Western Border Football Netball Budget - The Western - Round 2 2023

West

SENIORS

Best - West: A. Stone, M. Minuzzo, B. Newton, T. Holmes, B. Papps, D. McElroy; Casterton

11.10 17.17 (119)

Sandford: D. Cleary, D. Wombwell, M. Killey, A. McCrae, H. Mccrae, M. Krieger.

Goals - West: M. Minuzzo 3, B. Papps 3, J. Williams 2, C. Wagstaffe 2, A. Pfitzner, A. Stone, J. Ferguson-Lane, L. Bradley-Brown, T Holmes, D. McElroy, B. Newton; Casterton

Sandford: H. Mccrae 2, J. Coer, D. Ayton, J Carlin, M. Krieger

East 2.3 2.3 4.5 8.5 (53)

Millicent 5.2 11.8 14.15 19.17 (131)

Goals - South: R. Sturges 8, H. Keding 3, H. Snell 3, S. Mctaggart 2, N. Seager 2, H. McBain, J. Sneath, C. Williams, L. Gray, C. OReilley, J Gazzard.

East 3.1 3.2 3.5 3.5 (23)

South 0.1 1.4 4.5 6.9 (45) North 6.2 8.5 9.8 10.12 (72)

Best - South: M. Sims, R. Jones, A. Keast, L. Foran, T. Saffin, O. Thomson; North: N. McInerney, C. Ortlepp, D. Bachmann, B. Adams, T. de Wit, M. Baron.

RESERVES

East 0.1 0.4 0.4 1.5 (11)

Millicent 4.4 8.7 14.11

West 3.3 8.5 12.9 17.11 (113) South 5.4 9.11 16.14 24.20 (164) South 2.4 6.5 10.7 15.8 (98)

East 1.1 1.4 1.5 2.5 (17) South 3.4 7.4 13.4 18.5 (113)

Goals - East: E. Straord, K. McCracken; Millicent: H. Gibbs 4, J. Todd 3, A. Wesolowski 2, P. Jennings.

Best - East: J. Mee, N. Gollan, J. Picken, R. Lawrence, W. Rentsch, B. Sampson; Millicent: T. Lawlor, A. Lindner, W. Wilson, C. Damhuis, J. Werchon.

North 0.0 0.0 1.1 2.2 (14)

Best - South: E. Forbes, N. Maxwell, W. Awill, L. Cameron, H. Hicks, C. Lockwood; North: K. Allen, C. McLaughlin, C. Turner, I. Coleman, J. Driver

Cast-Sand 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 (2) Millicent 2.1 4.4 8.7 11.10 (76) North 1.0 2.0 4.0 5.0 (30) West 5.2 9.3 11.7 14.9 (93)

19.15 (129)

Best - East: T. Balshaw, B. Coppick, S. Balshaw, T. Shepherd, T. Gilbert, D. Smith; Millicent: N. Robbins, T. Chant, M. Reilly, D. Shanks, B. Tilley, M. Withers.

Best - South: R. Jones, L. Thiele, H. Keding, S. Sims, M. Harrold, L. Delaney; North: J. Collins, R. Kinyabugma, A. Allen, A. Dally, D. Bryan, M. Baron.

16'S

Cast-Sand 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 (1)

Goals - West: H. Croker 4, J. Sim 3, O. Feetom 2, B. Szopory, S. Fraser, T. Stutley, K. Harkness, H. Mobbs; Casterton Sandford: No goal scorers recorded.

RESULTS F.L. Sportswear, Casualwear, Workwear, Sports Equipment, Shoes, Trophies and So Much More 94 -96 Henty Street, Casterton phone 0437 683 052

West 4.3 8.3 9.11 12.12 (84) Cast-Sand 0.0 0.4 0.4 2.4 (16)

Best - West: No best players have been selected; Casterton Sandford: J. Lykke, J Geary, N. Robbins, N. Longhurst.

East 0.0 0.2 1.2 3.2 (20)

Best - East: R. Grigg, J. Saunders, R. Hayden, CJ Ligairi, C. Gifford, F. Chileborough; Millicent: L. Tunkin, C. Gibson, N. Thomson, W. Jennings, A. Robbins, R. Lindner.

Millicent 2.2 4.6 9.9 11.11 (77) Millicent 4.0 7.3 11.7 17.7 (109) South 1.1 2.1 3.2 6.2 (38)

North 3.5 3.10 4.11 5.13 (43)

Best - South: M. Ropini, O. McCracken, J Hagge, J. Burns, C. Fear, K. Maxwell; North: S. Baron, J. Butler, E. Kulimushi, E. Brook, F. Mobbs.

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BENDIGOBANKSENIORS

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SATURDAY

MONDAY 8.00am - 10.00am

Red, Black & White

Congratulations Kade Bradley on 50 Senior games for the Saints. Hisdevelopmentintoa reliable and consistent footballerhashelpedunderpin the recent success the group hasshared. WelldoneBoxy!

A comfortable win in the Seniors at the Kennel. Sam Waring got first use at most of the stoppages over an experienced ruckman Our best passages were when we were in front, ran, shared the ball with quick precision and created space and delivered the ball out in front. Jacob Carger and Jacob Cushion put the icing on the cake with 11 g o a l s b e t w e e n t h e m . Defensively the back six repelledwell. Congratulations toAshtonLindneronhisSenior debutagainstthebulldogs.

Welcome to our new Rezzies coach Josh Peters who opened his Saints coaching record with a win and a few sausage rolls. Mitch Reilly also snared a few as well. Welcome back to the club to Blake Werchon, who backed up after U18's along with Harry Gibbs; as well as

Millicent Millicent

Red, Black & White

some old heads in Adam Lindner, Chris Robinson and JamesFleming.

Strong wins by our Under 18, 16 and 14 teams, as well as somegreatfootyplayedbyour Under 12 grades on the back oval.

We welcome South Gambier to McLaughlin Park today for our first home game of the 2023season,whichwillalsobe a Grand Final replay for our Senior, Reserves and U16 sides.

Shuffle Night tonight at the club. If you haven't already, get your song selection in to Kade Varcoe or Alana Craig asap.

South Gambier South Gambier

VFantastic weather for the first round of football on Saturday for the Juniors and Tuesday for the Seniors. It was one of the biggesthomeandawaycrowds inalongtimeonAnzacDayand great to see the support from both the South & North supporters but also from the otherWBFLclubsandtheMSE. Thanks to KD who as usual managed and conducted the AnzacDayceremonyperfectly

The14’swentdownby5points onSaturdayaftermakingalate charge and just missing, goals were shared and best players were Mason Ropitini, Oli McCracken, Josh Haggett, Jay BurnsandCooperFear.

Coach Luke Bentley has the 16’splayinganexpansivegame anditlookedgoodhavingawin on the weekend. The leading goalkickers were Jace Maxwell kicking 5 and Harry Hicks 4. Best players were Emerson Forbes,NoahMaxwell,William Attiwill,LachieCameron,Harry HicksandCharlieLockwood.

The 18’s were made to work hard to get the win against a tough North opposition 4 goals to Liam Delaney, 3 to Jed Sims, 2 to Mitch Harrold and Lachie Ray who moved forward in the last quarter to kick a couple Best Players were Rex Jones, Lochie Thiele, captain Hudson Keding, Sam Sims, Mitch Harrold and Liam Delaney.

The Ressies kicked the day off

on Anzac Day with a big win andgoodtoSturgemovetothe forward line this year and kicked 8. Other multiple goal kickers were Snelly with 3, Seagsand Sam McTaggart with 2. Best was Sturge with his 8 goals,goodtoseeDuncanReid back getting 2nd best and McTaggart Seager, McBain and Kingroundingouttheawards.

We had four debutants in for the Seniors, Alex Keast, Jack Domaschenz, Lochie Thiele and Rex Jones, all of the boys acquittedthemselveswell.The North boys got the jump on us in the Seniors taking a 37 point lead into quarter time but the boys had a real crack after quarter time with the final margin being 27 points. Two goals to Forbesy and singles to Delaney, Kainy, Kuhly and a ripper from Rex Jones on debut.BestplayerswereMitch Sims with a great game through the middle, Rex Jones, Alex Keast, Luke Foran, and part of the backline who collectively done great job all day Taylor Saffin and Oli Thompson.

This week down to Millicent who look to be the measuring stick again and then after the game lets get down to see Laney at the RSL for the awards.

Thanks to our major sponsors MG Plasterers, Mick Ryan Painting, Lennons on Lake Terrace, Dycer Constructions andAustralianGasNetworks.

South Gambier Football & Netball lining up for the Anzac Day ceremony

Ashton Lindner receiving his indigenous guernsey before his first senior game from Dad Adam

*Image courtesy Turn 8 Photography

Millicent Millicent

Red, Black & White

V

Under 18’s Under 18’s

South Gambier South Gambier

Red & White

Under 16’s Under 16’s

Under 14’s Under 14’s

Coach:

Brodie Jennings

Chase Kilpatrick

Henry

Lachlan

Millicent Millicent

Red, Black & White

Coach: Brad Tilley

Zavier Gurney

Ryder Straord

Axel Joyce

Levi Robbins

Tyler Ryan

Brax Thomas

Arli Sims

Colby Watson

Blayke Koehne

David Berzel

Pacey Duldig

Coach: Nat Anderson

Paddy

Mitchell Dening

Coach:

Oliver

Coach:

Jagger Gibson

Sunny Coughlan

Levinson

Parker Millowick

Degan

Mariah Lloyd

Elijah Finnegan

Imogen Hopes

Jackson Janeway

Coaches: Chris Patzel & Mark Winterfield

Kobi Hay

Hadley Bryant

Tate Anderson

Harty Blackwell

Summer Burns

Hudson Cook

Essie Hill

Jack Mitchinson

Chase Noonan

Hudson O'Connell

Rowan Patzel

Casey Peterse

Jack Rees

Harry Sneath

Thomas Pedler

Sebasan Radlmair

Connor Ruwoldt

Liam Salmon

Nate Wakefield

Levi Tull

Fletcher Walker

Riley Watson

Charlie Winterfield

North Gambier North Gambier

North Gambier North Gambier

Yellow & Black

Anzac Day round began with great weather on Saturday and even better weather greeted us onAnzacDayitself

The Under 14’s with new coach Ryan Roulstone started the season on a positive note Slightly wayward kicking allowed their opponents to feel like they were always a chance. Ourboystookaway5-pointwin. Better players were Sam Baron, James Butler, Easie Kulimushi, Ethan Brook and Fletcher Mobbs.

Sam Zeitz’s Under 16 team battled hard all day but were no match for strong unit. There is talent in this group and know that they will get better as the season progresses. Better players on the day were Kade Allen (great to see him back playing after sustaining a knee injury in late 2021), Chad McLaughlin, Cooper Turner, Iowani Coleman and Jackson Driver

The Under 18’s were no match for South, who boast a lot of top ageplayerswhohavehadsenior experience and move the ball well. No doubt Kevin took away some positives from the game and took away some points that t h e b o y s w i l l w o r k o n throughout the long season Best players on Saturday were Jonty Collins, Richie K, Angus Allen, Aaron Dally, and Darcy Bryan.

Our Under 16 and Under 18 age groups are slightly short on numbers but know both coaches and playing groups will keep working together to get matesofmatesouttoplay

The Reserves had a tough encounter against the reigning premier on Anzac Day Tim had multiple new players from last year play their first game in the mighty Yellow and Black. Better players were Will Brown, Danny Poyner, Brad Nottle-Justice, Tyler Hoorrigan and Angus Allen.

After the Anzac Day ceremony, the Senior team could not have asked for better start, jumping

their younger South Gambier opponent The first half was everything that Ben Hardy asked for from the players. The pressure on the ball and in turn the ball winning ability of the group was the highlight. The second half petered out a little, with South edging back. Both t e a m s p r o b a b l y n o t comfortable in the warm conditions with players fatiguing late in game. Best players Nick McInereny, Cam Ortlepp, Dale Bachmann, Brad Adams, and Toby deWit Congratulations to Nick McInereny for winning the Tony Casadio Medal in his 150th Senior appearance for the club. We also have four debutants Sam Zeitz, Lachlan Tillett, Mackye Baron and Aaron Dally We wish you a long a successful futureattheTigers.

Today we host West Gambier at Vansittart Park for the Tom Hall trophy Teas will be back on at the club from 6pm and awards from6.30pm.

Our round three clash against Millicent at Vansittart Park will display a twilight Senior game starting at 4.45pm. Please note t h e t i m e s a s w e w i l l accommodate all grades on the Saturday

VThe week was a tremendous start to the Year with the new BBQ / Beer shed starting the year of with a bang. Hope to keep them supporters coming outfortheyearasitprovideda great atmosphere for the game.

The under 12s played on the main deck and loved the roar of the crowd to keep them working throughout the game, followed by the Auskick kids w h o a l s o e n j o ye d t h e atmosphere. Special thanks to Casterton for supporting the idea as it was well supported by both and the kids appeared tolovethebigstage.

The day was successful for many reason with not just for results but for the beginning of upgrades at Malseed park. With the opening of the BBQ shed and the netball courts respectfully The netball club have worked so hard for many years to raise the funds for the

West Gambier West Gambier

Blue & Red

newcourtswithmanyhoursby the committees, cooking sausages, pruning grapes, selling chocolates and endless amount of raffles. They have done it the hard way with no grants just sheer hard work. That club spirit is fantastic and p l e a s i n g t o s e e s o congratulations to the West Netball club hard work payed of with success last year and now upgrades with hopefully many more to follow Exciting times at Malseed park and it was really great to see supporters getting behind the club.

This week we venture to North Gambier followed by teas at theCommersh.

Look forward to watching some football, and retain the TomHallTrophy.

The club will still be open for teas from 6.00pm and that will leadintoourfirstsocialfunction for the year Hot Dub Tige Machine commencing around 8.30pm

Memberships can still be purchased. Please reach out to Mardi or Andrew Whan or head to Team App and purchase from theNGFCStore.

Thank you to our major sponsors for season 2023, Stuckey Electrical Contractors andKFC.

West Gambier showed great early signs in their first round victory

Coach: Kevin Bryan

North Gambier North Gambier

Yellow & Black

Under 18’s Under 18’s

West Gambier West Gambier

4 Hector Opie

14 Trae Hamilton

Under 16’s Under 16’s

Coach: Sam Zeitz

2 Kade Allen

Team Manager: Kenneth Goodes James Fle

Chad McLaughlin

Vinnie Dellorefice

Sam

Coach: Ryan Roulstone Assistant Coach: Sco Fle Team Manager: Jess Roulstone

Under 14’s Under 14’s

19 Esaie Kulimushi (vc)

4 Cooper Harris (vc)

5 James Bryan 10 Levi Creek

3 Ethan Fle 11 Reid Hamilton

8 James Butler 6 Kobi Long

9 Ethan Brook 12 Jacob Vinko

13 Lincoln Holtham

14 Charlie Waters

17 Charlie Wurst

21 Brock McEachern

34 Sam Baron (c)

99 Mason Rogers

Banjo Stephens

18 Jack Dyson 24 Mitchell Chapman 26 Fletcher Mobbs Penny Coleman

Coaches:

North Gambier North Gambier

West Gambier West Gambier

L-R: Rex Jones, Jack Domaschenz & Lochie Thiele all made their senior debuts on the weekend for South Gambier in their tradional Anzac Day clash against North Gambier

Casterton-Sandford Casterton-Sandford

Blue,

East Gambier East Gambier Red

Casterton-Sandford Casterton-Sandford

Blue, White & Red

Welcome back to the cat cage today for the first time in2023

Well done to all who competed last weekend. Was a tough day for most footballers but a fantastic effort to see everybody backoutthere.

celebrate our first home game of the year Love to see as many kids and familiesinthereaspossible.

Live music and a good night foralltocome!

East Gambier East Gambier Red & Black

Well last week we hosted Millicentinwhatwasagreat day weather wise for the seasonopener

the smoking ceremony and Welcometocountry

With a very green side who haven't played much together we played a very seasoned outfit and reigningpremiers.

Thank you to all our members and sponsors for jumpingbackonboard! Today we welcome East over the border for what should be an exciting battle to see where both groups areat.

We hope we have a packed our club rooms tonight to

GoCats

U14s with a few guys away for school holidays the young pups had a very hard day not kicking a goal til the second half best players R Grigg,JSaundersRHayden

U16s played a very big Millicentsidegoingdownby 60pts best player J Mee, N G o l l a n , J P i c ke n , R Lawrence.

U18s jumped out of the blocks kicking 3 goals to 2 in the 1st quarter then s o m e t h i n g m u s t o f happened in the huddle because they didn't kick a goalfortherestofthegame best players E Stratford, T Wilke,KMcCracken.

B grade was a very 1sided affair going down by 18 goals best players T Balshaw, B Coppick, S Balshaw,TShepherd.

The A's played in our 2nd indigenous game would like to thank Tim Brennan for

The guys showed glimpses of what they're capable of but were out classed on the night going down by 11 goals best players S Lock, C Slape, J Lawrence, R Janeway,NGollan,AJones.

Congratulations to our 3 debutantes playing there first senior game Sam Couldrey, Elijah Stratford andNoahGollan.

This week we go over to the cattery hopefully with some wins and after we have presentations back at Jens hotel who we thank for theresupport

Casterton-Sandford Casterton-Sandford

Under 18’s Under 18’s

Coach: Jason Dunn

Team Manager:

1 Cody Williams

3 Dom McDonald

4 Talan Daltan

NO TEAM FIELDED IN THIS GRADE

Coach:

East Gambier East Gambier Red & Black

21 Trae Wilke

22 Ethan Humphies

5 Kyan Chileborough

6 Elijah Straord

8 Ky McCracken

9 Angus Clarke

10 Sam Couldrey

11 Kobe Wagener

12 Kaelen Mee

14 Fionn Graney

15 Campbell McLean

17 Nick Bignell

19 Will Ellis

20 Vinnie Kele

Under 16’s Under 16’s

Coach: Kevin Schutz

Team Manager:

Mason Andersen

Ryan Angelino

Jarrod Carey

Charlie Clark

Brock Dempsey

Isaac Dwyer

Noah Gollan

Toby Grigg

William Rentsch

Banjo Sampson

Corey Smith

Solomon Telford

Tex Tilley

Brodie Versteegh

Coach:

Blue, White & Red 3

Lachlan Legray

Cruz McCracken

Angus McKinnon

Jarvi Mee

Riley Lawrence Riley Mitchell

Andison Penyman

Jaiden Picken

Under 14’s Under 14’s

Coach: Grant Spooner

Team Manager:

Emme Best

Sco Brooks

Flynn Chileborough

Eamon Cook

Samuel Dickson

Xavier Farmilo

Angelo Ferraro

Chayse Gifford

Rhys Grigg

Ryan Hayden

Alex Kanahs

Joel Rentsch

Jackson Saunders

Noah Spooner

William Vincent

Skye Virtanen

Taj Wilson

Casterton-Sandford Casterton-Sandford

Blue,

NO TEAM FIELDED IN THIS GRADE

Coach:

East Gambier East Gambier Red & Black

Coach: Mahew White

Braith Allison

Je Beever

Cooper Bignell

William Clark

Tom Croser

Hallam Davey

Max Greene

Noah Griffin

Coach: Nick Bignell

Zach Angelino

Chase Buckingham

Blake Cooper

Elijah Dickson

Will Hosking

Parker Lamont

William leitch

Connor Lynn

Coach: Mark Paech

Samuel Andersen

Asher Anderson

Campbell Best

NO TEAM FIELDED IN THIS GRADE

Oliver Clarke

Tyler Cox

Harrison Cram

Judd Creek

Baden Dihm

NO TEAM FIELDED IN THIS GRADE

Vaughan Hunter

Brayden Legray

Nash Neilson

Mitchell O'Brien

Lennox Telfird

Isaac Thami

Harley Walker

Taj White

NO TEAM FIELDED IN THIS GRADE

Coach: Nick Anderson

Dominic Albanese

Storm Altschwager

Billy Angelina

Braxton Bowyer

Nicholas Brooks

Van Byron

Archie Cook

Jenson Davey

Coach: Cole Hedwards

Nathan Barnes

Zade Kurzman

Nate Lucchini

Nash Moelder

Lucas Murray

Flynn Turner

Logan White

Tyler Mariano

Tahj Pitkin

Louis Prosperi-Porta

William Richardson

Bentley Ward

Hudson Farmilo

Sebasan Grubb

Naon Hedwards

Memphis Howard-Love

Blake Humphries

Kade Jakutavicius

Manx Keenan

Oscar Ferguson Cody O'Brien

Maton Finck

Brayse Gifford

Taj Jensen

Ted Kerr

Tyler McPherson

Nate Moloney

Logan Murray

Rayan Singh

Ryder Wilson

FROMTHEARCHIVES

GREATWBFLFINALS

SOUTH-WESTALMOSTDRAW

LategoalsavesDemonsingreat1970clash

THERE were two interesting facts from the 1970 Western Border Football League first semi final between South and WestGambier

Firstly, all the stars mentioned in the media during the week leading up to the game and who were tipped to play well –almost all did – but not in the positions they were first selected.

Westmadenumerouschangespriortotheteamsliningup.

Dean Thomas went from the back pocket, where he was expectedtoplayontherestingruckmen,tocentrehalfback totakeonSouth’sironmanJeffArthur

This released Chris Yeates to the flank where he was expected to play an effective role on the dangerous South halfforwards.

The biggest surprise was moving back pocket and follower Barry Ward to centre half forward to counter the brilliance ofSouthcoachGarrySims.

As expected, Bill Bennett started in the centre but Barrie Hudson, named as a rover was on the wing to partner John Beatonontheothersideoftheground.

South lined-up much as expected but did run three rovers –BarrySmith,PeterWhiteheadandJimJohnson.

The biggest surprise of the day was the performance of SouthruckmanDavid“Pud”Walker

Thelefthandedtapruckmanwasplayinginhis150thleague appearance for South and along the way, although never pretty to watch, he had effectively taken down some of the bestruckmenintheleagueduringthose150games.

In this game he grabbed two big scalps in John Yeates and BryanWilkinson.

Walker’sabilitytotimehisleapsohecouldreachupoverhis much taller opponents and get his left hand on the ball first at the bounces and boundary throw-ins gave Smith, Whitehead and Johnson first use of the ball and theyused it perfectly

Jimmy Johnson (early), Peter Whitehead (all day) and Barry Smith (later in the game) were all in South’s best by the end ofthegameanddidalotofdamage.

Walker got good assistance from Russel Matthews and Max Deckert and with their dominance South’s handball game wasatitsbest.

Added to this was coach Bill James had one of his poor days anddidnotfireuntilthefinalterm.

With Walker in charge in ruck South stormed into attack repeatedlyinthefirsttermbuttheWestdefenceofThomas, BellingerandChrisYeateswasequaltothetask.

Darryl Sims was an early winner for South in the centre against Bennett, although Bennett was roaming around the ground and pulled in numerous marks across half back to helpouttheWestdefence.

Arthur and Thomas were having a great tussle at centre half forwardwithneitherdominatingatfirst.

Arthur pulled in a top mark on the boundary to kick the first goalofthematchwhileattheotherendofthegroundGarry Sims was far too strong for Barry Ward and his overhead markingandlongkickingkeptWestatbay

What Sims missed was snapped up by John Broadbent and DaleHillyeronthelastlineofdefence.

However, despite South’s early dominance in many positions, West suddenly lurched forward against the run of playandhalfforwardBruceGrubb,whohadaquietdaywith only four possessions but kicked two goals in the first

quartertogivetolifetoWestlateinthe term.

David Copping also got into the act and with these late goals West took a surprising 17-point leadatquartertime.

West:4.2;South1.3

To South’s credit they did not panic and kept to their game plan with their fast run-on play, where their handpassing was creative and into the second term they reaped the rewardsafterdominatinginmostpositions.

Jeff Arthur was starting to get on top at centre half forward and he was the focal point of most the Demons’ attacking moves.

With the South roving trio still dominating they moved the ball well and netted goals to Brian Norman, David Rothall, Smith,ArthurandPeterWhiteheadtogivethemahandy15pointleadathalftime.

It had been a great turn-around by South, and West was struggling,mainlybecausemanyofitstopplayershadfailed toraiseayelp.

If it had not been for the sterling defence of Ken Bellinger, HughieSheltonandThomas,Westmighthavebeenwellout ofcontentionbythebigbreak.

West:4.5;South6.8

StirredbycoachBillJames’addressathalftimeWestwerea differentteamafterthemainbreak.

James pulled the switch by moving Bennett to centre half forward, Barrie Hudson went into the midfield which many said was one quarter too late, but still worked effectively fromthenon.

Hudson suddenly became a dominate player and drove West into attack throughout this term and with Beaton on topontheotherwingWestwereimpressive.

West started to look like a premiership team with Bennett nowtakingonSimsanddoingwellbuttheSouthskipperwas stillabletoholdhisownwithsometimelymarks.

A Bennett goal followed by another from David Copping, afterastrongpieceofplaywherehepositionedhimselfwell infrontofapacktopullinawelljudgedmark.

With West doing all the attacking the Roos went into the three quarter time huddle with a six-point lead and looking good.

West8.9,South7.9

ThestagewassetandwithWalkerstilldominatingtherucks, West moved Bryan Wilkinson to the goal square where he took a strong pack mark and goaled to kick West away to a two-goallead.

Then Arthur goaled from a free kick and it was then that Bill James started to get into the game for the first time and his handpassing out of the ruck duels allowed the West’s runnerstotakeadvantage.

James topped it off with a brilliant running goal to move thembacktoaneight-pointleadwiththequarterhalfover

Peter Fallas was now playing well in defence and West moved David Copping as a loose man in defence to try to bottleuptheSouthforwardlineandstoptheirlatecharge.

Peter Whitehead’s amazing running drop kick goal from deep out on the flank put South just a point down and then DavidRothallsteppedupasthegameenteredtime-on.

Itwasdeepintotime-onandthegamewasreboundingfrom one half back line to the other and neither side was able to break the deadlock when Rothall gained possession deep outontheflankandsetsailwithalongkicktothesquare.

It just flew over the outstretched hands of several West defenders for a goal, giving South the lead by five-points as

thesirensoundedmomentslater

Had Rothall’s kick gone through for a behind it would have been a draw – that’s how close the game was in those dying minutes.

In retrospect South had more winners, more of the play and more players who contributed throughout the day but full credit to West as they never gave up and almost pulled off a greatwin.

Finalscores:South10.15(75);West101.10(70)

If there was one player who deserved all the accolades and pats on the back for his four quarter effort it was ruckman DavidWalker

He was never given much chance of nullifying West’s two starsJohnYeatesandBryanWilkinsonbutnotonlydidhedo that,buthetookthemoutofthegame.

Apart from a brief period in the first term by Yeates, Walker hadcontrolalldayandhisroversgaveSouththeadvantage.

HegotgoodsupportfromMatthewsandDeckert.

BestforSouthwasthebrilliantGarrySimsatcentrehalfback and despite Bennett’s better second half where he was forced to find his kicks deep out on the flanks and never reallyposedagreatthreat.

Dean Thomas was West’s best along with wingman John Beaton who was West’s biggest kick winner, Bennett and Copping.

Jeff Arthur kicked three goals to be among his sides’ best, while Rothall, Norman and Whitehead each kicked two and for West, Copping got three early and Grubb kicked two in theopeningterm.

Whatwasinterestingwastheleadingpossessionwinnerson theground.

For South, not surprisingly Barry Smith was the biggest possession winner on the ground with 22 kicks and four handpasseswhileDarrylSims,JeffArthur(sevenmarks)and Jimmy Johnson each had 19 kicks while Garry Fox who shut down one half back flank picked up 17 kicks and two handpasses.

ForWestJohnBeatonwasbestplayerwith19kicksandfour handpasses, Peter Dankowski was next with 17 kicks and three handpasses with the next best being Bill Bennett with 17 kicks, 10 marks and seven handpasses and Dean Thomas had15kicksandthreehandpasses.

PHOTO:SouthroverBarrySmithprovedatoprecruit

A GRADE

Millicent 55 (L. Paul, D. Tunkin) d East Gambier 30 (B. Creek, T. McCallum)

West Gambier 84 (S. Rier, T. Bryant) d Casterton Sandford 35 (I. Longhurst, I. Lane)

North Gambier 58 (M. Renko, Grace Pos) d South Gambier 35 (E. Bouchier, A. Duncan)

A RESERVE

Millicent 58 (J. Sunderland, A. Pra) d East Gambier 29 (T. Waters, L. Murray)

West Gambier 59 (A. Bosco, T. Earl) d Casterton Sandford 52 (P. Murrell, M. Smith)

North Gambier 50 (A. Pitson, J. Lile) d South Gambier 29 (C. Muller, J. O’Neil)

B GRADE

Millicent 26 (A. Hay, J. Long) d East Gambier 22 (S. James, S. McLean)

Casterton Sandford 60 (A. Balzan, T. Cleary) d West Gambier 54 (E. Gillies, K. Heaver)

South Gambier 49 (A. Pearce-Raisin, M. Glynn) d North Gambier 17 (B. Lush, M. Pegler)

C GRADE

East Gambier 53 (B. Jean, M. Buon) d Millicent 27 (E. Wesolowski, E. Bonde)

West Gambier 61 (E. Pollock, E. Sutherland) d Casterton Sandford 10 (B. Spaling, I. McKay)

South Gambier 37 (M. Dalton, E. Egan) d North Gambier 30 (K. Egan, K. Quinn)

17 & UNDER

Millicent 55 (K. Lindner, L. Van Eeden) d East Gambier 20 (I. Dwyer, M. Lamb)

Casterton Sandford 63 (I. Longhurst, C. Hulm) d West Gambier 47 (L. Simpson, A. Pearson)

North Gambier 77 (C. Nulty, M. Griffiths) d South Gambier 21 (S. Wight, S. Grassi)

15 & UNDER A

Millicent 73 (P. Paul, M. Lunch) d East Gambier 12 (L. McIntosh, S. Clark)

West Gambier 71 (L. Pearson, A. Allen) d Casterton Sandford 11 (C. Gorman, M. Rees)

North Gambier 66 (R. Darimaani, M. Collins) d South Gambier 22 (G. Dalton, H. Harvey)

15 & UNDER B

West Gambier 77 (A. Reid, M. Vivian) d Casterton Sandford 0 (K. Vide, A. Luer)

North Gambier 77 (L. Brook, C. Mitchell) d South Gambier 2 (L. Milich, L. Sneath)

13 & UNDER A

Millicent 63 (A. Thomson, L. Crowe) d East Gambier 7 (S. McCracken, C. Lile)

Casterton Sandford 33 (M. Robbins, A. Murphy) d West Gambier 18 (C. Vorwerk, C. Hunter)

North Gambier 29 (J. Baron, L. Hunter) d South Gambier 21 (Z. Cole, M. Clarke)

East Gambier 16 (O. Hosking, T. Olsen) d Millicent 11 (P. Johnson, S. Walker)

Casterton Sandford 36 (M. Robbins, B. Mutch) d West Gambier 6 (H. Jackson, S. Riddoch)

South Gambier 21 (E. McCracken, M. Fullerton) drew with North Gambier 21 (A. Halloran, P. Lucas)

13 & UNDER B 11 & UNDER

Millicent 17 (Z. Thomson, B. Douglas) d East Gambier 14 (L. Bowyer, S. Beveridge)

Casterton Sandford 22 (C. Longhurst, B. Green) d West Gambier 11 (P. Bonney-Dawson, K. McKinnon)

North Gambier 11 (D. Gabrielli, I. Clark) d South Gambier 9 (E. Sims, L. Agosnelli)

MATCH REPORTS

WESTGAMBIERVCASTERTONSANDFORD

Casterton Sandford can aest to the fact there appears to be no premiership hangover at Malseed Park with West Gambier looking as polished and well drilled at the weekend as they did as they powered to their drought breaking premiershiplastseason.

The reigning premiers had 15 goals on the board before Madalene Cleary need the Cats’ first in a stunningopeningwheretheaackwentlongand direct and finished accurately and the defensive line-up refused to allow Casterton Sandford any easypossession.

The Cats’ cause was not helped by missing three of their usual starng seven – one player from each area of the court – but the Roos were in no moodtoshowanymercy

Sarah Rier was unstoppable as she need 18 from 21 in that frenec opening quarter, as she nailed shots from under the post and long range, the delivery from Lisa McGregor and Tara Bryant onpointeveryme.

Thestartofthesecondquarterwasagoalforgoal contest as the cats seled into their work with Chelsey Galpin and Indi Longhurst doing a power of work in the mid court, Madalene Cleary working overme to set up scoring opportunies and Meg Smith and Ebany Jarrad also starng to findtheirfeettoplacemorepressureontheRoos shoongcombinaon.

But again, as the quarter wore on, Amy Cram and Jade Rier were able to secure some good turnover opportunies and once again, in the blink of an eye, the ball was back in Rier’s hands as she converted 15 from 16 to see the lead blow outto26bythehalf.

TheCatstweakedtheirline-upforthesecondhalf withtheLonghurstandGalpinchangingrolesand SmithandJarradalsoswappingbibsandagainthe startofthequarterwasmorepromisingbutWest again were too slick with ball in hand and Rier againneed18goalsastheleadextendedto34. It was West who made the change in the last with McGregor moving back under the post and Rier venturing out to goal aack but the scoreboard didnotreallychanceonlyitwasMcGregorgeng the lion’s share of the scoring opportunies, converng 14 from 18 as West moved out to a 49 finalwhistlemargin.

ForCastertonSandford,Clearywasaclearbeston court doing a mountain of work and finishing the rare scoring opportunies with which she was presented, while Longhurst impressed with her

hard running and Libby Altorfer created some significant turnover ball and played a key role in transion.

Sarah Rier, McGregor and Bryant dominated for theRoos,withCramandJadeRiershowingtheir defensive chemistry has only improved but in reality there was no weakness in the West GambiergameplanwithMikaelaHorriganhaving a big influence in feeding in the second half and Zoe Malseed as ght checking as ever and geng her hands to a number of balls on the outside of thecircle.

EASTGAMBIERVMILLICENT

The reigning premiers started with an impressive victory and so did the 2022 runners up as Millicent blew out the cobwebs with a solid oungagainstEastGambier,workingtheirwayto a25goalvictory

It was the young guns leading the way for the Saints with both Lillie Paul and Daisy Tunkin dominang the mid court and feeding with precision into Tabatha Sanderson, who was again thefocalpointoftheshoongcircle,neng43of Millicent’s55goalsforthematch.

Demi Verbena also playing her role with her strongfrontcutsopeningupthespaceattheback for Sanderson and Verbena’s delivery is always pinpointtohertallershoongpartner

Attheotherendofthecourt,theSaintsdefensive line-upwithLisaDuldigonthedefensivewingand Kimmi Tincknell and Pora McRae in the defensive circle, made every possession difficult for the new look East frontline and scoring opportunies for the Bulldogs were at a premium.

And the match was a story of opportunies –Millicent generang 79 scoring chances and East restrictedto43–itwasthegamerightthere.

Lauren Van Eeden entered the game at goal defence in the second half and there was no disrupon to the defensive pressure applied by the Saints and given Van Eeden and McRae teameduplastseasonin17&Undercompeon, theirunderstandinginthecirclewasimpeccable.

Co-coaches Tarsh McCallum and Bo Creek led the way for the Bulldogs, while Indi Dwyer showed enough in her first oung in A Grade to show she willbeaplayerofthefuture.

Millicent was best served by the two young midcourters, Paul and Tunkin but there was no apparent weak link in the Saints line-up as they looktogoonebeerin2023.

SOUTH GAMBIER V NORTHGAMBIER

North Gambier has returned to the ANZAC Day winners’ list with a clinicalperformancefromtheirnewlookline-up. Led by a familiar face, Mel Renko, who claimed another Shirley Underwood Medal for best on court, the Tigers had control of the contest from the first quarter and put the result beyond doubt in a dominant final quarter which saw the final marginblowoutto23goals.

Renko started on the defensive wing, moving from her 2022 role in the defensive circle back to where she has done so much damage over the years, earning many Western Border Team of the Yearaccolades.

Her pressure on the outside of the circle and abilitytobeakeylinkplayerintransionwithher driving through the mid court, saw Renko lead from the front and her pressure on the feeders, combined with the work rate of Brianna Walters ensured new defensive combinaon – Noni McConnell and Mikaila Pi – were able to sele into their work with every ball being delivered underpressure.

The issue for the Demons was supply with North generang82scoringopportuniestoSouth’s48. But in defence of the home side, the Demons were also dealing with a new look line-up, and a line-up with limited height, with the excepon of 2022ShirleyUnderwoodMedallistEllieBouchier, who was again her side’s best as she created turnover ball and also worked hard with ball in hand.

It was a bapsm of fire for A Grade debutante Gracie Dalton in goal shooter for South and the youngster showed she will only improve and get beer as she adjusts to like in the rough and tumbleofAGradenetball.

Her combinaon with Alyssa Duncan, who was also a key player for South on the day, will also onlyimproveastheydevelopsomechemistryasa combinaon.

Grace Pos, was a dominant force for the Tigers againstherformerclub,neng44from60asher height caused the South defensive line issues, although Sophie Wight, who was significantly outsized by Pos, showed the impact this athlecsdefendercanhavegoingforward.

North will now face a more serious challenge when they host the reigning premiers, while South head to Millicent for another tough challenge.

ROUNDPREVIEWS

MILLICENTVSOUTHGAMBIER

Millicent opened the season with a strong winoveranewlookEastGambierandthis weekendtheSaintshostanothernewlook combinaon–SouthGambier.

The 2022 runners up looked polished on their opening round hit out with the shoong combinaon of Demi Verbena and Tabatha Sanderson looking as damaging as ever; the defensive line of Pora McRae, Lauren Van Eeden and Kimmi Varcoe sfled the Bulldogs frontline and the mid court, led by Lisa Duldig, lost nothing with the injecon of youngtalentLilliePaulandDaisyTunkin.

The Demons, on the other hand, sll have some shuffling to do and combinaons to testastheylooktocoverthelossofheight and the impact of goaler Lara Munro and defender Grace Pos but with the likes of Ellie Bouchier and Alyssa Duncan influencing games at either end, and the steady heads and hands of Tully McShane and Megan Reid in the mid court, the Demonssllhaveacoreofthe2022group withwhichtowork.

This weekend, they will return home to IslandParkandhosttheBulldogs,another ofthe2023AGradeline-upsthatlookvery differenttothepreviousseason.

IndiLonghurstandChelseyGalpinshowed good signs as aacking mid courters and they will only get beer each run, while Libby Altorfer was a revelaon on the defensive wing and her bale with key east Gambier playmaker Tarsh McCallum willbeonofthemostpivotaloftheday If Cleary can be freed up from shoong dues, she could have a posive impact in the mid court or shoring up the defensive end.

the ball entered the goal third and they have such a good working relaonship that North will need to be paent and smart with ball in handtofindawaythroughtheirdefensive setup.

MadaleneClearywasthestandoutforthe Cats in round one and if she has to stay in the shoong circle, her bale with Bo Creek will be the other bale to watch, whichwillshapethefinalresult.

The Roos were also impressive through the middle with the speed of Tara Bryant, whonotonlyhitthecircle’sedgemeand me again with her strong drives, but also worked hard defensively and created plenty of turnover ball, as did Zoe Malseed, who was at her ght checking best.

Mikaela Horrigan was at her unassuming best – just when you thought she was being well held, she would find space and her creave delivery and good vision meant she delivered some of the more spectacularfeeds.

North, like many of the other new look line-ups, is anything but seled and will need to work out just what their best sevenwillbe.

Easttotakethewininanarrowone.

NORTHGAMBIERVWESTGAMBIER

Both sides are very different looking to their2022line-usbutEast,withMcCallum and Creek, as well as tough defender MorganAmy,willbelookingtosetuptheir firstwinoftheseason,withthespeedand smarts of Casey Horrigan in the shoong circlealsosettobeakeyiftheBulldogsare totakethepoints. The experience of Belinda Scanlon, in her return to the A Grade court, will be invaluable, while Sophie Wight brings speed and athlecism to the mid court or defensive end and Gracie Dalton can also play either end as she looks to experience herfirstseasonoftopgradenetball.

The Saints should get the job done at this early stage of the season with the Demos sll searching for exactly how they will lookin2023.

CASTERTON SANDFORD V EAST GAMBIER

Casterton Sandford had a bapsm of fire last weekend, taking on an unchanged West Gambier premiership line-up with a depletedline-upoftheirown.

There is no other way to put it – West Gambier looked ominous in the opening round and with an unchanged line-up from its 2022 premiership success, North Gambier, which has had some significant personnel changes, will be up against it, thisearlyintheseason.

Sarah Rier looked unstoppable in goals and Lisa McGregor was at her damaging best, playing high up court as the main outlet out of defence and then delivering withprecisiontoRier

AttheotherendAmyCramandJadeRier deniedtheCatsmeandspaceeveryme

Macey Griffith will be a focal point in the shoong circle, while Brianna Walters will be the key in the mid court – another playerwhoalwaysimpactsinbothaspects ofthegame.

The experience of Mel Renko and Noni McConnell will be crucial, especially in these early rounds, with both able to dominate the defensive end or impact in themidcourt.

Lauran Norman was the X factor in 2022, playing ins all three areas of the court when called upon and she will probably have to be that versale opon again for coachAmandaO’Shaughnessy

West not only looked impressive in round onebuttheyhavethebenefitofbeingthe only unchanged line-up for 2023 and will certainlybeabletousethatintheirfavour tobankthewinsintheseearlyrounds.

ThisweekwewelcomeSouthGambierto McLaughlin Park for our first home game of the season. The Netball Club will be selling raffle tickets for our Mother’s Day Rafflethatwillbedrawnattheendofthe day Thanks to everyone for donating towardsoneofourmajorfundraisers.

11’s - Taking the court for the first time, the girls took most of the first quarter to settle into their positions! As the game progressed, they showed some fantastic passagesofplayfromdefencethroughto attacktoputupsomegreatscoringshots. Asuperteameffortbyallthegirls.

Best Players: Zarla Thomson and Bridie Douglas

SubwayIncentiveAward:ZarlaThomson

13A’s - Being the first game, the girls started off strongly working hard to turn the ball over Our midcourters worked hard to find circle edge and fed into our goalies with well-placed balls Our defenders worked hard all game to make it difficult for the opposition Lola Ferguson won the Jacqui Matthews Incentive Award for her strong rebounding and great intercepts Although the girls played well, there is stillalottoworkonattraining.

Best Players: Amarlie Thomson and Lucy Crowe

Jacqui Matthews Incentive Award: Lola Ferguson

13B’s-Awholenewteaminthe13B’sthis season and with such a young team they played amazing for their first game together We had some awesome intercepts in the defensive circle which was then rewarded by the goalies. The mid courters had some great passages of play, focussing on coming to the ball and clearing out. I can’t wait to see the girls comeoutfiringnextweekagainstSouth.

Best Players: Prudence Johnson and SophieWalker

Jacqui Matthews Incentive Award: PrudenceJohnson

15A’s-Seeingasthiswasthefirstgameof the season, the team played very well together Our transition out of defence in the first half of the game was phenomenal Throughout the entire game everyone was playing their part and using communication to get many touches and intercepts in defence. At the other end of the court, the shooters worked well with the many different combinations tried All midcourters feeding well and making the score continue to grow all quarters. Finishing with a massive 73 goals for Millicent to Eastwith12.

BestPlayers:PiperPaulandMyleeLynch

Jacqui Matthews Incentive Award: Matti Fauchelle

15B’s-Nogame.

17s - What a way to start the season!! A great team game with everyone playing their role throughout the whole game. Our defensive effort all over the court was strong creating many turnovers. Our mid court fed the ball beautifullyinto our goalies with them finishing off with accuracy Let’s keep this up coming up against South this week Zambrero’s

Red, Black & White

IncentiveawardwenttoJaimieforasolid fourquartereffortatWA,feedingtheball wellandleadingintospace.

Best Players: Keelie Lindner and Lauren VanEeden

Zambrero’s Incentive Award: Jaimie Lucas

C Grade - With a new mix of girls, we started off strong and found our feet as a team As we progressed through the game unfortunately, we slowed down and got slightly rattled. With a few things to sharpen up at training we can bring it to them next time It was great to welcome all our new faces and Bella Pollifrone (skipper) and Eva Bonde who were working hard all game, and welcomingbackBekMillowickwhohada crackinggame.

Best Players: Ella Wesolowski and Eva Bonde

BGrade-Wehaveabrand-newteamthis year and being our first game together we worked well, our defensive pressure across the whole court was exceptional. The defenders held strong all game communicatingwellformanydeflections and intercepts. The opposite end of the court our shooters were working hard to find a balance in the goal circle. The mid courters had to adjust their feeding with shorter goalies this year but as the game wenton,theyadapted,andyoucouldsee them starting to gel. Was great to get a win the first game of the season! We are all excited to come out strong again next week.

Best Players: Amy Lee Byrne and Josie Lang

A Reserve - A great team effort girls to takeaconvincingwininourfirstgamefor the season. Our defensive pressure all over the court was a highlight and created us ample scoring opportunities. Our attacking connections built throughout the game and gives us plenty to work on at training. Warm welcome to Nikeisha Facey who played her first game for the Saints and read the ball beautifully in defence to take intercepts all over the court. It was also great to have Rylee Kenny back on court after having a season off and she shot with confidence. Nice to see Donna Denton back on court. How special to play in goals with daughter Abby Well done girls!

BestPlayers:JacquiSunderlandand Alice Pratt

A Grade - A solid team contribution saw us take the win in our first game for the season. The defensive pressure all over the court was a highlight Our new attacking combinations worked tirelessly and produced options over 4 quarters. We welcomed back Kimmi Tincknell who read the ball beautifully in defence to take some intercepts all over the court.

Lauren Van Eeden looked strong in defence with some nice tips and deflections. Thanks also Nikeisha Facey forsittingbench.Greatstart!

BestPlayers:LilliePaulandDaisyTunkin

Good luck to all teams today against the SouthDemons!

VWell, it was a big weekend kicking off with the ANZAC weekend round againstNorthGambier…

Thanks to everyone who ensured the season got going in a relatively smooth manner, from Kylie chasing up the spare uniforms we needed while we wait on the new order to arrive, to the band of volunteers who attended the working bee to make sure everything was in order to the coacheswhohavebeenworkingwith our players to the umpires who put their hand up to do a job not many readilyvolunteerfor

Our new look 2023 committee has also been working hard behind the scenes with president Andrew Matheson continuing on, vice president Kylie Duncan doing every job in the book; treasurer Kirsty Fielding keeping track of our finances andcommitteememberJoeNoonan, Mel Milich, Shelby Auld and Brooke Winterfield all having a hand in differentaspectsofrunningtheclub.

Special mention to the Winterfield family and the work they have done in securing match day awards and club sponsorship – definitely punching above their weight and it is greatlyappreciated.

On the court it was a tough opening round for some tams while others alreadyfoundtheirtimetoshine.

The B Grade was the standout led by the return of Alyce, who, in combination with Maca just refused to allow North to score, while at the other end it was the sister act of Mel and Sam, who worked so well togetherandshotaccurately

Red & White

The mid court saw Hannah, Shelby and Kaitlyn run hard all day and they have certainly set the bar high for 2023.

The C Grade was also another standout performer in what was a tight contest until the last five minutes where the girls showed their class all over the court to secure the win.

Ella dominated in goals, Jade was at her tenacious best on the defensive wing, Misty got the job done in defence and the mid court and Ash andMelgotsomeimportanttouches.

Both the A Reserve and A Grade had promising first halves but couldn’t quite maintain the rage with Jaymee and Caitlin leading the way in A Reserve and Alyssa and Ellie the best in the A Grade, with some promising signsfromSophieandGracie–Gracie inherfirsteverAGradeouting.

The junior teams had a tough day out although the 11 & under girls, that wentdownbytwogoals,saw stackof newbies hit the court and to have such a young side, most being eight and nine years old, to play as well as theydidwasamazing.

Lara and Elise Sims had really strong games and Ebony was really good in her first game for the club and Lacey, who showed she is ready to take another step in her netball in her secondseason.

Thanks to our match day award donors for round one – Café Melzar; San Piero; 25 Acres; Subway; Bakers Delight;Boost.

*Image courtesy North Gambier

Mel Renko - Shirley Underwood Medalist

Casterton-Sandford Casterton-Sandford

Blue, White & Red

It was a fantastic day to see many ofourexisting,returning,andnew players take to the court against West Gambier in Round One There were some tough games played by all sides, and we were fortunate to have three junior sides, and two senior sides come homewithwinsundertheirbelt.

JUNIORS:

The Under 11 team played brilliantly,withAubree,Abbeyand Nicola being key players in passages of play down the court, finishingwithawin22-11.

Aterrificgamewasseenplayedby the Under 13B team, with a great bit of teamwork from the girls to win 46-5, with Marlee, Brooklyn andReneeplayingwell.

We saw many of these players step up into the Under 13A’s and they again came away with a win 33-18. Marlee, Adele and Chloe had great precision & accuracy downthecourt.

Under 15B’s unfortunately had the toughest game of the day and despite their efforts finished with a scoreline of 0-77. Kirby, Amelia andNicolenevergaveup.

TheUnder15A’shadkeyplayersin

Caitlynand Makaylabut againhad a tough game with the girls comingawaywithaloss11-71.

SENIORS:

Under 17 players Indi and Chelsea fought hard alongside teammates to bring home the first seniors win of the day 63-47 triumphing over theWestgirls.

Brianna, Isabelle and Tania played critical roles throughout the C G r a d e g a m e , h o w e v e r unfortunatelytheylost10-61.

B Grade ran away with a close win 60-54. The passages of play were fantastic&whatawaytofinishoff the game with plays from Amber, TrictiaandShelby

The girls had spectators on their seats in a nail-biting game in the A Reserves. Paige, Meg and Sharna played well down the court. West ranawaywithaclosewin52-59.

A Grade tried a few new combos this week, but the experienced and highly skilled west ladies, triumphed 35-84. The girls look promising for the season & should put up a good fight at the next meeting against West Indi, Ivy and Madalene showed excellent consistencythroughoutthegame.

New court unveiling

A bit of history to start with - Sunday the 4th of December 1983 the Western Border Football League carried a motion that saw the Western Border Netball Association begin, in the early daysWestGambierNetballgameswereplayedat TenisonCollegeandthen35yearsago onthe9th of April 1988 the original netball courts at West Gambier were laid and then in 1989 lights were erected and have served the West Gambier NetballClubplayerswell.

Over the years thanks to the planning and continued hard work from many Committee Members, Sponsors, Members, Fundraising Efforts, the generosity of the Football Club and the James Family it has finally seen the new dual line courts for the girls come to fruition to kick off the 2023 Western Border Season and for Tennis Club for the 23/24 Tennis season. The trees were removed the week before Christmas with the Courtworksstartingonthe23rdofJanuary

Thank you to Michael Jolly and the team at GEM GambierEarthMoverswhohadtoworkonatight time frame of the tennis season finishing, the Christmas break and Netball starting, Bill Leggett Fencing of which will be completed next week to fully enclose the Whit f the

East Gambier East Gambier Red & Black

VUnder13A

First game of the season was a tough one against a very good Millicent side We had good passages of play and definitely haveso manypositivesto takeout of the game. Have things to work on and can’t wait to see what next weekbrings.

shop.

Under17

First game for the season ladies and I’m extremely excited to see whattherestoftheseasonbrings.

Firstly thank you to Millie, Tahni andEllieforfillingin.

removal of the trees and to Hudson Roof & Plumbing for updating our spectator stands and for all ensuring that our girls would have courts readytogotoplayoncomeRoundOne22ndApril 2023, I think we can all agree that the court area looks fantastic. A big thank you must also go the Mount Gambier High School for allowing us the use of their outdoor courts so we could complete our trials and training sessions until the new courtswerereadytogo.

WehavealsobeenworkingwiththeCroquetClub who have been part of our successful grant application with the Mount Gambier City Council for the fencing component of the Court Upgrade which will allow our Game Day Officials and Players the use of their toilet facilities on game days.

There are still parts of the original project plan to be completed with a new shelter shed on Court 3 and the pre works have been put in by Stuckey Electrical for eventually all 3 courts to be under lights and I have no doubt that this will happen in the not to decent future. But for now, we are super excited to be starting the 2023 Season on a brand-new playing surface and who better to hit the with than Sandf d who

Our first game for the season and we had a good hit out against Millicent. It was good to see what we have been working on at training put into practice. Our defence worked extremely hard and kept us in the game throughout There were many good passages of transition from defence into our attack and finishedoffwithourgoalies.

Under13B We still need to improve our passing and put the ball into the space. lets keep working hard at training and continue our improvement

BGrade

Eventhoughwewereabrand-new team and had a few people missing, we played well and stuck withthestrongMillicentsideright till the end Some really impressive passages of play! Can't waittoseewhatthisweekbrings.

Under15

12-73 Bad luck girls it was always going to be a tough ask against a well polished side, we had some goodpassagesofplaybutcouldn’t seem too settle. Keep your heads up and go out there and play our game.AwardsJolieBakersdelight, Sharni Zambrero and Lily Ok pie

Fantastic first quarter, then as a team we dropped off intensity which created errors. With 3 players out for the first round I look forward to training and deep diving into your skill level and fitness.

Let’s re group as a team and keep up the intensity for 4 quarters againstthecatsthisweek

CGrade

Great start to the season from the whole team, all the girls played an excellentgame.

Brooklyn Jean was an outstanding player,turningballoverindefence with the help of Daniela Waters, ShannonJames&ZoeShepherd.

Through the mid court the duo is back together Tamara Janeway and Zena Creek, finding both goalies Millie Button and Megan Wilsoninthecirclewithease.

An amazing game, and should haveyourheadsheldhigh.

Bestplayers:

BrooklynJean

MillieButton

Awards:

BrooklynJean–Zambreros MillieButton-fastapasta

Megan Wilson - San Piero Coffee Bar

100club games

CHARLOTTE SCOTT

2017

moved into the centre position. She can run all day and controls the ball down the court. She fills inandtrainswiththeA/ARessquad.Charlotteisa fantasticteammemberandthisyearisCoCaptain oftheUnder17's.

Congratulations Charlotte Scott on playing 100 GameswiththeWestGambierNetballClub.

2018 and 2019 seen her take the court in the 13A's. 2020 & 2021 was played in the 15A sides and 2022 & 2023 in the 17's. She has a knack for reading the ball

which makes her a fantastic defender, and in the last couple of years she has

Charlotte came across to West Gambier from the Mount Gambier Netball Association in

at theageof8toplayintheUnder11's.

North Gambier North Gambier

Under11's-North11vsSouth9

A fantastic start to season 2023 for the U11s. With only 7 players available, the girls displayed perseverance and determination as they played six strong 'quarters'.BestplayerswereIslaClarkand Demi Gabrielli. Isla showed her versatility, moving from attack to defence with ease. Demi in her very first netball game, applied strong defensive pressure and responded positively to all feedback. Well donegirls,itwasagreatwin.

Bestplayers:DemiGabrielli&IslaClark

Under13B's-North21vsSouth21

A great team effort to start the season. Defensively we were strong all over the court, with some good intercepts. Lots of positivity from all and great to come away withadraw

Best players: Addison Kamphius & AddisonSchloithe

Under13A's-North29vsSouth12

The girls commenced the match full of enthusiasm & displayed some terrific passages of play Everyone defended strongly & provided lots of extra scoring opportunities for our goalers. A positive andexcitingstarttotheseason.

Bestplayers:JennaBaron&LaceyHunter

Under15B's-North77vsSouth2

North Gambier took on South Gambier to secure an impressive 77-2 win

Throughout the game, Lily Brook proved to be a powerful presence on the court from centre. Claire and Mia also worked well together in the circle, displaying impeccable accuracy when shooting No r t h G a m b ier ' s d efen s e wa s impenetrable, with Penny, Zoe and Lacey making some incredible intercepts that left South Gambier with very few opportunities to score. Raine, Ruby and Georgia also had some great intercepts and strong passes down the court Overall, it was a thoroughly deserved victory for North Gambier, who played with confidence and skill throughout the match. Congratulations to the 15Bs team onanoutstandingperformance.

Best players: Lily Brook and Claire Mitchell

Under15A's-North66vsSouth26

A great start to the season for the U15A girls, with a strong win against South. It was a whole team effort, with all the girls playing their role Elodie and Mischa worked amazing in goals together, with Georgia, Lily and Maggie working the ball onto the circle edge to feed beautifully into our shooters. Raine, Kelsie and Ruby indefencemadeitveryfordifficultforthe Southattackers,turnedoverplentyofball and drove strong out of defence. So many positives to take from our first game and exciting to see what the girls achieve this season. Well done to our best players, Maggie who worked overtime in attack and defence winning plenty of ball and Rubywhowaseverywhereindefenceand isanoutstandingleaderforourteam.Well donegirls!

Best players: Ruby Mitchell & Maggie Collins

Under17's-North77vsSouth21

The U17 team boosts a very versatile group of players this year, which was evident on Saturday The girls started off wellandhadacomfortableleadatthefirst break, providing the opportunity to explore our versatility We tried different combinations each quarter, experiencing

positive outcomes. The communication on and off the court was excellent, providing a positive foundation for meeting the team goals set. All players worked hard to implement the strategies discussed, allowing the girls to build on their lead each quarter The final result was 76-21, an excellent beginning for our 2023campaign.Welldonegirls.

Best players: Sarah Brown and Tora Jones.

CGrade-North34vsSouth30

With some new faces to the team, round one saw us take on the challenge of last years grand finalists. After a nervous start the girls applied great defensive pressure throughout thegameand ran hard allday With our third quarter being the highest scoring, we led by 2 going into the last. Unfortunately, we were unable to finish with the win, going down 30-34. There were many positives to take from the game and equally as many aspects we will look to alter and improve. With a great bunch of girls, we're looking forward to theseasonahead.Abigcongratulationsto Milly Allen and Kahlia Prelc on their first seniorgame.

Bestplayers:MillyAllenandKahliaEgan.

Bgrade-North17vsSouth49

B grade 17 - 49 A warm day to start our season with the heat impacting on us in the end. We started off quite strong with the score see-sawing between us both. South seemed to catch a break and were able to capitalise and the score grew from there. Our defensive end worked hard all game with Katie Dyson leading the way and getting her hand to some good ball. Definitely some areas all over the court to work on but let'slook forward and pick up ourratethisweek.

Best players: Katie Dyson and Brianna Lush

AReserve-North50vsSouth29

In warm conditions it took us a little while to settle, however once we found our feet and started to play to the style, we have been training for we managed to come awaywithanicewin.Ourdefencelinewas solid all game, with Nat, Jessie and Riley combining well in the first half, and after an injury to Nat, Jessie continuing to get the job done with Ava and Stella in the second. Alycia had a very poised game through the attack line and was well supported by both Alisha and Riley in the circle, while Amanda and Cara ran hard and moved and fed the goalies well while also applying lots of defensive pressure when needed. Let's continue to train hard and see what results this can continue to bringoncourtthroughouttheseason.

Bestplayers:JessieLittleandAvaCollins

AGrade-North58vsSouth35

We settled into our structures and combinations slowly in the first quarter and our defensive pressure was excellent. Our defence and turnovers allowed the score line to eventually become comfortable. A change in the last quarter saw our mid court shuffle Grace and MikailahadtheirfirstgameforNorth,and we welcomed Noni back after 'maternity leave' last year A big congratulations to Mel Renko who won the Anzac medal, showing her fitness and commitment to hernetballandherteamasalways.Lotsto work on and polish up, but a good work out.Bestplayers

Bestplayers:MelRenkoandGracePotts

Once again we have been overwhelmed with the support from our local businesses who have supplied our ten netball teams with Game Day Awards. We thank the following businessforourRoundOneAwards

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, McDonald's, Kaboom Family Entertainment, Donut King, OK Pie Shop , Boost Juice Mount Gambier, A Wave From It All, Paradise Pizza, Sorrentos CAFÉ, Natalie Pearson - Finance BrokerMountGambier,TheHaven-Cafe&Takeaway, Lima&Co.,MGSTiltTrayandTowing,Makeup byKirralieJade,IntersportMountGambier

Encouragement Award: Doug & Di Harding –awardedtoZoeBonney-Dowson

Under 11’s - Welcome to all the new families and players to our wonderful netball club. We got off to a terrific start with some accurate shooting from Phoebe supported by Eliza. Gracie and Mackenna chased up lots of loose balls and backed up the defenders. Sophie S and Kelsey improved as the game went on in thedefencewithAylainWDwhohelpedbring the ball down to the attackers. Sophie C was a great option in GS holding well in the circle. Emily in her first ever game of netball worked hard in WD Our little sprinter Isla ran hard in Centre and applied lots of pressure to the opposition. Another first gamer Zoe tried her best from start to finish and was awarded the encouragement award. All the girls improved as the game went on. Game day awards went to Phoebe Bonney-Dowson and Kelsey McKinnon.

13 A’s - Congratulations to Casterton on their win. For the first time the girls come together as a playing team myself and Kelly are extremely proud on how they performed all through the court. Best on court 1st: Claudia Vorwerkand2nd:ClaireHunter

Thank you to our sponsors to our game down vouchers Claire Hunter was first best and SammyFosterwiththesecondbest.

Let’sgowest

readtheplayindefence,whichkeptCasterton scorelessallgame.

ThemidcourtattackersLibbyBuckandBrydee Starick were a stand out in working the ball into the shooters and being a great support aroundthering.

Amazing team work was shown in the ring with Ava Reid, Miley Vivian and Ella Jolly. This trio are developing into an exciting team backing each other constantly which resulted inourWestiescomingawaywith77-0score. Well done team it was a great start to the season and makes us excited for what’s to come!!

17’s - Our first game on the new courts didn’t goourwaytoday Castertonstartedwellsowe playedcatch

up from there. We kept with the opposition untilthelast¼whenCastertongotawayonus.

We played really well most of the time, but with a few unforced errors costing us we have lotsto

work on at training Our goalies/attacks worked well together all game, there was somebrilliantpassesintothegoal

circle.Atthesametimeourdefencetriedtheir hardest all game. So we can take something from

that. I really believe that this team has what it takes to be playing finals at the end of the season,keep

your head up girls. We can do this. Game day awards went to Charlotte Scott and Alex Hudson.

CGrade-Round1sawusonourbeautifulnew courts versing Casterton for the opener of the 2023 season. An amazing effort put forward from our girls, demonstrating great strength and cohesion in each domain, for all four quarters. Defenders Emily, Alana, and Zarah, all stood strong and clean whilst defending catsshooters.OurmidcourtOlivia,Teone,and Annabel, all worked incredibly well, feeding the ball into the goalies with great precision. And our beautiful goalies, Emily, Emma, and Lisa, all held their ground and shot brilliantly Couldn't have asked for a better round 1 result. West defeated Casterton 61-10. Best Players Emily Sutherland and Emma Pollock. Game Day Awards, Teone Brauer and Alana Koch.

Ruby Lamb and Aggie Thomas had their work cut out for them in the defensive circle and was well supported by Mackenzie Fisher in WD

SavannahRiddochranhardatCandcombined well with Harper Lindner at WA. Both girls feeding the ball to Hannah Jackson at GA and MollyThomasatGS.

13 B’s - the West 13 b had a tough fought BattleagainstCastertononSaturday The young west team started out slowly againsttheexperiencedCastertonteam. At half time Chaneil Cowland came on at WD and Isobel Richards at GA With Hannah moving to GD she made an instant impact in Defence. Combining with Aggie they gave West more opportunity to score Unfortunatelytheteamstruggledthroughthe midcourtandwereunabletoconvertasoften astheywouldhaveliked.

Going into the last quarter, Savannah went to WA,HarpertoC,MollytoGA,IsobeltoGSand HannahandAggieswappedindefencecircle.

The Westies fought to the end but were unabletoovercomeCastertonlosing46-6.

CaptainHannahJacksonleadfromthefrontin a best on court performance With Molly Thomasgettingthe2ndbestaward.

This very young team will learn from this experienceandwillbedeterminedtoimprove withtheirnextencounter

15 A’s - What a wonderful way to start the season. Each player played their part from start to finish of the game.The defenders held strong with our mid court giving the goalies plenty of opportunities to shoot which they did with high accuracy coaches award this weekwenttoLaraandMaggy

15 B’s - What a great team win to start of the season!

The U15B team came together and showed their strength in all aspects of the court MatildaBadenoch,HollyJacksonandAnaleigh Anderson were on point with their ability to

B Grade - After a slightly slow start leaving us 11-16 down at quarter time, we had to play catchup.Thesecondquartersawussettleand start to play some quality netball. With a change of positions at half time we managed to gain some defensive intercepts and started attacking the ball with more confidence playing our best quarter winning 18-16 Fourth quarter the girls came out fighting which saw us finish off strong but unfortunately we couldn’t catch up. The final score being 54-60 but within this showed the talent,versatilityandpotentialthissquadhas. Looking forward to the next challenge. Game day awards went to Daena Wombwell and ElyshaGillies.

A-Res - Our first game on our new courts how greatarethey!

Whatanamazingefforttodaybytheteamcan really tell how hard everyone worked during preseason We had some very impressive passages of play with Carlee and Anna getting the ball to the goalies with style. Maddi and Chelsea worked hard all day in defence to get them the ball. There were so many positives fromtoday'sgamelet’skeepitup! Also a big congratulations to Charlotte Scott onyour100gamestoday!!!

A Grade - What a great start to our 2023 season - everyone came out firing which was pleasing after a big preseason. It was nice to hitthecourtagainasateamandshowedsome slick passages of play Zoe showed some grace out on court with all defenders causing their fair share of turnovers which were converted in the attack end. Very happy to get the win in round one on our brand new courts which wereamazingtoplayon.

SEASON FIXTURE F.L.

ROUND 1 - 22nd April 2023

West Gambier

East Gambier

Casterton-Sanfford

Millicent

Anzac Day - 25th April 2023

South Gambier

North Gambier

ROUND 2 - 29th April 2023

Casterton-Sanfford

Millicent

North Gambier

East Gambier

South Gambier

West Gambier

ROUND 3 - 6th May 2023

East Gambier

West Gambier

North Gambier

West Gambier

Casterton-Sanfford

Millicent

ROUND 4 - 13th May 2023

East Gambier

West Gambier

North Gambier

North Gambier

South Gambier

Millicent

ROUND 5 - 20th May 2023

South Gambier

Millicent

North Gambier

East Gambier

West Gambier

Casterton-Sanfford

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-Sanfford

North Gambier

BYE Interleague - 10th June 2023

ROUND 8 - 17th June 2023

West Gambier

Casterton-Sanfford

Millicent

East Gambier

South Gambier

North Gambier

ROUND 9 - 24th June 2023

South Gambier

North Gambier

Millicent

West Gambier

East Gambier

Casterton-Sanfford

ROUND 10 - 1st July 2023

West Gambier

East Gambier

Casterton-Sanfford

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-Sanfford

Millicent

ROUND 12 - 22nd July 2023

Casterton-Sanfford

North Gambier

Millicent

East Gambier

West Gambier

South Gambier

ROUND 13 - 29th July 2023

East Gambier

South Gambier

North Gambier

West Gambier

Casterton-Sanfford

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-Sanfford

ROUND 16 - 19th August 2023

West Gambier

Casterton-Sanfford

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