Seniors.
Gisborne 15.12 – 102 def South Bendigo 7.14 – 56
The Dogs travelled to QEO for the first time this season to take on South Bendigo in a game that was not only a “must win” affair but could also prove to be a real “ladder shaper” come finals time. The concern for the Dogs was the two week layoff and Coach Kevin Fitzgerald emphasised the importance of winning the contested ball. The concerns were short lived as right from the first bounce, the intensity and work rate that was delivered by the Gisborne players was fantastic.
The first half was a very even affair with both sides smashing the contests. Goals were like gold as both sides struggled to gain the ascendency and the pressure all over the ground was more like a final than a regular home and away encounter. The Gisborne midfield was locked in a massive arm wrestle and the likes of Messaoudi, Summerfield, Minns and Scott Walsh were doing a fantastic job. The back six were also standing strong with Simpson and Hamish Govan giving great rebound run out of the back line while Tim Walsh was doing a magnificent job on South’s gun forward Maddern. Down forward, Tom May was marking everything that came near him and was proving a real headache for the South defence.
The third quarter was where the Dogs broke the shackles with Matt Knox leading the charge in a dominant display at Full Forward. His contested marking was superb as he got on the end of some fine forward entries by the Dogs and he capped off his work with three excellent goals from three set shots for the term as well as setting up another for Darren Farrugia. BJ Grech was also having a terrific game and he along with Shaun Comerford and Scott Walsh also posted majors which allowed Gisborne to go into the final quarter with a six goal buffer. South came out hard at the start of the last term in a last ditch attempt to bridge the gap however Gisborne answered every challenge kicking six goals to South’s one to eventually run out comfortable forty point winners at the final siren. After the match Kevin Fitzgerald thanked his players for their magnificent efforts which were more meritorious given the fact that they played with two players short for virtually half of the game. “Our game against Strath was good but today we lifted another notch” commented Fitzgerald as the club now looks forward to coping with a six day turnaround before their massive clash against Golden Square next week at Gardiner Reserve.
Best Players – B. Grech, C. Summerfield, T.May, T.Walsh, H.Simpson, H.Govan.
Goal Kickers – M.Knox 5, B.Grech 3, S.Walsh 2, D.Farrugia 2, S.Comerford, C.Summerfield, C.Illman.
Reserves.
Gisborne 11.20 – 86 def South Bendigo 0.1 – 01.
The Gisborne Reserves played some of their best football for the year as they handed a ten goal thrashing to South Bendigo on Sunday.
The wide expanses of the QEO certainly favored Gisborne’s “run and carry” style of game and South had no answer to the fast and precise ball movement that was a feature of the Dog’s game. In a first half blitz the Dogs piled on 7.1 to South’s 1.1 with Jason Duff-Tyler leading the way and he was ably supported by the likes of Ben Sullivan, Jarryd Vernon and Rory Comerford who were also prominent.
The third quarter saw Gisborne continue to apply the pressure and South were struggling to get their hands on the ball. Andre Headberry was presenting aggressively and took some really strong grabs while Luke Burgess was impassable across half back. Lachie O’Gorman was another forward who was dominating and he finished with 3 fine goals for the day. Gisborne’s dominance was such that South only managed 2 points for the quarter and the Dogs had set up a 10 goal lead by three quarter time.
South managed a slight revival in the last term however the damage had been well and truly done by that stage and at the final siren the score line saw an emphatic 62 point victory to Gisborne.
Goal Kickers – T. Hynson 4, L.O’Gorman 3, A.Headberry, A.Storie, J.Vernon, R.Comerford, T.Bannan, K.O’Gorman.
Best Players– J.Duff-Tyler, B.Sullivan, J.Vernon, R.Comerford, L.Burgess, A.Headberry.
Under 18’s.
Gisborne 25.22 - 172 Def Sth Bendigo 1.3 - 9
From the word go, the Gisborne boys lead from the front and the pressure that they applied to South was fantastic. The quick ball movement allowed the young Doggies forwards to revel in front of goal and the goals were piled on at a rapid rate.
Jack Baker was back from Calder after a bout of concussion and showed that he is a class act, kicking 5 goals and setting up numerous other opportunities with his forward pressure and centre clearances. Doricic was good all day in the ruck giving clearance after clearance and young Trent Crosbie, along with Skipper Libba Rodgers, showed class and poise in the clinches to repeatedly deliver the ball forward.
The Bulldogs went into the long break with a handy 75 to 8 score and were directed to continue to roll on, run when given the chance and thwart any forward thrusts by the South’s boys. BJ Calvert and Jacob Parfray were going well down back and the young Gisborne boys followed their coaches’ instructions to a tee again outscoring the Bloods by 96 points in the last half to eventually run out winners to the tune of 163 points.
The message at the end of the game was “well done, however lets’ focus on the Golden Square game where we will look to avenge our five goal loss to Square earlier in the season”.
Goals: Baker 5, Crosbie 4, Lamplugh 4, Bond 4, Wood 2, Clough, Doricic, Crook, Challis, Greetham, Rodgers.
Best Players: Baker, Doricic, Crosbie, Rodgers, Parfray, Calvert
Netball
This week we played netball on Sunday against South Bendigo at the Q.E.O.
U/17.
To kick start the day off the U/17 Gisborne girls, who are third on the ladder, took on the top team South. We all knew this was going to be the game of the day and it didn’t let anyone’s expectations down. From the very first whistle both teams went hard at the ball trying to get the break on each other. A few miss directed passes gave South that edge and by the first break they held a handy three goal lead .The second quarter was the same as the first where the girls worked hard to try and bridge the gap but South still had all the answers and took that three goal lead into the main break. The score at half time showed Gisborne 26 to South 29. In the third quarter South got off to a good start and in the first five minutes had a lead of five goals. Not to be out done the Gisborne girls dug deep and played pristine netball, not giving any loose balls away. The whole team lifted with the goalers not missing a goal, the midcourt stopping nearly everything before it got into the opposition goal ring and when it did get in, the defenders did their job. This was Gisborne’s best quarter and they turned a three goal deficit into a seven goal lead .Gisborne 42 to South 35.
The girls kept the momentum going in the last quarter to run out winners by eight. Final scores were Gisborne 55 to South 47. It was a great game to watch and it was a great effort by the girls.
B.Res.
The girls started off like a house on fire in the first quarter shooting fourteen goals to eight.
In the second quarter the girls went to sleep and let South back into the game. The girls just could not get the ball into the goal ring and at the break South led 25 to Gisborne 21. After the main break the girls could not get back into the game and South went on to win comfortably with the final score line reading Gisborne 39 to South 56.
B Grade.
This was a game that the B.Grade girls did not want to drop with a spot in the five up for grabs. The first quarter was fairly even with both teams going goal for goal. South took a two goal lead into the first break and the score stood at Gisborne 9 to South 11. In the second and third quarter, South out scored Gisborne and at three quarter time had a handy lead of 12 goals. The last quarter came and the girls worked hard to try and reel back the margin but the horse had already bolted and at the bell the final scores were Gisborne 32 to South 4.5
A.Res.
This was another team that needed to win on Saturday to keep their finals hopes alive. In the first half the girls gave themselves a good lead to take into the main break. They worked hard and chased every ball down and on the score board it showed Gisborne 29 to South 21. Not to be out down South came out firing after half time and took the game right up to Gisborne. They capitalized on Gisborne’s mistakes and outscored them for the quarter, giving themselves a good shot at knocking Gisborne off. The score at three quarter time showed Gisborne 38 to South 35. The last quarter was going to be a game of nerves and who would make the least mistakes. To Gisborne’s credit the girls got their act together and ran out winners by two goals. Final score was Gisborne 44 to South 42.
A.Grade.
This was a game the girls had earmarked to win, but nothing can ever be taken for granted. The Gisborne girls played an average first half as South put pressure on them every time they went near the ball. At half time it was Gisborne 23 to South 15. With one change made, the third quarter belonged to Gisborne. Every girl did their part. The game was fast and with good passing, accurate shooting and good defensive work, they outscored South by 19 goals in the quarter which set the girls up for the last term. In the last quarter South didn’t let Gisborne have everything their own way however the girls kept their momentum going and ran out comfortable winners with a final score of Gisborne 62 to South 31. A job well done.