicely with a strong win. The final score was 18-58 with Jordana Butcher, Alexandra Woods and Chelsea Barnard being players of the match. Jordana Butcher shot 29 goals, Alexandra Woods with 18 and Ella Meerkotter with 11. The girls finished off the season with 4 losses, let’s hope they go strong in the finals and secure some wins.
Reserves were first to take the ground and they had a tough game ahead of them. A close match throughout the first 3 quarters, being a draw at halftime and back to the beginning. They managed to be a goal up a three-quarter time and bring out their skills and fitness in the last quarter, securing a 3 goal win. Muddy conditions for the last round, but the boys managed to remain undefeated all season, which resulted in being minor premiers. Back to back as they were in 2021.
Matthew Sidari, Jackson Blake, Marcel Kocher, Tyson Henry and Brayden Ferguson were all awarded best performers.
Damien Egan secured 3 goals, Ash Taylor with 2 and Brayden Ferguson, Marcel Kocher, Joshua Read, Aaron Walley and Lee Weir all secured 1.
Rematch this week as they play Kinglake in the first round of finals, Good Luck Nic and boys. Time to get the reward for the effort of the last 2 seasons.
A Grade finished off the netball with another solid win, which also rewarded them an undefeated season and Minor Premiers, again, back to back with 2021. Another solid goaling effort, with the goaling trio sharing the efforts nicely with Shae Gee shooting 26, Kirralee Luiyf with 24 and Bianca Daniels with 14. The top performers were Kirralee Luiyf, Ally Langdon and Selina Fotia, with the game resulting in a 21-64 win despite ending with 11 minutes to go due to weather conditions.
Seniors finished off the day with a tough match in average conditions on the ground and weather. The game was wet and scrappy but the boys did the best they could. The game was close at each break and were 2 goals down at three-quarter time. Unfortunately, the game resulted in a 8.10-58 to 4.7-31 loss.
Jack Lee, Shawn Andueza, Mathew Wappett, Shannon Noonan, Nelson Aldridge and Joel Coombs were best on with Matt Wappett securing 2 goals, Trent Elliott and Brady Mitchell both with 1 goal each. The Seniors will be playing finals footy this weekend taking on Yarra Junction.
Good Luck boys!
