Seniors.
Golden Square 10.14 – 74 def Gisborne 9.15 – 69
In recent times, nail biting finishes seem to be the norm whenever Gisborne and Golden Square face off and as was the case in last year’s grand final, it came down to a kick after the siren to separate the two combatants.
The problem for Gisborne was that Golden Square had the ball and the Gisborne players, coaching staff and supporters were left lamenting after Squares James Bristow kicked truly from outside fifty to seal the victory for the visitors.
The first quarter saw both sides attack the footy with great intensity and it was hard to separate the two sides however the Gisborne mid field lead by Casey Summerfield and Ollie Messaoudi were winning plenty of the ball and across half forward, Tom May was continuing his recent run of good form and was proving a handful for the Square defenders. This gave a slight edge to Gisborne come the first break, an advantage that may have been more albeit for some inaccuracy in front of goal by the Dogs.
In the second term Square increased their work rate and began to have the game played on their terms. Gisborne fought hard but were unable to post a major whilst Square added three for the term to turn a nine point deficit into a two goal lead at half time. Matt Knox was providing a target up forward however a hip flexor injury was hampering his mobility which made things a little easier for the Golden Square defenders.
After half time, Square managed to get the early jump on Gisborne. In quick time they had established a 23 point lead and held all the momentum and the lead may have been greater but for some resolute defence across half back by Anthony Belcher and Cam Medica. Just when it appeared that the game was slipping from the Bulldogs grasp, Gisborne skipper Casey Summerfield along with U/18 captain Josh Govan, lifted their team again and the Dogs were able to slam on three quick goals and reduce the deficit to just 7 points by three quarter time.
The last quarter was pressure football at its highest and both sides were ferocious in their endeavours to win the ball. A minute in and a quick kick off the ground by Matt Knox saw Gisborne hit the front and they were on a roll. The Dogs had the next three shots at goal and could have sewn the game up but inaccurate kicking by Gisborne kept Golden Squares hopes alive and Square were able to kick the next two goals to take the lead back out to 11 points with not much time remaining on the clock.
The Dogs however, refused to concede and when Knox scored his third major for the day they were back to within a kick. Soon after, Gisborne small forward Darren Farrugia was tackled high. The Golden Square player disputed the decision and a 50 metre penalty was given to Gisborne. Farrugia converted from the goal square giving him 4 majors for the day and the Dogs were back in front.
In the final centre bounce for the game, Square forced the ball forward but an errant kick by Square saw the ball go out of bounds on the full and the ball was back in Gisborne’s hands with less than 30 seconds remaining. A long kick down the line cleared the Gisborne defensive 50 metre arc but Golden Square were able to shark the loose ball and quickly pump it back to the 50 where it was marked by Squares full forward Bristow just as the siren sounded. Showing great composure he went back and drilled the goal to clinch the victory for Square in what was another memorable encounter between these two great rivals.
Gisborne Coach Kevin Fitzgerald, although very disappointed, was philosophical about the loss. “We were a bit flat early on but worked our way back into the game through sheer willpower and hard work and in the end we were unlucky not to get the win”. “From now to finals we just have to work incredibly hard and try and get ourselves into a better position than what we are” he commented.
Best Players – C.Summerfield, O.Messaoudi, A.Belcher, T.May, J.Govan.
Goal Kickers – D.Farrugia 4, M.Knox 3, O.Messaoudi, C.Illman.
Reserves.
Gisborne 13.11 – 89 def Golden Square 4.2 – 26.
The Gisborne Reserves run of excellent form continued on the weekend as they extended their winning streak to four and in the process avenged their Round 3 loss to Golden Square to the tune of 63 points as they comprehensively outplayed their Square opponents at Gardiner Reserve on Saturday.
As has been the case in recent weeks, a first quarter blitz saw the Dogs score 4.4 to Square 0.0 as Gisborne took control of the game through the great work of experienced players such as Jarrod Arnold and Rod Sharp in a display that had Coach Ben Talbot very pleased at quarter time.
In the second quarter Square tightened up and the Dogs were only able to post 1.1 for the term however the Gisborne defence, led by Luke Burgess, were holding strong and managed to keep Golden Square to 1 point for the term and goal less for the half and the Dogs enjoyed a 5 goal lead going into the long break. Rory Comerford was racking up the possessions and Michael Steinbach was also having an excellent game after missing a couple of games through injury.
In the third term Golden Square managed to kick 2 goals however the Dogs had all the answers and posted 3 majors for the term themselves. The Gisborne boys were playing a very team orientated brand of football and had winners across every line. Travis Thorogood was in excellent form and by three quarter time the Dogs had opened up a commanding 41 point lead.
At three quarter time Coach Ben Talbot asked his charges for a big last quarter effort and the Gisborne boys did not let him down. In their best quarter for the game they hammered home 6 goals to Squares 2 and in process pushed the final margin to beyond 10 goals. The hard work on the track and the adherence to team rules and game style is paying off for the boys and they are looking forward to extending their winning run when they take on Maryborough at Princes Park next Saturday.
Goal Kickers – M.Steinbach 2, T.Hynson 2, L. O’Gorman 2, B.Sullivan 2, R.Sharp, J.Collins, N.Johnson, T.Thorogood, J.Vernon.
Best Players– J.Arnold, R.Sharp, L.Burgess, R.Comerford, T.Thorogood, M.Steinbach.
Under 18’s.
Gisborne 9.10 - 64 Def Golden Square 9.6 - 60
In the changerooms before the game, the Gisborne U/18’s were pumped up for a battle with Golden Square. Square were the only side that had beaten them to date and the Gisborne boys were determined to get away to a fast start.
The midfield were good early with ruckman Hayden Doricic giving the followers first use of the ball and they in turn were able to get good quality entries into the Dogs forward line. The forward pressure displayed by Tom Wood was fantastic and along with some more solid pressure acts by Jack Baker, allowed the Dogs to nail a terrific 8 point play through the combined efforts of James O'Hare and Ollie Clough.
After going into the first break 12 points up, the second stanza was more of the same and the Gisborne lads went into the long break with a slender 9 point lead. Trent Crosbie was good on his wing and James Fraser was sensational across half back. The coaches implored the young Dogs to stick at it and hopefully try to get into the third break with a healthy five goal lead.
This sounded good in theory, however the young Doggies found themselves going goal for goal with their Golden Square opponents and after some relatively easy missed chances, the Gisborne outfit saw Golden Square get to within a kick. The Dogs began to free wheel a bit which saw Square get a run on due to the lack of accountability by their Gisborne opponents and going into the last quarter it was anybodies game.
The last quarter proved to be an arm wrestle with Jack Baker managing to take some telling marks around the ground and Tom Wood continuing to win and move the ball well. Eventually, the Gisborne boys ran out winners by 4 points and can they can take some credit for a gutsy win when things did not go all their way on the day.
Goals: J.Baker 2, D.Bond 2, O.Clough 2, T.Crosbie, J.Fraser, J.Crook.
Best Players: T.Wood, J.O’Hare, O.Clough, T.Crosbie, J.Baker, J.Fraser.
Netball
This week we took on Golden Square down at Gardiner Reserve with mixed results.
U/17.
The U/17 girls got off to a flying start this week with every girl putting in from the word go. The girls never wasted their passes and they were on target for the first three quarters. Scores for the first three quarters were Gisborne 16-6, Gisborne 28- 16 and Gisborne 39-27. In the last quarter the girls had a slight lapse in concentration and let Square in to out shoot them by three goals however the final score showed Gisborne running out comfortable winners 47-38.
B. Res.
The B Reserve girls found it hard going against a top team of Golden Square’s caliber. They allowed Square to manage to get to a good lead in the first quarter of Square 11 – Gisborne 4. To the Gisborne girls credit they never dropped their heads and they kept battling away and managed to post a respectable 35 points for the game. The final score line showed Gisborne 35 to Golden Square 59.
B.Grade.
This week we do not know what happened with the girls as they didn’t look as if they were interested in playing. They let Golden Square dictate every position on the court and it took them until three quarter time to hit double figures. Okay girls we had a shocker but let’s make sure we put it behind us, go out this week and show everyone what we are made of, and let’s see if we can bring home the four points. The final score was Gisborne 20 to Golden Square 67.
A.Res.
This was going to be a tight game and it didn’t let anybody down. The Gisborne girls lost the first round against Square by two goals and wanted to square the ledger. The Golden Square girls got the jump on Gisborne in the first quarter and led by four goals. Four goals does not sound like much but to a quality team like Square it is. The Gisborne girls matched goals with them for two quarters but they couldn’t get the break and at three quarter time the score stood at Gisborne 32 to Golden Square 36. In the last quarter, the girls worked hard to try and bridge the gap and they outscored Square by one goal however it was not quite enough and the final score showed Gisborne 41 to Golden Square 44.
A.Grade.
The girls started off like a bullet out of a gun to take a seven goal lead into the first break. The second quarter was fairly even with Square making up one goal and at half time the score was Gisborne 24 to Golden Square 18. In the third quarter Square blitzed our girls and l don’t know where our girls were but it didn’t look like they were on the court and Square went into the three quarter time break with a one goal lead. The last quarter was going to show what the Gisborne girls were made of as they had never been behind at three quarter time in any of their games this year. The girls swung into gear with determination and true grit and they worked their backsides off to stop Squares run and they eventually managed to run out the winners by five goals. The final scores was Gisborne 44 to Golden Square39.