Seniors.
Sandhurst 10.14 – 74 def Gisborne 5.5 – 35.
The Gisborne Bulldogs took on the in form Sandhurst Dragons at QEO on Saturday in a game where a victory would be a huge positive for the winner. In the case of the Dogs, it would mean they would retain third spot on the table and for Sandhurst it would be a victory that would propel them into the top five.
In an impressive display in the wet, it was the Dragons who prevailed over a lacklustre and disappointing Gisborne outfit and to add to the Dogs woes, Luke Saunders sustained a knee injury which could see him sidelined for some time.
The Dogs got away to a good start kicking the first goal of the game through Shaun Comerford but it was all Sandhurst after that. With their ruck and midfield dominating, they applied great defensive pressure all over the ground. Gisborne had no answer as they struggled to cope with the conditions and Sandhurst’s intensity around the contest where the Dragons continually denied the Dogs time and space with the ball which often led to a turnover.
Both Sandhurst and Gisborne defensive units were well on top of their respective forward opponents with the Gisborne trio of Tim Walsh, Anthony Belcher and Heath Simpson doing particularly well all game. However it was the Dragons small men who inflicted the damage as they dominated around the ground and also kicked the majority of the Sandhurst goals as well.
Coach Kevin Fitzgerald was particularly disappointed with the result given the importance of the game relative to where the side currently finds itself and in a season that has been difficult from the outset. “We were very ordinary today - We were not mentally strong enough and our performance was totally unacceptable “ he commented after the game also hinting that changes to the line up would be a distinct possibility this coming week.
Best Players – A.Belcher, T.Walsh, H.Simpson
Goal Kickers – L.Saunders, B.Sonogan, S.Comerford, C.Summerfield, E.Minns.
Reserves.
Gisborne 10.15 - 75 def Sandhurst 6.3 - 39
The Gisborne Reserves were on song again as they put on a polished display of wet weather football to comfortably see off their Sandhurst Dragons opponents at QEO on Saturday.
Jason Duff-Tyler was dominant in the ruck and gave first use of the ball to the Dogs on ball brigade who in turn provided a steady flow of inside 50 entries for the Gisborne forwards to take advantage of.
From the opening bounce Gisborne applied terrific pressure to the Dragons. The Dogs intensity and hard tackling saw Sandhurst unable to get any system going and the Gisborne boys took full advantage.
Goals flowed at a steady rate for the Dogs and as the scoreboard pressure mounted Sandhurst began to wilt. Rory Comerford and Michael Steinbach were having terrific games while Jarred Vernon was also in fine touch and he was well supported by Travis Thorogood and Aaron Storie.
Coach Ben Talbot praised his side for an all round team effort which saw the Dogs further consolidate their position near the top of the table.
Goal Kickers – N.Johnson 2, T.Hynson 2, J.Vernon, B.Grech, K.O’Gorman, R.Comerford, B.Talbot, J.Campbell.
Best Players– R.Comerford, J.Duff-Tyler, M.Steinbach,T.Thorogood, J.Vernon, A.Storie.
Under 18’s.
Golden Square 6.2 - 38 Def Gisborne 3.13 - 31
On a wet and cold wintery Saturday the Young Gisborne outfit, with only 18 fit players ventured up to Golden Square to play the Bendigo Bulldogs for the second time in three weeks. The start did not go to plan with the Square boys fielding 18 players against our 16 at the starting siren. After a quick goal from Square, the coaches quickly put our two interchange players onto the ground and the Gisborne Doggies were stung into action, having the next 4 scoring shots and they went into the first break with a handy 3 point lead which was ok given the soggy conditions.
The second term was a quarter where the Gisborne boys showed plenty of spirit and had 8 shots, however only kicked 2 goals 6 to Squares solitary goal and they went into the long break with a 15 point lead. The midfield worked well from the taps of winning ruckman Hayden Doricic. Liam Rodgers was good at ground level as were Pat Trotta and Isaac Trickey on the half back line who repelled the ball time and time again. Tom Wood was polished up forward and his pressure skills along with those of Darcy Challis, kept the Square boys on their toes.
During the third term, the lack of rotations and a lack of discipline by the Gisborne boys allowed Square back into the game. Accountability was terrible and Square kicked 3 goals 1 to Gisborne 1 point setting up a cracking last quarter. The coaches implored the undermanned Gisborne boys to fight back and not fall away. The boys gave it their all and had all the play however some crucial gaol scoring opportunities went astray and this inaccuracy saw them go down by 7 points at the end of the game.
The coaches told the Gisborne boys to learn from this loss and put it into the memory bank for September. The effort was there however a lack of manning up and inability to follow instruction at crucial stages showed that there was plenty of upside to the performance.
Goals: B.Lamplugh, H.Dorocic, T.Wood.
Best Players: L.Rodgers, H.Dorocic, J.Crook, P.Trotta, D.Glenister, I.Trickey, T.Wood.
Netball
It was not a very successful trip to the Q.E.O. this week for the netball with only one team winning and that was the U17’s.
They started the day off in pouring rain and from the first centre pass the girls knew they had a battle on their hands with Sandhurst giving no quarter. They made the Gisborne girls earn everything and put pressure on every ball and at the first break the scores were locked at 8 all. This shocked the girls into action. They played steady and consistent netball remembering in wet weather that you have to adjust to the conditions and the girl’s final ran out winners by 8 goals. Even though B.res, B grade, and A.res were beaten by stronger Sandhurst teams the girls didn’t drop their heads they kept giving their all. Scores for the following teams were: B.res Gis 32-69, B Gis 18-72. A.res Gis 43-59.
In A.grade Sandhurst got the jump on the Gisborne in the first quarter and took the lead out to 10 goals The girls were shell shocked for the first three quarters and no matter what they did they just couldn’t get back into the game and at three quarter time the girls were 12 goals down . The last quarter was Gisborne’s best and they fought back to get to within 2 goals of Sandhurst however Hurst weren’t going to give the game away that easily. They capitalized on a couple of Gisborne mistakes and sent the ball down into their goal ring to score. Gisborne didn’t give up and they kept at it till the final siren only to be beaten 40 to 35.