The Hawks moved to second spot on the ladder following its 54 point win over the Rams last week. The Reserves are sailing along in top spot, continuing their unbeaten run with another comfortable victory against Deni.
It was a mixed bag in the young Hawks games with a depleted U/17 side copping a hammering and the U/14s coming from behind in yet another tight contest.
You couldnt wipe the smile off of Mick Dunns face after his young U/14 charges displayed some good old fashioned guts and determination to turn a 6 point deficit at the final break into a 16 point win. Mick issued the boys a challenge at three quarter time and they responded beautifully by running their opponents off their feet.
Big Troy Metzner controlled the aerial contests all day to take out the Barooga Bakery Award. Matty Foster was inspirational, attacking the ball hard and bursting through the lines with the old dont argue on several occasions and he won the Barooga General Store award. Jake Russell did what he does best, racking up plenty of possessions to win the Spanner Brooks Encouragement award while Hayden Mustica played a great captains game and received the Outdoor Indulgence award. Callum Leighton-Daly (Healthy Foods) was in and under the packs throughout and a special mention to Arty Rootsey who played brilliantly when the game was in the balance after Uncle Mick had set him a task in the final term. Well done to all the boys, keep it going!!
The Under 17s have been decimated by player unavailability with up to eight of their better players out in recent weeks. Bearing this in mind, they had performed admirably against Mul and Finley, however against a very strong Deni side, they were held scoreless for the first time this season. Cam Nye (Menthas) put in his best game to date, relishing the rucking responsibility and took several strong marks. Adam Brewster (Andrew Jenkins Real Estate) ran hard despite not feeling 100% and Brett Do-dah Nye (Babcon Hire) enjoyed moving to the backlines were he kept the statisticians busy, marking every kickout and sending the side forward on numerous occasions. Tom Currie (Barooga General Store) and Riley Brooks (Barooga Bakery) tried valiantly to spark the Hawks but the firepower wasnt there unfortunately. This week sees several players return to the fold in what is a winnable game, lets make sure the result goes in the Hawks favour.
Jonos Reserves faced a young opponent who had a crack early but the class of this Hawk outfit shone through and they ran out convincing 80 point winners. After a tight first term, the Hawks piled on 14 goals while restricting the Rams to just 2 goals for the remainder of the game.
The Hawks had winners on every line but once again it was big Trav Nye who took out the Barooga Pub best player award. Travelling very nicely is the Traveller and he must be in contention for a promotion very soon. Jason Guru Stephens (Babcon Hire) oozed class all day and celebrated the win as only Gooza can, pulling up stumps at 9am Sunday morning!! Jono ODwyer (Bottom Pub) and Colin Ross (Barooga Sporties) are a formidable combination in defence and repelled everything that came their way. Scotty Nye and Simon Douglas (3 goals) missed out on awards but kept their names in front of the senior selectors with prominent performances.
The boys face a tough opponent today in Nathalia so will need to stay at the top of their game to maintain their unbeaten run.
The Seniors won for the second year in a row after nine seasons for no return on the Rams home ground. They went into the game knowing what was required after a week of planning and Byso would have been very pleased to walk away with the points.
The first quarter was a bit of a battle, the Rams able to respond whenever the Hawks looked like breaking it open. Whatever was said after quarter time worked though as the Hawks played inspired footy in the second (booting six goals) and third term (booting seven unanswered goals) to blow Deni away. The win secured second spot on the ladder and was the ideal preparation for this weeks blockbuster against Nathalia. Chris Gallagher has found a rich vein of form in recent weeks and was outstanding. Brent Chapman (5 goals) continues to impress with his poise and balance under pressure a feature of his game. Snowy and Chappy took out the major incentive awards. Sean Harrap and Paul Mason were very good players, displaying strong hands at every marking contest and they received the minor incentive awards. Hayden Woodward made a welcome return to the seniors slotting nicely into defence and Ashley Round followed a great game against Finley with another impressive contribution. The great man (just ask him!), Damion Doc OCallaghan, also returned to the side and will be better for the run as did Glen Horse Nye who was hard at it all day.
This weeks match should be a belter. Reigning premiers against the runners up, it doesnt get any better than that. Lets make sure we give the Purps a belting in front of a big Queens Birthday Weekend roll-up! Welcome to all the visitors: Ladies Day, Hawks Club and returning past players make for some great opportunities to make this day a round to remember. Also stick around at the end of the seniors for a look at the SuperRules match under lights.
Congrats to 2008 Barooga senior captain Martin Brooks and vice captain Zane Goodwin who play milestone games today: 250 seniors for Moose and 150 seniors for Gearbox. Well done fellas!
Netball Notes:
11&U: Bar. 10 - Deni 21. This was a game where the score did not indicate the standard of our game. We played really well, the court was opened up, so there was plenty of space for us to take our passes. It was great to watch. Brays canteen award to Alannah Quirk and Barooga Bakery to Jess Brooks.
13&U: Bar. 19 - Deni 21. The girls played a fantastic game this week. We lead the entire game, but unfortunately Deni snuck in two goals just before the whistle was blown. Even though we went down by 2 goals the girls put in a huge effort and played like a team. It is so rewarding to see these young girls developing into great little netballers. Fantastic effort everyone!! Barooga General Store Award went to Bridget ODwyer.
17&U: Bar. 21 - Deni 50. Great effort! You really showed what you can do in the second half of the game we just need to come out and do that from the start! Barooga Bakery & Theresa�s Awards: Lil Cornish and Amy Russell.
C Reserve: Bar. 65 - Deni 17. Whilst we have been winning our games, we have been a little lacking in maintaining our momentum for all four quarters. The challenge has been to improve on this, and the girls did exactly that. Good use of the ball and great defensive play at both ends of the court were important elements of the game. Well done girls a great result! Bottom Pub Award: Jacoba, Barb Leech Award: Kathlene
C Grade: Bar. 60 - Deni 30. A fantastic 30 goal win will put our percentage up, a few more like this will play to our advantage. A great game by all girls, keep the good teamwork up! Hope to have all players back on board for some hard games to come. Award to Meredith Coburn. Thanks to Kelscha for filling in.
A Grade: Bar. 33 - Deni 40. A good game played between two well matched teams. This was one of our best games for the season and it was looking good for a win all game. It is disappointing that on this occasion we were fighting against some dubious calls in the last quarter which played a big role in the final outcome. If we play like today every week we will get more wins on the board. Wingate Sports Award; Leah, Bottom Pub Award; Jody.