Round seven of the Wangaratta and District Junior Football League competition saw our Black sides travel up to Bright and the Reds head to Wangaratta to take on the Tigers.
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Both under-12 sides put on dominant displays and the under-17s sent a strong message to the rest of the competition. The under-14 teams were outmatched by their opponents this weekend, but every round is a fresh start and they both look forward to making impact in their matches next week.
U12 Black
The game at Bright on Sunday got under way with Benalla applying plenty of pressure at every contest, the team doing a terrific job at keeping the ball out of our defensive 50 for most of the day to keep Bright goalless.
Max Reynolds got our scoring off to a start with a brilliant shot at goal while streaming forward. Cooper Rheese was finding all the right places to be around the forward contests, which paid off as he kicked two goals in a row. Jack McKenzie was outstanding all day and seemed to be everywhere all the time.
A fantastic win for the Benalla Blacks this week, well done everyone.
Score: Benalla Blacks 8.11 (59) def Bright 0.2 (2)
Goals: Max Reynolds, Cooper Rheese, Jack McKenzie 2, Fletcher Relf, Bailey King
Best: Jack McKenzie, Harley Kupke, Frank Christie, Spencer Whitechurch, Bill Bourke, Fletcher Relf
U12 Red
Another strong performance from the under-12 Reds saw them record a convincing 95 to 12 win over the Tigers. The Reds were impressive across the ground, dominating through the midfield and moving the ball well with plenty of teamwork and sharing.
A special mention goes to several Reds players who volunteered to help out the opposition when they were short on numbers, a great display of sportsmanship and teamwork.
Score: Benalla Red 13.17 (95) def Tigers 2.0 (12)
Goals: Hunter Symes, Archer Pickering 4, Owen Schirmer, Ryder Hindle, Tory Woodhams, Ollie Ross, Jaxson Heatherill, Ollie Farren
Best: Hunter Symes, Ollie Ross, Toby Smith, Tom Lambert, Tory Woodhams and Archer Pickering.
U14 Black
Score: Benalla Black 3.1 (19) def by Bright 17.18 (120)
Goals: Jack Davies, Bella Hazell, Bodie Gall
Best: Caleb Thwaites, Jake Soyer, Angus Roscoe, Jimmy Jackson, Bodie Gall, Matthew White
U14 Red
A grey sky hung over the team today in what was easily our toughest game so far this season. But this is footy and sport in general, it’s designed to test us.
What can never be questioned is the effort from this group. The team continued to compete and work hard all day. But effort alone can only take you so far if we don’t execute the basics when the pressure is on.
Today was a reminder of how important those fundamentals are. In the heat of the contest, we drifted away from the simple things we know work for us - pressure, playing our role for the team and the execution of skills.
The positive is that these are fixable things. We reset, we learn from it and we get back to training the way we want to play. Tough games are part of every season, but they also give us the opportunity to grow, respond and come back stronger next week.
Score: Benalla Red 4.5 (29) def by Tigers 15.14 (104)
Goals: Jack Hart 3, Louis Horne
Best: Jack Hart, Lachie Osborne, Sam Mount, Lincoln Richardson, Ben Staggard, Ron Staggard
U17
The Benalla under-17s extended their magnificent winning streak to five matches on Sunday, surviving a fierce, low-scoring scrap to defeat the Wangaratta Tigers by two points in a nail-biter at Barr Reserve.
In a tough, uncompromising contest where goals were at a premium, the young Benalla team showed incredible grit to hold off a late Tigers surge. Josh Montgomery was sensational all day, providing crucial run and break-away drive from the contest to repeatedly kick start Benalla's transitions.
Deep in defence, Nick White and Charlie Bell were absolute rocks, continuing their stellar seasons by repelling countless forward entries under immense pressure in the final term. Around the ground, Charlie Pollard worked tirelessly, competing fiercely in the ruck to give his midfielders first use.
The desperate, character-building victory solidifies the teams stellar form as they protect their unbeaten momentum.
Score: Benalla 10.8 (68) def Tigers 9.12 (66)
Goals: Jude Binion, Tom Mount 2, Charlie Bowen, Cash Nolen, Josh Ward, Josh Montgomery, Trevor Maru, Josh Byers
Best: Josh Montgomery, Nick White, Charlie Bell, Harry Skelton, Charlie Pollard, Jude Binion