By Brendan Donovan
In perfect conditions, Woori Yallock travelled to Officer for a packed day of sport with the reintroduction of women’s footy and six teams of netball at the club which was great to see.
The Women’s Footy came away with a strong win, defeating Officer by 34 points, 1.4, 10 to 5.14, 44 in their first-ever game.
The best players for the Tigers were Michelle Brown, Casey Wright, Emily Spicer, Rachael Lee, Sky Wilson and Jessica Lee with goals coming from Wright 2 and Lorraine Davis-Robinson, Spicer and Wilson each with one.
The re-established netball teams battled hard all day but weren’t able to find a win:
A Grade: Officer 44 defeated Woori 40, Woori’s best were Danika Corless and Chelsea Smith. Corless scored 21, Tarsha Collette 19 and Smith 3.
B Grade: Officer 72 defeated Woori 50, Woori’s best were Jordan Kennedy, Holly Dunlop and Jaymee Tough. Tough scored 26, Tarsha Collette 22 and Kennedy 2.
C Grade: Officer 58 defeated Woori 19, Woori’s best were Grace Sibley, Emmerson Alford and Jessica Ford. Ford scored 16, Kasie Pitts 2 and Maddison Sands 1.
D Grade: Officer 41 defeated Woori 12, Woori’s best were Megan Britton, Alexandra Mcinnes and Georgia Sands. Rebecca Jackson scored 6, Connie Mercuri 4 and Sands 2.
17 and Under: Officer 62 defeated Woori 8, Woori’s best were Georgia Sands, Ella Wood and Charlotte Comport. Sands scored 5 , Ella McCallum 2 and Comport 1.
Over in the footy, the Woori Yallock U18s 13.15, 93 started the day with a comfortable win against Seville 3.5, 23 with Mason O’Neill awarded best on ground and joined by Gabriel Conboy, Max Rees, James Brown, Ronan Taylor and Jack Freedman. Goalkickers were Rees 4, Xavier Conboy, Taylor and O’Neill with 2 and Mathew Cotton, Hamish Murphy and Freedman with one apiece.
The Reserves had a tough start to the year meeting the reigning premiers from Division One last year in Officer, though there were lots of positives to come from the game and it was step forward in their journey in 2024.
Final score was 17.13, 115 to 5.5, 35, with the Tiger’s best being Hamish Gemmill, Jude Hay, Chris Lower, Thomas Rogers, Luke Cottier and Pierce Jenkin. Goalkickers were Rogers with 3 and Jack Collette and Tom Kear with one each.
For the seniors, it was a game of tough footy, with both teams counter-punching throughout the first quarter, Officer were making the most of their chances while Woori squandered forward entries after the midfield got on top.
In the second quarter, Woori started going more direct and the big forwards started stamping themselves on the game. A 6-goal quarter opened up a lead that Officer couldn’t quite get to for the rest of the game.
The second half would have been a tough watch for supporters as both teams bounced between the arcs though in the end, it was a solid win for the Tigers.
Taylor Gibson kicked 8 and claimed best-on-ground honours while Ben Monkhorst played a pivotal role in the team’s win in his 150th senior game for the club.
Others in the bets players were Zach Monkhorst, Angus Smith, Harvey Smith and Blake Muir, while Jake Calvert, Joshua Neal, Kynan French, Muir, B Monkhorst and Z Monkhorst all joined Gibson on the goalkickers list with a goal each.
Woori Yallock are back home next week against an old rival in Upwey-Tecoma who are sure to bring their best footy.
