Western Border Football Netball Budget - The Western -Preliminary Final

SENIORS

West 2.0 2.2 3.3 7.5 (47)

Millicent 6.7 6.8 8.12 10.14 (74)

Best - West: T. McPartlan, T. Holmes, T. Lewis, M. Minuzzo, J. Ferguson-Lane, L. Lean;

Millicent: J. Carger, H. McRae, J. Werchon, F Grimes, H. Tunkin, K. Shanks.

Goals - West: T. Holmes 2, J. Williams, B. Virgo, L. Bradley-Brown, R. Cowling, B. Newton; Millicent: J. Carger 4, M. Reilly 2, K. Gibson 2, H. Nitschke, F. Bradley.

RESERVES

West 1.2 5.2 8.3 8.5 (53)

Millicent 1.2 2.5 4.9 7.12 (54)

Best - West: D. Phillips, D. Royals, R.

Rutkowski, P. Rudd, J. Coombe; Millicent: T Lang, C. O’connor, N. Robbins, J. Todd, A. Fuller, C. Reilly.

Goals - West: J. Schapel 4, L. Winterfield 2, R. Rutkowski, P. Rudd; Millicent: J. Todd 2, B. Tilley 2, N. Robbins 2, S. Duldig.

UNDER 18'S

Best - South: M. Harrold, H. Fisher, N. Forbes, L. Delaney, R. Jones, L. Thiele; North: J. Collins, A. Dally, M. Baron, D. Arthurson, T. Stephens, D. Bryan.

Goals - South: L. Delaney 4, J. Sims 2, H. Wright 2, A. Urquhart, M. Harrold; North: D Ilsley 2, Z. Young 2, K. Allen, D. Bryan, J. Collins, A. Dally.

UNDER 16'S

Best - South: L. Sigley, M. Bentley, N. Maxwell, W. Awill, J. Richter, A. Milich; Millicent: H. Thwaites, T. Lawlor, C. Todd, S. Gronn, A. Lindner, C. Damhuis.

UNDER 14'S

Best - South: H. Higgins, B. Jennings, J. Harten, L. McTaggart, J. Hagge; Millicent: S. Coghlan, L. Tunkin, R. Lindner, C. Shanks, B. Thomas, L. Robbins.

Goals - South: J. Vause 2, J. Awill 2, O. McCracken, J. Harten; Millicent: L. Robbins, C. Shanks, R. Straord, M. Tarrant.

BendigoBankSeniors

Reserves

LADDERS

BENDIGOBANKSENIORS

Clubs are encouraged to submit arcles regarding social events plus player and club milestone informaon for inclusion in the Western Border Football & Netball Budget. To assist the publisher please note that the preferred format for arcles is as a Word document and any photographs should be supplied as a JPEG file to ensure the best quality reproducon.

All arcles are required by 12 noon each Monday and should be emailed to westernborder@xpressigns.com.au

SATURDAY

MONDAY 8.00am - 10.00am

The good news keeps coming for West Gambier with the Pfitzner brothers Jessie and Aden. Giddings brothers Kyle and Ethan along with their cousins Stoney and Toolbox (Newton), commied again for 2024!

VNorth Gambier North Gambier

South Gambier South Gambier

East Gambier East Gambier

North Gambier North Gambier

West Gambier West Gambier

Coach: Andrew Pearson

Coach: Nat Robbins

Team

1 Jarvis Gronn

2 William Jennings

3 Henry Damhuis

5 Brax Thomas

6 Levi Robbins

North Gambier North Gambier

Yellow & Black

VCoach: Ryan Roulstone Assistant Coach: Sco Fle

Team Manager: Jess Roulstone

11 Logan Douglas

17 Sebella Coghlan

19 Ryder Lindner

14 Charlie Waters 16 Izac Richards

18 Jack Dyson

20 Penny Coleman

13 Lincoln Holtham 21 Brock McEachern

54 Cody Blanck

AWITNESSTOTHEIRLIVES

SalutingtheChampions:RICHIEGREEN

GENTLEMANANDCHAMPION

Carlton champ turns North Gambier into title heroes

WHEN Richie Green arrived at North Gambier in 1957, aged 30, his football career record had already won acclaim from the VFL to major Victorianregionalcountrycentres.

He was appointed as the Tigers 1957 captaincoachwhichatthetimewasahugecoupbecause Green’s coaching and playing ability had become wellknownatvariouslevelsoffootball.

It all began in Melbourne just after the Second World in 1945 at the age of just 18 when, although lightly built, short in height, he broke into the Carlton Seconds team and started to makeanimpression.

Coaches and selectors alike began to like the attributesGreenbroughttotheteam.

Silkysmootharoundthepackshehadanabilityto find the ball in even the most tough and difficult circumstances but it was his brilliant disposal eitherbyhandorfootwhichstoodoutmost.

His kicking to position soon had him making his debutintheVFLleaguesideby1946.

Although he was primarily a rover or centreman these positions were well covered in the Carlton league team so the coach put him in the back pocket and he played there for six seasons until the end of the 1953 season when he went coaching in country Victoria. He was Carlton’s best player in their 1947 premiership win and againbestwhenrunner-uptoEssendonin1949.

He played with Carlton until 1952 and amassed almost 100 league games before switching to South Melbourne in 1953 where he played a handfulofgames.

But coaching in regional Victoria beckoned. In 1954, 55 and 56 he coached the strong Camperdown team in the Hampden league and then accepted a similar position with North Gambierin1957.

He made an immediate impact playing as a rover or centreman and was chosen in the South East and Border Football League inter-league team of that season and won the 1957 Mail Medal that yearastheleague’sbestandfairestplayer.

I came to know Richie Green as a youngster at that time because he lived in the same street –Cockburn Street – and often the kids in the street would be kicking the football end-to-end

(deliberately outside his home, hoping he would come out and watch us) and then he would walk out of his front doorandwatchfromhisverandah.

Suddenly no-one was interested in kicking the footy All eyes would turn to the North Gambier championandwhenhesatontheverandahweall knew it was an invitation to all walk over, sit on the lawn in front of him and hear some of his storiesorlistenashegaveusalladvice.Askidswe did not care what he had to say, but we hung off every word. I guess you have to imagine what it meanttothosenineand10-year-oldkids,livingin the East End when a footballer like Richie Green moves to your street. Even though some were East and South fans among those kids, everyone idolisedRichieGreen.

Hewasagreatgentlemanandawonderfulcoach.

When he was interviewed by the press shortly after he won his 1957 Mail Medal he said that individually local players were the equal of other majorleaguesbutthoughttheoverallstandardin theSEBFLwaslowerthaninVictoria.

He said much of that was because of the poor umpiring in the SEBFL where in Victoria the man going for the ball was given protection by the umpires but in the SEBFL umpires allowed too much manhandling and this prevented the champions of the game from showing their best form. (Many supporters today would wish AFL umpires followed the rules as the Victorian umps did in Richie’s day by better protecting the player goingfortheball.Today,instead,theyrewardthe tagger.)

Healsobelievedpaidcoachesshouldbeexcluded fromwinningtheleague’sbestandfairestaward.

They were strong words from Richie Green but anyone who played with or against him would attest that when he arrived at North he was strong on discipline, demanded full fitness from his players and instilled a new skill level at North which eventually would take them to the 1960 premiership.

Along the way North had to fight against the might of West Gambier which won three successive premierships in Green’s first three yearsatNorth.

What was most unusual was when Green finally got North to the premiership in 1960 and by then was aged 33 years and in the veteran stage, he was sensationally dumped as coach and replaced by ex-Hawthorn and ex-West Perth rover Bill Cocks.

However, West swooped and Green coached Westin1961and62beforeretiring.

I have asked numerous people why Green was

sacked after winning a flag (it also happened to Johnny Taylor with West in 1957) and no-one had the complete answer, although an ex-North playerofthattimesaidhebelievedNorthwerein arebuildingstageandwantedayoungercoachto mould the next generation of young players comingthrough.

It is now history that Cocks took North to the premiership in 1961, 62 and 64 (WBFL) so maybe Northgotitright.

Regardless of that controversy, Richie Green was always welcome back at Tigerland and often would return in his aging years to club reunions and his players and officials of that time still held himinthehighestregard.

The terms “gentleman” and champion” can be loosely thrown around from time to time but asked anyone at North Gambier or anyone who played with or against him or was associated in anyway - like the kids from Cockburn Street– and theywillalltellyouRichieGreenfittedboththose categorieswithgreatstyleandgrace.

• PHOTO: North Gambier premiership captaincoachandMailMedalwinnerRichieGreen.

GALLERY A RESERVE

17 & UNDER

15 & UNDER B

13 & UNDER B

Keely Stuart

Gracie Peterson & Nikeisha Facey

Stacey Edwards

Izabella Neilson

Mylee Lynch

Tora Jones

Mia Griffith

Tahnee Grosser

RESULTS

A GRADE

Millicent 64 (L. Duldig, T. Sanderson) d West Gambier 63 (S. Rier, M. Horrigan)

A RESERVE

Millicent 65 (J. Sutherland, K. Stuart) d West Gambier 46 (A. Bosco, C. Tremelling)

B GRADE

Casterton Sandford 50 (S. Nolte, A. Whillas) d Millicent 33 (K. Coghlan, M. Fleming)

C GRADE

South Gambier 55 (B. Winterfield, C. Dunn) d East Gambier 48 (M. Wilson, Z. Creek) - IN OVERTIME

17 & UNDER

North Gambier 71 (S. Mobbs, A. Collins) d Millicent 48 (J. Lucas, P. Paul)

15 & UNDER A

Millicent 51 (K. Dunn, B. Coghlan) d North Gambier 30 (M. Collins, G. Nulty)

15 & UNDER B

Millicent 30 (J. Hibberd, A. Gysbers) d North Gambier 23 (P. Coleman, M. Griffith)

13 & UNDER A

Millicent 48 (A. Thomson, L. Crowe) d North Gambier 24 (L. Hunter, A. Halloran)

13 & UNDER B

Casterton Sandford 35 (A. Murphy, Y. Grigg) d East Gambier 15 (T, Olsen, S. McCracken)

AGRADE–WestGambiervMillicent

It was always going to be a tough, high quality contest and the A Grade 2nd semi final between West Gambier andMillicentdidnotdisappoint.

Thedefensivepressurewasintense,theballmovement elite and all the goalers on court stood up to the pressureoffinalswithgoodaccuracy

In the end, it was the Saints who advanced to the grand final, leaving reigning premiers West Gambier to tackle NorthGambierinthisweekend’spreliminaryfinal.

While there was never more than a handful of goals in the contest, it was the Saints who enjoyed the advantage for much of the contest and despite somemes enjoyed a lead of up to seven goals, the result was always in doubt as the Roos came back me andmeagain.

In the opening quarter Millicent was able to pressure WestintosomeuncharacteriscerrorswithLisaDuldig, Kimmi Tincknell, Lauren van Eeden and Pora McRae workingwellas a defensiveunit to shut downthe space andpickupanumberofilladvisedfeeds.

With Tabatha Sanderson solid at the post, neng 11 from 13 in the opening quarter, and Demi Verbena doing a mountain of work in transion and on the drive into the circle, the new look Millicent forward set up with LilliePaul in a rare oung at wing aack and Duldig back in the centre, kept finding its way through the normally tough Roos defence. Millicent mid courter Daisy Tunkin is sll baling the finger injury she sustainedattheendoftheminorround.

But despite building an early buffer some good work overtheballfromMikaelaHorriganinthemidcourtsaw the Roos create late turnover ball and by the first change it was a one goal game in Millicent’s favour – a perfect 13 from 13 from Sarah Rier, ensuring West wererightinthecontest.

Thesecondfollowedasimilarscripttothefirst,withthe Saints starng the stronger and building a buffer Verbena dominated this quarter with her work in the goalthirdassheworkedtheballpaentlywithPauland Duldigunlthespaceintheshoongcircleopenedup.

In a rare sharing of the shoong dues, Verbena nailed sevenfrom10andSandersonscoredtheother10asthe Saintsgoalaack’slongrangeaccuracybecameafactor

West’s Lisa McGregor also started to take more of the scoringresponsibilityinthesecondasMcRaeconnued to work hard to deny potenal matchwinner Sarah Riertoomuchball.

Leadingbysixatthemainbreak,theSaintsagaingotthe beerofthestartbutWeststartedtouptheanteonthe defensive pressure with Jade Rier and Amy Cram starng to be more disrupve and creang some turnover opportunies, while Zoe Malseed was snaring some crucial loose ball gets in what was an intriguing balewithPaulallday

SarahRierhadtheradarwellandtrulyturnedoninthe third with 17 straight in a quarter of perfect shoong fromtheRoos,withVerbenaalsonotregisteringamiss.

Thefourgoalthreequartermemarginsetupafrenec finalquarteranditdidn’ttakelongfortheRoostomake their move, clawing back the deficit and engaging the Saintsinagoalforgoalbale.

Defensively West was at its relentless best. Tara Bryant and Malseed were denying the Saints feeders easy access to the circle’s edge and, as it had been for much of the game for both teams, the back play to the centre third transverse line became the norm rather than the excepon.

That pressure allowed Cram and Jade Rier to sit back and they got some important deflecons that allowed West to bring it back to a genuine arm wrestle with the sides trading goals for much of the quarter – West grabbingtheleadandMillicentequalising.

Both sides were desperate to create that crical turnover and it was the Saints who forced the error in the defensive goal third, scoring to take a one goal lead and then playing the ball around for the remaining few seconds off their own centre pass to book the grand finalberth.

No side had a poor player with Verbena’s workload and ability to find Sanderson in space crical, while Duldig alsodidamountainofworktobeoneoMillicent’sbest.

Tincknell managed a few intercepons but her work off theballtoworkintandemwithDuldigtomakefindinga way through to McGregor and Sarah Rier was tough was as impressive as she has been all season, while youngsterPauladaptedwelltoherlessfamiliarrole.

McRae and Van Eeden also combined well in the first halftoshutdownthescoringopportunies,whileatthe other end Cram and Jade Rier did a similar tag team role.

Horrigan’sdefensiveimpactwasimportantfortheRoos as was Bryant’s hard running and Malseed’s ght checking, while McGregor was again called upon to work high up the court as well as demanding a stack of ball in the goal third and delivering with precision to SarahRier,whoshot52ofWest’s63goals.

ARESERVE–MillicentvWestGambier

The opening term saw a closely contested bale, as both teams capitalized on turnovers and centre-pass opportunies to convert accurately Millicent’s Donna Denton and Tahlia Earl, the goal shooter for West, showcased their dominance under the post, tallying 12 and 13 points, respecvely. Earl a formidable presence despite the relentless pressure from Millicent's NikieshaFacey Inthemidcourt,West'sAnnaBosco,and Millicent's Jackie Sunderland had a great tussle both usingtheirspeedtohitthecircleedgeandfindshooters with pinpoint passing. Scores were locked at 16 a piece atthequarter-mebreak.

Millicent snapped up an intercepon through Keeley Stuart at the opening whistle which seemed to li her side as they appeared to gain momentum in the openingminutesoftheterm.

Millicent snapped up an intercepon through Keely Stuart at the opening whistle which seemed to li her side as they appeared to gain momentum in the opening minutes of the term. The Saints WA, Alana Craig and GA, Abby Denton worked the ball paently in aack to feed Denton under the post The Saints paence helped them to take the lead at the break 3128.

BothsidesmadechangeswiththeSaintsenteringRylee Kenny for Denton and West switching Bosco and Tremelling in the midcourt. Millicent broke the game open with Denton taking control in the circle nailing 16 fortheterm.Millicent’smidcourt,SunderlandandCraig started to find space and hit the circle edge to find Kenny and Denton with paent delivery Whilst West struggled to find Earl as Stuart and Facey snapped up loose passes and forced errors. The Saints held an 11goalmarginatthefinalchange.

West reshuffled midcourt with Bosco back into centre and defender Rachael Langford and Madelyn Milich switched roles to try and combat the Saints' ball movement Milich started well taking some mely interceptsandWestpeggedthemarginbackto8before the Saints went on a scoring spree. The defensive pressure of Alice Pra, Stuart and Sunderland caused held balls and Facey connued to dominate reading the balltotakeintercepts.

The Saints ran out winners by 19 with final scores being Millicent 65 to West 46. The Saints were best served by the hard-running Sunderland and defender Keeley Stuart. West’s Anna Bosco and Chelsea Tremelling ran hardandappliedgoodpressureforWest.

BGRADE–CastertonSandfordvMillicent

Thepreviousencountersbetweenthesetwosideshave been ght and the first quarter started like that before theCatsputtheirfootdownandfinishedwitha17-goal winandbookedthefirstspotintheTitledecider

Both sides applied ght defensive pressure early and errors through the midcourt meant a low-scoring affair

The Cats, Shelby Nolte and Saints Michelle Fleming had a ght bale with Nolte scoring all of the Cats first quarter goals At the other end, it was Nicole Domaschenz who was the focal point under the post. TheCatswentintothefirstbreakwitha2-goallead.

Another evenly contested q u a r t e r w i t h N o l t e & Domaschenz connuing to be the focal points for their sides in goals. The Saints Krystal Coghlan ran hard through the midcourt and had a great bale with the Cats Anna Whillers. It was the Cats most experienced campaigner in Trica Clearly who set the pace of the game and used her smarts to help her side take a 6-goal leadatthemainbreak.

The third quarter started at a franc pace with hard running by Coghlan and Kalli Brown ensuring that the Saints were going to fight hard Veronica Duncan stepped up her pressure and Kate Paen got some vital touches. At the other end, it was Nolte who connued to dominate under the post and shoot accurately The Cats were able to increase their lead by 2 and take an 8 goalleadintothefinalquarter

It was all the Cats in the last quarter as Jess Cousins and Emma Grigg stepped up their defensive pressure to limit the Saints scoring opportunies Whillers connued to dominate the midcourt and Cleary delivered to Nolte who finished with 11 for the quarter TheCatsranoutbigwinnersintheendtakingthematch by17goals.

The Cats were best served by the accurate goalie, Shelby Nolte and Centre Anna Whillers and for the Saints Coghlan ran hard all day creang opportunies andMichelleFlemingbaledhardindefence.

TheCGrade2ndsemifinalwasamatchthathaditall.

Both sides had their me ahead on the scoreboard, both had opportunies to build and maintain good leads and in the end it took 14 minutes of overme to separate South Gambier and East Gambier with the Demonsadvancingtothegrandfinal.

Both sides are a mix of experience and youth and both hadtheirmetoshine.

Experienced East goaler Megan Wilson was the go-to shooter for the Bulldogs and she hit a number of long range shots under pressure as the Bulldogs worked to forcethegameintooverme.

South shooter Brooke Winterfield, also brought her experience and composure to the table, especially in the tense second half where she need 14 from 16 in thefinaltwoquartersandsevenfromnineinoverme.

She had a great bale with athlec young defender Brooklyn Jean, who created a stack of turnover ball for her team mates, especially in the opening half where she pounced on any less than perfect feed, especially thelongaerialdeliveries.

Jean wasn’t the only young gun on court delivering on the big stage, with South goal aack Alannah Clayton dominang the opening quarter and finding her mojo again in the tense overme where she converted nine from 10 as the Demons ran away with the game to win byseven.

Defender Chelsea Dunn was also crical. She got a number of important touches and rebounded strongly toconnuallywintheballbackforherteam.

The Demons led by two at quarter me and one at half me, before building a four goal three quarter me lead.

That lead blew out to eight early in the last and South looked grand final bound before East found another gear and eventually forced the game into overme before South again asserted their authority to gain the resulttheyshouldhavehadinregulaonme. East’sZenaCreekwascomposedinthemidcourt,while Jean and Wilson were the other beer players for the Bulldogs,withGraceFergusonalsoprovingimportantin transionplay,whileforSouth,Winterfield,Claytonand Dunn were dominant with skipper Ella Egan having an influence in the less familiar role of wing aack and Shana Grassi showing good composure in her first senior game for the year while she replaced an injured Misty Dalton, who was able to receive treatment and returntothecourtlate.

CGRADE–SouthGambiervEastGambier

17&UNDER–NorthGambiervMillicent

When a goal shooter converts 25 from 29 in the first quarter, chances are your team is in control and that was exactly the case when North Gambier’sStellaMobbsstampedherauthorityon the 17 & Under 2nd semi final, leading the Tigers toa16goalquartermelead.

TheinjuryravagedSaintshadnoanswertoMobbs heigh and posioning, the defensive pressure from the Tigers and the pinpoint delivery from Macey Griffith, Coco Mackereth and Cara Nulty –who launched some wonderful long range passes toMobbstohelpsetthetone.

Things did sele for Millicent in the second quarter with North only adding one goal to its lead.

AbbyDentonsteppedupherworkrateandneed 12 from 15 as the hard running of Lillie Paul, the tenacious defensive efforts of Mackinlee Alcock, who was forced from the court late in the second quarterwithanankleinjury,andMayaTarrantand the accurate feeding of Jaime Lucas saw Millicent rungoalforgoalwithNorth.

Errorswerethenameofthegamefrombothsides in the third as Tigers goal defence Jayme Young connued to pick up loose balls, as she had regularly in the first half as well, and Ava Collins connued to be impassable at goal keeper for North.

Accurate finishing from Mylee Lynch and Keelie LindnerkepttheSaintsintouchanditwasanother goal for goal quarter with North comfortable at threequartermewitha17goallead.

It was back to one way traffic again in the last as Griffith combined with Sarah Brown in goals, upping her output with 10 from 13 to finish the matchinstyle.

Lindner was also on song at the other end of the courtforMillicent,presenngstrongly

In the end, the stunning opening quarter and the disciplined performance from the Tigers all over the court, both with and without ball in hand, and Northbookedthefirstgrandfinalspot,leavingthe SaintstofightitoutwithCastertonSandfordinthe preliminaryfinal.

The Millicent Saints knew they had to get off to a good start against an improved North side and theydidjustthatinwhatturnedouttobeamatchwinningfirstquarter

It was the Saints who looked seled and composed right from the first whistle, using their speed in aack to deliver the ball to Kalani Dunn who didn’t let their side down scoring 13 goals for thequarter PiperPaulandMyleeLynchusedtheir smarts and speed to set up scoring opportunies and at the other end, it was Mae Fauchelle and Emily Denton who shut down the delivery to the North goalies and the Saints went into the quarter-mebreakwithan11-goalmargin.

North seled in the second with hard running from Maggies Collins and Georgis Nulty in the midcourt and Elodie Adams found space in the goal circle finishing well. The Saints started to make errors and North’s Ruby Mitchell got some vital touches as North stayed in touch at the main break.

The third quarter went goal for goal as Bell Coghlan took over the midcourt geng vital touchesindefenceandusingherspeedacrossthe court to set up Dunn under the post. North’s

Mischa Human found her range in this quarter finishing accurately It was the Saints who connued to increase their lead and at the final changewere14goalsinfront.

The last quarter was all the Saints as Mis Gysbers read the play taking mely intercepts and transioned the ball well with Fauchelle downcourt. It was Paul who then took control of the aack line seng the play and using her smarts to deliver the ball safely to Lynch & Dunn. In what was a total team effort the Saints have advancedintotheGrandFinal.

Best for the Saints Dunn was superb under the post with a stunning shoong display & Coghlan ran hard all day in defence and aack. For North, Collins did the bulk of the aacking across the courtandwaswellsupportedbyNulty.

With close encounters all season, this match loomed to be no different and it lived up to the expectaons as the match went goal for goal before the Saints went on a scoring spree in the dying minutes to win and advance into the season decider.

The Saints started strongly, scoring for the first 7 goals before the Tigers responded. Tahnee Grosser led the Saints aack line, seng the play andfinishingaccurately

At the other end, Jeda Hibberd’s ght pressure caused turnovers, and her bale with Claire Mitchell was a highlight with Mitchell finishing well late in the quarter to help her side to be one downatthefirstbreak.

North responded well and ghtened up their defensive pressure with Penny Coleman and Isabella Stafford combining well to limit Grosser’s scoring opportunies The Saints, WD Lexi Nicholls used her reach over the ball to get some vital touches, but it was North who won the quarterandtooka2-goalleadatthemainbreak.

The third quarter again went goal for goal as both sides were paent with the ball. The Saints, Asha Gysbers and North’s, Lily Brook were working overmein the midcourt for theirsides in an even bale. Eva Crowe and Hibberd ghtened up in the circlewithCrowereadingtheballandtakingsome clean intercepts to help her side win the quarter bytwoandthescoreswerealllockedupat20allat thelastchange.

The final quarter started ghtly before the Saints took control. Lainie Rainsford used her speed in aack, finding Emily Walker on the base and she fed Grosser well who didn’t let her side down scoring 9 for the quarter Hibberd connued to dominate in defence and help her side into the GrandFinal.

BestPlayersfortheSaintswereHibberd&Gysbers andforNorthColemanandGriffith.

Millicent doubled their lead and at the final whistle, aer the Tigers had again found more consistency intheirgame,themarginwas24.

Amarlie Thomson was outstanding in goals, neng 42 from 46, including an impressive 11 straightinthesecondquarter

That being said, North keeper Amelie Adam did wintheballbackonanumberofoccasionsbutthe weightofsupplyeventuallytold.

Lucy Crowe was also one of the Saints who influenced the match – first in centre where she dominated on the drive and then at goal defence, where she took a number of intercepons and strongrebounds,aswellassllbeingimportantin transion.

North centre Jenna Baron ran hard all day, while Mackenzie Harrold hassled her opponent and got her hands to balls all match but in the end the composure of Olive Thorne in her delivery ensured the Saint goalers had plenty of opportuniestoscore.

Indi Coghlan was also crical in her delivery to Thomson,whoposionedwell.

Lacey Hunter was another Tiger who worked hard and some of her long range shoong was wonderful but the Tigers just made too many errors and despite Adam and Ava Halloran winning the ball back, the scoring opportunies wereslllimited.

The Saints defenders, on the other hand, watched their hard earned turnovers, especially the work ofLolaFerguson,turnintoscores. The Tigers now need to regroup to take on West Gambierinthisweekend’spreliminaryfinal.

Aer a ghtly contested game for three quarters, in the end it was the favourites, Casterton Sandford taking a comfortable 20-goal win and advancingintotheGrandFinal.

Both sides started nervously, making errors all over the court, any missed shots were rebounded strongly at each end of the court. Casterton’s GA, Adele Murphy set the play and helped her side go intothefirstbreak3goalsinfront.

Casterton Sandford started strongly in the second astheyappliedfull-courtdefensivepressure,with Marlee Robbins and Ylana Grigg driving the ball out of defence with speed they were able to score more freely and take a 9-goal lead at the main break.

Both sides made changes at the break and the matchwentgoalforgoalformostofthequarteras East started finding connecons as Sailor McCracken used her speed through the midcourt to find Isabelle Cook who made the most of her opportunies. The Cats held a match-winning 11goalleadatthefinalchange.

Millicent has advanced to the 13 & under A grand final with an emphac win over North Gambier in a match where the Saints generated plenty of scoring opportunies and their goalies converted accuratelytoensurescoreboarddominance.

It was a seven goal margin at quarter me but the Tigers did sele into their work in the second to seea10goalhalfmeadvantagetotheSaints.

It was a dominant last quarter by CastertonSandford as they used their skill all over the court and Gorman and Murphy didn’t let them down under the post scoring 13 for the quarter to take a 20-goalwin.

For the Cats, Murphy & Grigg had dominant performances and East was best served by Tilly Olsen and Sailor McCracken who baled hard all day

13 & UNDER B – Casterton Sandford v East Gambier

13&UNDERA–MillicentvNorthGambier

15&UNDERB-MillicentvNorthGambier

15&UNDERA–MillicentvNorthGambier

third quarter put the result beyond doubt as

LADDERS

Last weekend’s A Grade second semi final was a matchofthehighestquality with West Gambier almost snatching the win after trailing for much of the day, goingdownbyonegoal.

But regardless of how well the Roos played, they ended up in this weekend’s preliminary final and will need to win their way past North Gambier if they are to have a chance to defendertheirtitle.

West got off to a sluggish start at the weekend and will be looking to jump out of the blocks with better intensityatbothendsofthe

courtthisweekend.

Every match up has the ability to significantly influencethefinalresult.

There is Tara Bryant and Mel Renko going head to head in the centre, Sarah Ritter will be up against Stella Mobbs or Mikaila Pitt and at the other end, Jade Ritter will look to deny Grace Potts easy ball near thepost.

Brianna Walters looms large for the Tigers – she just quietly goes about her business, using her speed to hit the circle’s edge and she just doesn’t make mistakes with ball in hand so Zoe Malseed, who

A-RESERVE

WestGambierwaswell in the contest with Millicent for the first half of the second semi final but faded in the second and will be looking to find a strong f o u r q u a r t e r performance, which is what it will take, if they are to advance to the grand final with a win overNorthGambier.

North’sAlishaBryan. Bothhavecreativegoal attacks who do a mountain of work out the front with Graice Peterson for West and TigersAlyciaPitson.

played a disciplined game at the weekend will need to

b r i n g r e l e n t l e s s

c o n c e n t r a t i o n a n d commitment to shutting

d o w n W a l t e r s t h i s weekend.

Mikaela Horigan did much of her damage without the ball at the weekend, creating a number of mid courtturnoversandshewill be well matched by Lauran Norman, who matches her forathleticismandabilityin theair.

Amy Cram is the general of the defensive end of the West court and her battle with young gun Macey Griffith,whilehelpingRitter

defend Potts will be one of the most match shaping duels of the match, while North goal defence Noni McConnell will need to be athertightcheckingbestas Lisa McGregor continues to be the architect of the Roos transition game, working high up the court, doing a mountain of work in the goal third and combining wellwithRitter.

The reigning premiers should have enough firepower to get the job done, setting up a rematch of last season’s premiership decider.

been sharing goal defenceduties.

Teenager Ava Collins, who often enters the game at wing defence, is also an option to tackleEarlifrequired.

West coach and goal k e e p e r R a c h e a l Langford will have the job on Bryan, while youngster Madelyn Milich will look to shut downPitson. The two sides are well matched. Both have a strong goal shooter whomustbestopped–West’s Tahlia Earl and

Riley Mitchell will look to take on Earl and deny her the space at the post, while Jessie Little and Nat Fox have

The mid courts are both speedy and smart and much will come down to which mid court can transition the ball with more efficiency, while applying maximum pressure without ball inhand.

Accuracy will also be a key – Bryan is coming off a semi final where she scored 44 of North’s goals as she and Pitson combined for 66 from 84 in a dominant display and Earl netted 38 from 45 attheweekend.

North will be right in this contest but the Roos will advance in a genuinearmwrestleof acontest.

Millicent just couldn’t find a way to stop Casterton Sandford finding tall Cats shooterShelbyNolteinthe weekend’s second semi final but they face a very d i f fe r e n t t a s k t h i s weekend with the moving shooting circle of West Gambier.

This preliminary final will, however, see one the Roos tryingtostopatallshooter in her tracks when they looktodenySaintsshooter Nicole Domaschenz too may scoring opportunities inrange.

Thattaskwillfallnotjustto

Daena Wombwell, who is well matched for height and tenacity with the Saints spearhead, but also Brooke Holmes, Kirby H u n t e r a n d B i a n c a Jackway, who will help form the back trio that will need to pressure delivery intoDomaschenz.

And given those balls will be delivered by Krystal Coghlan and Kalli Brown, who are both experienced and composed in the heat of battle, West will have to be relentless with their defensivepressure.

C-GRADE

Both East Gambier and North Gambier enter t h i s w e e k e n d ’ s preliminary final after overtime finals that w e r e t e n s e f r o m beginningtoend.

Eastlostattheweekend

to minor premiers South Gambier after a late comeback from the Bulldogs forced the 14 extra minutes but the Demons regrouped and won their way through tothegrandfinal.

It was a different scenario for North, who d o m i n a t e d l a r g e portions of its knockout

semi final with West Gambier before the Roos stormed home to force the overtime but then fell one goal short when the final whistle blew, keeping the Tigers seasonalive.

Both sides have strong defensive lines. East with the athletic duo of Brooklyn Jean and Chloe Lines and North with =the luxury of f i n d i n g t h e b e s t combination with Rebecca Johnson, Sarah Nieuwenhuizen, Kelsie Anderson and Tara Fleming.

VThe battle in the centre between the athletic Saint Coghlan and Kylie Heaver, who is a smart, hard working player will be one of the match deciding duels, with Maelee Dalton also taking her turn to take on Coghlan, where her athleticismandwillingness todefendwillbecritical.

West’s moving goal circle with Elysha Collins, who can also take the wing attack bib, Cailtin Carraill and Kristy Dolan, will need to find their timing early

and work together to find space as Veronica Duncan and Michelle Fleming have a great understanding and goodreach.

Fleming is under an injury cloud after suffering a hand injury in the second semi final and if she is missing, the scales tip significantly in the Roos favour

The season record says Millicent wins but West has already had one upset finalsvictorysoarenotout of the contest by any means.

The shooting circles have a few combination on offer – East using youngster Millie Button as the main target with e x p e r i e n c e d campaigner Megan Wilson bringing the smarts and long range accuracy and Katie Gaffney on hand to take eitherrole.

The Tigers have the height of Milly Allen as their focal point with Hannah Fox providing the drive and accurate feeding and 17 & Under player Sarah Brown also anoption.

The mid courts will see East’s veteran duo of Tamara Perryman and Zena Creek using their smarts, with Grace Ferguson providing the speed in transition, while North has Keeley Quinn, Kahlia Egan and Shay Merrett who will just keep presenting to ensure the ball is worked safely into the shootingcircle.

This could well be one of the tightest finals of t h e d ay w i t h t h e Bulldogs prevailing in a nailbiter.

An injur y ravaged Millicent was totally outclassed by North Gambier in the second semi final and they will be looking to rebound s t r o n g l y a g a i n s t Casterton Sandford, who a d v a n c e d t o t h e p r e l i m i n a r y f i n a l courtesy of a nailbiter overEastGambier

The Saints boast the long rangefirepowerofKeelie L i n d n e r a n d A b b y Denton, with Mylee Lynch waiting in the wings if required, while the mid court has the speedandsmartsofLillie Paul, the hard working Jaimie Lucas and Bree

W a t s o n a n d t h e versatilityofMiaGysbers

a n d p o t e n t i a l interchange player Piper Paul – with both able to apply any role in the mid court.

Defensively, much will depend on how the ankle injury suffered by Mackinlee Alcock pulls up this week and if she can resume her circle defence combination with Maya Tarrant. Matti Fauchelle, who took the role in the second semi final,could wellbecalled intoactionagain.

The result could also rest o n w h e t h e r E d i e Easterby is fit to play after missing the second

semi final as she gives the Saints a strong mid court or circle defence optionifavailable.

Casterton Sandford would certainly believe they are a chance to advance, given the quality of their line-up, h e a d l i n e d b y t h e shooting combination of Ivy Lane and Chelsea Hulm. The Cats duo have played much of their junior netball together a n d h a v e a g o o d understanding and both are accurate finishers so w i l l m a k e t h e i r opportunitiescount.

At the other end of the

court Sarah Richardson never gives an inch and Phoebe Carlin just loves hunting interceptions and often gets to balls she has no right to turn over

The mid court is also strong with speedy, smart wing attack Indi Longhurst, hard running centre Madeline Patton and Isobel McRae, who uses her height to great effect.

This could well be a tighter contest than many expect but the Saintsshouldprevail.

The 15 & Under A 2nd semi final ended in a more lopsided scoreline than would have been expected so the vanquished North Gambier team will be l o o k i n g t o t a ke o n prisoners in this weekend’s preliminary final against West Gambier to earn a redemption game against theSaints.

Both sides have tall accurate goal shooters, so keeping the ball out of the hands of North’s Mischa Human and West’s Lila Pearson, will be priority

one for the respective coaches.

Human has built a strong combination with Elodie Adam, who loves the long range shot and with Georgia Nulty and Maggie Collins delivering the ball, the challenge is there for North’s Alice Allen and Mikayla Pearson to deny easy ball in good shooting position, while Maggy Dyson will be relied on to pressurethefeeds.

Pearson is well matched with Human in height so positioning will be all important in this battle,

while Allen is also a good match for Adam with her speed onto the ball and greatelevation. Her work over the shot is also impressive and the pressurefromtheRooswill need to be relentless if theyaretocausetheupset.

The work rate of the West mid court will also need to send to none and Swaye Lindner and Ella Jolley will need to work overtime to find a way through the tough and athletic North d e f e n c e o f R a i n e Darimaani, Ruby Mitchell andKelsieAnderson.

The Tigers defensive trio has good reach, ability to read the play and will contest everything so Pearson will need to hold strongly and Lara Murdoch and Miley Vivian will need totimetheirdrivesintothe circle perfectly to try and break up the defensive set up.

We st w i l l c e r ta i n l y challenge the Tigers but North should comfortably earnthatMillicentrematch inthetitledecider.

North Gambier is coming off a tight 2nd semi final loss where Millicent just ran away with the match in the final quarter so they will be looking to put in a s t r o n g f o u r q u a r t e r performance and earn another shot at the Saints after finishing the home and away season on topoftheladder But they won’t have it all their own way when they take on West Gambier for the last spot inthegrandfinal.

The Roos have good scoring power with Lila Pearson, Miley Vivian and Ava Reid all as options so the defensive combination of Penny Coleman, who was the Tigers’ best at the weekend, and Isabella Stafford willneedto beon song fromthe firstwhistle.

They will also rely on pressure from the mid court of Lacey Allen, Lily Brook, Zoe Davison and Georgia Nulty so that the

ball coming in is under pressure andcouldresultinerrors.

The West mid court will also need to be at their defensive bestwithouttheballandcareful and precise with it, with Libby Buck, Maya Lynch and Brydie Starick all coming off strong semifinalperformances. Of course, the Tigers have strong shooting combination with the height and aerial strength of Claire Michell and

the well timed moves and long rangeaccuracyofMiaGriffithso Holly Jackson, who was her side’s best in the 1st semi final, and Analeigh Anderson, who is one of the tightest checking defenders in the age group, will needtodenythedynamicTigers duotimeandspace.

WestwillpushtheTigersbutitis hard to mount a case that North won’t advance to the season decider

West Gambier is yet to beat North Gambier this season in the 13 & under A competition but as they enter the preliminary final against the Tigers, the young Roos know they have already caused one upset when they ousted Casterton Sandfordinthe1stsemifinal.

Theclosestmarginbetweenthetwo has been 11 goals and the last time they met it was a blowout but anyonewhosawthetenaciousRoos force their 1st semi final into overtime and eventual victory would be reticent to dismiss their

chances.

Much will depend on the ability of Isla Lynch and Claire Hunter to win the ball back and deny the scoring combination of Carey Grivell and Lacey Hunter too many scoring opportunities.

Lacey Hunter was nailing her long range attempts in the second semi final for the Tigers and her battle with Claire Hunter will be one of the more pivotal of the match while Lynch was outstanding in the 1st semi final and if she wins back that

much ball again the Roos will be in thehunt.

At the other end of the court, the West shooting combination had a strong 1st semi final with both Eva Povey and Sara Richards not afraid of the long range attempt so North defenders Ava Halloran and Amelie Adam will need to be at their best, working hard one on one to deny theRoosgoalerstheball.

One of the other battles that will decide the final outcome will be in the centre where North’s hard

running Jenna baron takes on the speedofEllaMcKenny

Baron is well supported in the mid court by Mackenzie Harrold, who is a tenacious wing defender and smartsingattackGraceColins,while the West mid court has good depth with Miah Jackway, Samantha Foster, Matilda Neale, and Claudia Vorwerk,whowasoneofherteam’s bestinweekoneofthefinals.

West will certainly test the Tigers but North should earn one more crack at getting the better of the Saintsinthegrandfinal.

East Gambier and Millicent will fight it out this weekend for the remaining spot in the 13 & UnderBgrandfinal.

The Bulldogs won two of the threeencountersin2023butthe results have been topsy turvy and reveal very little about how Saturdaymightpanout.

East’s defensive combination of Ava Olsen and Tilly Olsen will needtobeattheirtightchecking best to limit the scoring opportunities of Brydie Madden

and Lindy Van Eeden, while Madden and Van Eeden will be looking to finish accurately as the tall east defenders will dominate the rebounding battles.

Attheotherendofthecourt,the Saints have a variety of defensive options led by Prudence Johnson, who can be relied upon to create plenty of turnover ball, who combines with Audrey Galambos, Sophie

WalkerandOliviaHales.

They will be taking on the strong holding Isabelle Cook and smart moving Ava Hosking and the Bulldogs shooting duo will need more opportunities to hit the scoreboard than they were afforded in the 2nd semi final againstCastertonSandford.

Themidcourtsarewellmatched with plenty of speed and tenacity

East’s mid court is led by Sailor

McCracken with good support from Izabella Neilson, Liana Dickson and Ava Hosking, while Lacey Sunderland takes charge in the Saints mid court with Lottie Matthews showing great expertise with ball in hand, as well as the defensive options that also take the defensive wing.

This looms as a tight contest, despite the more lop sides margins both ways during the season, with the Bulldogs just gettingovertheline.

MILLICENT

SEASON FIXTURE F.L.

ROUND 1 - 22nd April 2023

West Gambier

East Gambier

Casterton-Sandford

Millicent

Anzac Day - 25th April 2023

South Gambier

North Gambier

ROUND 2 - 29th April 2023

Casterton-Sandford

Millicent

North Gambier

East Gambier

South Gambier

West Gambier

ROUND 3 - 6th May 2023

East Gambier

West Gambier

North Gambier

West Gambier

Casterton-Sandford

Millicent

ROUND 4 - 13th May 2023

East Gambier

West Gambier

Casterton-Sandford

North Gambier

South Gambier

Millicent

ROUND 5 - 20th May 2023

South Gambier

Millicent

North Gambier

East Gambier

West Gambier

Casterton-Sandford

ROUND 6 - 27th May 2023

North Gambier

Casterton-Sanfford

Millicent

South Gambier

West Gambier

East Gambier

ROUND 7 - 3rd June 2023

South Gambier

East Gambier

West Gambier

Millicent

Casterton-Sandford

North Gambier

BYE Interleague - 10th June 2023

ROUND 8 - 17th June 2023

West Gambier

Casterton-Sandford

Millicent

East Gambier

South Gambier

North Gambier

ROUND 9 - 24th June 2023

South Gambier

North Gambier

Millicent

West Gambier

East Gambier

Casterton-Sandford

ROUND 10 - 1st July 2023

West Gambier

East Gambier

Casterton-Sandford

Millicent

South Gambier

North Gambier

BYE State Country Championships - 8th July 2023

ROUND 11 - 15th July 2023

South Gambier

West Gambier

East Gambier

North Gambier

Casterton-Sandford

Millicent

ROUND 12 - 22nd July 2023

Casterton-Sandford

North Gambier

Millicent

East Gambier

West Gambier

South Gambier

ROUND 13 - 29th July 2023

East Gambier

South Gambier

North Gambier

West Gambier

Casterton-Sandford

Millicent

ROUND 14 - 5th August 2023

Casterton-Sanfford

East Gambier

West Gambier

Millicent

North Gambier

South Gambier

ROUND 15 - 12th August 2023

Millicent

South Gambier

North Gambier

West Gambier

East Gambier

Casterton-Sandford

ROUND 16 - 19th August 2023

West Gambier

Casterton-Sandford

Millicent

1st Semi Final - North Gambier - 26th August 2023

2nd Semi Final - Millicent - 2nd September 2023

Preliminary Final - East Gambier - 9th September 2023

Grand Final - South Gambier - 16th September 2023

East Gambier

South Gambier

North Gambier