A tale of two halves in the seniors.
All Blacks dominated possession, but early inaccuracy in front of goal saw us go into half-time down 18 after kicking one goal and nine behinds.
In the second half moving Trent Chapman to centre-half forward and Jack Ellis to full-forward changed the whole dynamic of our forward line.
Trent provided structure to the half-forward line and Jack put on a dominant performance particularly in the third quarter, marking everything in sight and kicking seven goals in that quarter alone.
All Blacks midfield also lifted in the second half with all our big names getting involved, winning the hard ball and giving us great forward entries in Jacka, Newton, Hourigan and Collison.
Harry Ellis was also terrific down back for us all day, continuing his great form being a pillar of our defence.
The development of some fresh faces in the senior side have been a huge boost for the team this year.
Kaare Glass in the backline, playing only his fourth game of football in his lifetime, has shown great potential, along with Brendon Smith who is really beginning to find his feet on the half forward line finishing with two goals.
After a hard-fought victory the boys are looking forward to a well-earned week off as we direct our focus to what no doubt will be a physical game against Goorambat.
Game Day Awards:
Royal Hotel – Jack Ellis
YMCA Pool Pass – Al Jacka
Warehouse Cuts – Sam Newton
Thursday Night Dinner – Harry Ellis
Reserves - Benalla All Blacks 13.13 (91) defeat Moyhu 10.6 (66)
After four rounds the All Blacks reserves side finally had its first win on the board.
In a hard-fought see-sawing contest that was a true team effort with contributions from everyone.
Led by the outstanding ruck work of Brian Morton, who dominated the centre bounces and whose work around the ground was second to none, offering a tall target out of defence as well as denying opposition ball movement all day.
The work of Ayden Amos out on the wing was inspiring to say the least, constantly putting his body on the line in the contest and then bursting away from stoppages with electric run and carry.
The opposition forward line was solidly held in check by the defensive efforts of Jeremy Hayes and Dean Bradshaw, whose one-on-one work thwarted many opposition forays forward, and he rebounded well out of defence, leading to many scoring opportunities for our forwards.
All in all a true team effort, in a very trying game that saw regular lead changes.
But the reserves side steeled themselves in the final quarter to break out for their first win.
Game Day Awards:
Dosser Panels – Brian Morton
Royal Hotel – Ayden Amos
Benalla Gold Cup – Jeremy Hayes
RUSTIK Café – Dean Bradshaw
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