By Alex Woods
First home game at the nest on the weekend against Yarra Junction, and what a success. The conditions for good, sunny with a touch of warmth. Then turned overcast for the Seniors which made for perfect conditions for a major win.
Early start for the 17 and Under netball. They took off with a strong start and retained that the whole way through. With minor hiccups and silly mistakes, they still managed to pull off a 17-3 lead by halftime. The team gelled well and took their training into their game. The final score was 40-8, Tayah Humphreys putting up 18 goals earning her in the top performers, along with teammates; Lucas Rush and Grace Cole. Lexi Cole also shot 10 goals, Lucas Rush with 9 and Tahlia Thornton with 3. Good game by everyone to start the morning.
Next up was D grade for their first match of the season. A new inclusion in Emily Kay, Tayah Humphrey and Tahlia Thornton also joins up from the Juniors to debut in their first Senior game. Kicked off with a major start of a 24-2 first half. With massive defensive pressure, they managed to keep Yarra Junction to 1 goal in the first quarter, 1 in the second and scoreless in the second half. With new goaling partners, they worked flawlessly shooting 47-2 for the game. Captain Camryn Partel put up 28 goals, Tayah Humphrey with 18 and Tahlia Thornton with 1. Cam also earned herself top performer, along with Tamin Crunden and Nicole Cervasio. Another great team effort match.
Next up was C Grade in another convincing win for the day. A team with a new goaling duo that managed to work together again with little done wrong. A combined team effort with Captain, Mel Hancock putting up 28 and Ella Meerkotter with 22. The defence end was turned on hot as they manage to keep Yarra Junction to only 4 goals for the entire game. Ruby Kelly was once again the girl of the match along with defender teammate, Courtney Irwin. Ella Meerkotter also earned herself a spot in the bests too.
B Grade took the court next, in hope of their first win for the year. They managed to do exactly that with another big on the board for the day of 57-18. Chelsea Barnard had a mega day on the defensive end with teammates Katelin Borondy and Emily Hay, keeping Yarra Junction to 18 goals. Emily Hay and Jordana Butcher also saw themselves as the top performer with Em shooting 13 goals and Jordy with 23. Alex Woods also put up 21 to finish off the total. The team worked well and used their training nicely into the game, a good team effort by all.
The reserves kicked off the footy backing up with another big win. Lots of defensive pressure keeping Yarra Junction to 3 goals for the game. Both Marcel Kocher and Josh Read kicked 3 goals each and Brayden Ferguson and Matt Sidari with 2 Each. Kris Hall and Jackson Jones both also got 1 goal to their name. There were also top performances from Marcel Kocher, Aidan Norfolk, Ben Gray, Josh Read, Tyler Bert and Zayden Crunden. The final score was 12.14-86 to 3.4-22, with no signs of this team slowing down.
A Grade took the court next also seeking their first win for the season. A Strong start saw them with a 4-goal lead at the first break. The second quarter went a bit more their way increasing the difference to having a 15-goal lead at the halftime break. Across the whole court, every player was working strong and they pulled off another good win with the final score being 53-33. Karly Wappett earned herself top performer shooting 30 goals. Ashlyn Elliot and Ally Langdon both also had a good game. Bianca Daniels also contributed 23 goals to the team’s win.
An ANZAC Ceremony was completed by Wayne Morgan with Footballers and A Grade Netballers all lining up, paying their respects.
The Seniors finished of the day in a performance like no other. The first quarter was solid with the boys kicking 5.4 to Yarra Junctions 2 goals. Strong defensive pressure
throughout the entire match, with Ben Pretty controlling the back line with a ridiculous amount of intercept marks, making Yarra Junction not score another goal until late into the last term. Bailey Humphrey turned it on booting a mega 7 goals for the game, along with Trent Elliott with 3. Tom Barr, Will Farrer, Josh Sharp and Liam Westlake (in his Seniors Debut) also have kicked 2 each. Jack Farrugia, Lachy Marr, Tom Marr, Toby Mitchell and Blake Muir all contributed 1 goal each to the team’s win. Ben Pretty, Tom Barr, Patty Huynh, Nelson Aldridge, Trent Elliott and Bailey Humphrey, all saw themselves as top performers to the team’s solid win. The final score for the day was 23.14-152 to Yarra Junction 3.6- 24.
Away match against Powelltown next weekend.
