Wins hard to come by for Bats against Whorouly

Whorouly: 5.0, 8.5, 11.9, 12.10 (82)

The seniors got off to a slow start on Saturday, allowing Whorouly to win the ball out of the centre along with inaccuracy in front of goal, which despite recording just one less scoring shot for the quarter, left them trailing by 21 points at quarter time.

After the first quarter the boys were always playing catch-up football but found it hard to close the gap, with the back half doing a great job keeping Whorouly to seven goals for the next three quarters.

Desmond O’Kane continued his great form with his strong play along with Brayden Wapling. Sam Gladstone, playing at full back, kept their key goal kicker to a minimal influence all day.

Best Players: Desmond O’Kane (Peter Davis Rural Award), Brayden Wapling (Goorambat Railway Hotel Award), Dylan Beavis (Gladstone’s Ampol Fuel Award), Sam Gladstone (Hollywood’s Pizza Award), Jamie Dunne (Royal Hotel Award), Campbell McCoy (Club Dinner Award).

Goals: Brayden Stepien 2, Charles Hunter, Kobe Black, Travers Nolan, Desmond O’Kane, Victor Butler.

Reserves

Goorambat: 2.0, 3.1, 5.2, 6.3 (39)

Whorouly: 5.2, 10.6, 10.8, 17.9 (111)

Goorambat reserves came up against a strong Whorouly team at Whorouly on Saturday hoping to continue their improvement as shown throughout the season, with the experienced Andy Ellis back into the line-up, who proved to be a great asset to the team on the day.

Both Fynn Hyland and Grayson Kirk continued their good form with good team play around the ground, along with the two Jeremy’s, Hill and Sloan, throwing themselves into every contest.

Jack Trevena was his dangerous self around goal, keeping the boys in touch, and while the only quarter won by the boys was the third, it was still a good contest on the day.

Best Players: Andy Ellis (Bouwmeesters Bakery Award), Fynn Hyland (Hollywoods Pizza Award), Grayson Kirk (Royal Hotel Award), Jeremy Hill (Quality Wool Award), Jack Trevena (Sportspower Award), Jeremy Sloan (Early Bird Award).

Goals: Jack Trevena 2, Gary Priest, Mitch Dansey, Matthew Priest, Andy Ellis.

Netball

A-grade

Goorambat 29 drew with Whorouly 29

On Saturday our A grade team faced another challenging battle. The girls played fiercely and fought until the very end, ultimately earning their fourth draw of the season.

Despite holding a three-goal lead at half time, Whorouly’s strong defensive pressure allowed them to make a comeback, maintaining the intensity until the final whistle.

Brittany Button was a standout player, creating turnovers and intercepts in defence, while Michele Button showed remarkable resilience in goal shooter, braving a double team from the Whouroly defenders.

Nelle Cousins also delivered a solid performance, consistently applying pressure and communicating effectively against a physically imposing Whouroly shooter.

Best: Brittany Button (Riverbank Cash Award), Michele Button (Royal Hotel Award), Nelle Cousins (Early Bird Award)

B-grade

Goorambat 44 def Whorouly 37

The last time Goorambat came up against Whorouly it was a tight contest with the Lions getting the win by five goals, so it was always going to be a tough game.

The Bats came out firing, playing their best netball all season. Madison Dunne played a strong defensive game against experienced attackers and had great drives all day.

Tayla Dempster showed her ability to be versatile playing in centre and providing plenty of speed as well as calmness. Tiffany Kirkpatrick fed well all day abasing tough defence and was able to create plenty drive and combine well with Grace Handley, who was always present as an option on the court.

The Bats held a great lead going into the last half but the Lions weren’t going to give up easily, fighting hard to narrow the margin and making the Bats work hard to keep possession, ultimately coming away with a seven-goal win.

It was a great team performance by the Bats, showcasing their determination for finals.

Best: Madison Dunne (G & S Gall Cash Award), Tayla Dempster (Advanced Ag Club Dinner Award), Tiffany Kirkpatrick (Early Bird Award), Grade Handley (Bill-Bo-Pop Award)

B-reserve

Goorambat 31 def by Whorouly 52

The Bats went into the game on Saturday hoping to steal another win after an upset victory the last time the two teams met.

The Bats faced a 10-goal deficit at half time but unfortunately couldn’t chase that down.

Young goaler Ella Parrant stepped up and showed her flexibility working with two different shooters this week.

Hayley Marciniak, playing in both WD and WA showed her versatility, but really stepped up this week in the WA position, showing great leads and feeds to the shooters.

The ever reliable Chelsea Cole played a great game in defence, showing great pressure with hands over the ball and getting many rebounds once in the ring.

The girls played a hard fought game but couldn’t come away with the points at the end of the day.

Best: Ella Parrant (Muscle Mend Award), Hayley Marciniak (Royal Hotel Award), Chelsea Cole (Early Bird Award)

C-grade

Goorambat 31 def by Whorouly 34

Award Sponsors: Hume Solar, Willspread Contracting,Spot 4 Icecream

Under-15

Goorambat 13 def by Whorouly 62

Our young Bats came out playing like a team this week to score the first goal of the game.

They continued to create great space and ball movement, passes were accurate and the movement was on point for the girls to get a run and score well.

Whorouly started a bit slowly but quickly came together to put pressure on and they kept pushing well.

With a few of our original girls out with illness and other commitments, we welcomed Tilly Defazio and Ava Hayes to the team. Alarna Button shot well and also created some great court drive. Estelle Doig worked hard using front cuts and strong hands and backed up each and every ball.

Tilly Defazio slotted beautifully in to the team and lifted everyone with her talk, strong leads and great feeding in to shooters.

Best: Alarna Button (Hume Solar Award), Estelle Doig (Sportspower Award), Matilda DeFazio (Spot 4 Ice Cream Award)