Violet Town's Angus Richardson wins the ruck contest. Photos: Dan Godsmark
First week of finals for our under-15 boys and we were up against Dookie — the only team throughout the season to beat us. It was a tight contest that day and we were expecting nothing different this week.
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We were welcomed to Girgarre with windy conditions that we hadn’t encountered before and knew it would throw up challenges for both teams.
Winning the toss and kicking with the wind first gave us the opportunity to test the advantage the wind would provide throughout the game. With a few shots at goal affected dramatically by the wind, Kai and Hunter (with his first goal of the year) were able to capitalise on chances and give us a 15-point lead at quarter time, having kept Dookie scoreless.
The second quarter started off defensively well, with Dookie not taking advantage of the wind early. It wasn’t until halfway through the quarter that Dookie finally scored. Angus was giving our mids first use of the ball and Billy was killing them in the middle, with his attack on the ball a standout all game. Mason as usual was leading the way in the backline and we countered their goal with Hunter scoring a free kick and handballing off to Ryder to score an important goal against the play. Unfortunately Dookie fought back and managed to score with only seconds to go in the quarter.
Koby Ross takes a strong mark for Violet Town.
Our lead had been reduced to eight points. The half-time message was to attack the ball, don’t be cute, find a target and watch the wind.
Dookie’s defence stepped up, limiting our opportunities with the wind. We had a few shots on goal, some misses and an out on the full, before with five minutes left in the third term Anaav (aka Nev) scored his first goal of the year. Unfortunately Dookie again scored late, with only 11 seconds on the clock, sneaking one through and keeping the margin to 10 points at three-quarter time.
Violet Town under-15s coach Tim Ross addresses his players during the clash with Dookie.
Final messages from coach Tim were to man up, if not your man, then someone else’s — just don’t let them run free. Keep the ball close, move it forward with tight contests.
Dookie scored early in the quarter and the margin was a four-point lead to us for the following 10 minutes. Unfortunately Dookie kicked a goal with two minutes to go, and although the Violet Town boys fought hard, they just couldn’t create another opportunity to score.
We’ll face off against Murchison this Saturday for a chance to make it through to the grand final the following week.
Score: Violet Town 4.5.29 def by Dookie 5.1.31
Goal scorers: Hunter Smyth, Anaav Singh, Nate Nicholas and Ryder Robertson.
Best players: Billy Dyer, Nate Nicholas, Angus Richardson, Mason Butterworth, Jason Hokianga and Koby Ross.
