The pressure of finals was clearly hitting Violet Town from the get-go. Despite defeating Murchison by one goal last week, the Towners were not in the same form for finals.
It was a struggle for the Towners to get the ball into the goal ring, and when they did, shooters could not capitalise, and Violet Town was down at the first break.
Despite a strong second quarter, which they won by two goals, the Towners still went into half time 19 goals down.
The second half followed a similar pattern from the Towners, who were just unable to settle and score when needed, despite exceptional defensive play giving them plenty of chances.
This was still a great effort from the Towners to make the finals after going for three seasons with no wins. C grade is looking forward to building on their finals experience in 2026.
Thalia Ellis and Ashleigh Bertoli were standouts in defence.
17 & Under
Violet Town 23 defeated by Merrigum 38
Playing in the team’s first-ever final, the Violet Town girls knew that it was going to be a tough challenge coming up against Merrigum on the Bulldogs’ home court.
Violet Town got off to a slow start, making errors in attack, which resulted in Merrigum getting the ball down the court to its shooters, who shot beautifully all game.
Violet Town in the second quarter continued to fight hard in defence, coming up with some much-needed gained ball. Unfortunately, the Towners continued to produce some errors in attack, which continued to give Merrigum more opportunities to score.
The third quarter saw Violet Town determined not to give up, and had some great passages of play, finding the shooters and gaining some momentum going into the last quarter.
It was going to be a massive challenge to come back from 12 down, but to the girls' credit, they fought it out till the final whistle, but Merrigum was just too good. Well done on making it to the finals and experiencing it all.
Ash Antonis and Macey Kubeil were standouts.
Football
Under 15s
Violet Town’s under 15s football side remains alive for another week, winning through to a semi-final following a hard-fought 5.11 (41) to 3.3 (21) victory over Tallygaroopna at Ironbark Stadium on Saturday.
The Towners had plenty of opportunity to score early but fluffed their chances in front of goal, booting 1.4 for the quarter while their opponents slotted a very accurate 3.0, leaving Violet Town eight points behind at quarter time.
Inaccuracy plagued the Redlegs in the second term, however, with Tallygaroopna going goalless, allowing Violet Town to close within three points at the main break, although still trailing.
The Towners emerged from the rooms a different side in the second half, and played some brilliant football to deny the Redlegs any score for the rest of the contest, while adding another 3.5 of their own to run out 20-point winners.
Jason Hokianga was best-on-ground for the Towners, booting a team-high two goals alongside Mason Morunga.
Violet Town will be in action this Sunday at Stanhope Recreation Reserve where they will take on Nagambie for a spot in the preliminary final.
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