Finley was no match for a strong Moama side in Murray League Football on Saturday.
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The match was played in perfect autumn conditions, with a slight breeze to the ambulance station end.
Both sides attacked the ball with plenty of vigour and it was the Magpies that took an early lead.
Kicking with the breeze, Moama kicked four goals to one for the opening quarter.
Finley’s Lachlan Hawkins was on top in the ruck, along with Charlie Lang and Angus Roberston winning their fair share of the footy.
Moama’s Lachlan Hogan and James Whitehead were having an influence on the contest.
The second term saw the Cats work their way back into the match.
Hawkins continued to dominate the ruck, and Luke Moore went to work around the contest.
Finley’s full forward, Tom Lang, was leading the way up forward with two goals, and he applied plenty of forward pressure through his attack on the ball and his tackling.
Nik Burns and Mark Whiley were also impacting the contest, while the Cats’ defence held Moama to two goals.
The Magpies had a 17-point lead at the main break.
The scene was set for a big second half.
However, it was Moama that dominated the third quarter kicking five goals to none.
Hawkins continued to win the ruck, but unfortunately, the Cats midfield couldn’t take advantage.
Moama’s Danny Brewster (four goals) was causing the Cats’ defence headaches.
The highlight for the quarter was a screamer taken by Zac Brain on the eastern side of the ground that momentarily got the crowd involved.
It was a 48-point lead to the Magpies going into the last break.
Finley made some positional changes in the last quarter to make their way back into the contest, and Mitch Reilly led the way.
The Cats kicked three goals for the term and were able to add some respect to the scoreboard.
However, the Magpies added another six goals for the quarter to record a comfortable 64-point win.
Finley now has the bye, which will give them a chance to regroup and for their players to recover from a competitive start to the season and look forward to the challenge of Barooga in two weeks.
Final score: Finley 6.10 (46) def by Moama 17.8 (110).
Goals: Lenny Dattoli 3, Tom Lang 2 and Levi Webster.
Best Players: Lachlan Hawkins, Mitchell Reilly, Luke Moore, Angus Robertson, Charlie Lang and Mark Whiley.
Awards: Commonwealth Bank - Lachlan Hawkins; Garnaut Private Wealth - Mitchell Reilly; Finley Country Club - Luke Moore; Irwin Stockfeeds - Angus Robertson; OMLS - Lenny Dattoli.
Reserves:
In the reserves, the team started with good intensity and attack on the football.
Nick Robertson was strong across the half-back line, intercepting anything that came in, while up forward, Cal Robertson was providing a solid target.
The Cats were strong in the first half, only down by four points at the main break.
However, the second half saw Moama get on top, and the Cats couldn’t go with them.
Matt Jackson was best on ground out of the midfield while Noah Iddles and Jimmy McCaw also had good games again.
Final score: Finley 3.6 (24) def by Moama 13.4 (82).
Goals: Cruz Nash, Callum Robertson and Harrison King.
Best Players: Matt Jackson, Nick Robertson, Cruz Nash, Noah Iddles, James McCaw and Dom Philpot.
Awards: Eagle i Machinery - Matt Jackson; Marshall Ag - Nick Robertson; Finley RSC - Cruz Nash; O’Connors Case IH - Noah Iddles; Kalangadoo Nursery - Dom Philpot.
Under-17s:
The thirds had a solid performance against Moama, with better effort and intensity than the previous weeks.
The backline did a great job, led by Tyrelle Taylor, Sam Hurlston, Cooper Sutton and Will Doolan.
They stopped many advances from the Moama midfield.
Isaac Lunn, Harvey Sneddon and Jordan Sykes battled hard against the odds for most of the day.
Special mention to Ryan Bauer and Lachlan Whelan for their best games of the year.
Final score: Finley 3.3 (21) def by Moama 8.16 (64).
Goals: Harvey Sneddon 2 and Jonty King 1.
Best Players: Samuel Hurlston, Tyrelle Taylor, Will Doolan, Isaac Lunn, Harvey Sneddon and Lachlan Whelan.
Awards: Finley RSC - Tyrelle Taylor; Ross & Sarah - Samuel Hurlston; Finley Bakery - Will Doolan; Albury Sportspower - Isaac Lunn; Kalangadoo Nursery - Harvey Sneddon; Massingham Auto - Lachlan Whelan.
Under-14s:
Round four had the fourths set to play against last year’s premiers in our second home game of the year.
With a few big outs late in the week, many boys played in new positions and took on new roles within the team.
Angus Urquhart and Tom Marshall stood up early, leading their field sections and landing effective tackles against a larger Moama side.
Judd Clarke, Joel Fitzell and Lachlan Urquhart fought tooth and nail to secure possession of the ball, displaying their grit and determination with hard-contested efforts and strategic intercept marks.
The forward momentum was largely driven by the relentless work of Campbell Reynolds and Noah Brindley.
Despite the best efforts to penetrate the offensive 50m and the strong positioning of forwards Jackson Pyle and Lincoln Ciccolini, the formidable Moama team consistently wrestled control of the ball.
Moama’s experience, skill and size ultimately overpowered Finley’s beleaguered defence.
They piled on the scoring shots.
Though Finley sometimes retaliated forward, they couldn’t score significantly on the board.
Despite the loss, coaches were very proud of how the boys played in new positions for many against the best competition they’ve faced all year.
Thank you to Moama for lending us more experienced players and making the game more enjoyable.
Final score: Finley 0.1 (1) def by Moama 18.12 (120).
Goals: Corey Dundon (for Moama).
Best Players: Campbell Reynolds, Noah Brindley, Tom Marshall, Joel Fitzell, Lincoln Cicolini and Lachlan Urquhart.
Awards: Finley RSC - Campbell Reynolds; Finley Bakery - Noah Brindley; Kalangadoo Nursery - Thomas Marshall; Bauer Family - Joel Fitzell; Sutto’s Mini Excavations Coach’s Award - Lincoln Cicolini; Lucas McCaw - Lachlan Urquhart.
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