ROUND 10 V DAYLESFORD
FOOTBALL
A combination of coming up against a well drilled, talented Daylesford sides and some early losses to school holidays saw our Under 12 and 15 sides under pressure on on Saturday at home.
The Under 12s started well but as the game progressed Daylesford stamped their authority on the contest, dominating the last three quarters to defeat the young Emus. Skipton 2.1-13 to Daylesford 5.4-34. Cooper Cahill tried hard all game to receive the Skipcoin award, Gracie Draffin the Pinky Pizza voucher, and Tiger Williams the hot chocolate.
Daylesford Under 15s are equal second on the ladder, and with or without us missing a couple of players were always going to be a tough opponent. While Daylesford were the stronger team all game, the Skipton side kept trying all game and made Daylesford fight hard for each score. The final score line read Skipton 1.3-9 to Daylesford 5.8-38, a result that doesn’t do justice to the efforts of our team. Charlie Savage was awarded the Skipcoin for his efforts, Nic Cooper the Pinky’s voucher and Noah Kennedy the hot chocolate.
The reserves had a lesson that to be a top side and stay above the next ten, preparation, fitness and being mentally ready to go are essential. The hard running, play on style of football that served them so well in other games was missing as the ball was continuously kicked down the lines to contests, putting pressure on our own players. Despite this the narrow margin of a two point loss could easily have gone the other way with more accurate kicking. Skipton 5.12-42 to Daylesford 6.8-44. Two players that played their hearts out were Alex McClean and Riley ( Razza) Uwland. Skipton remains in third position on the ladder and its better to have this lesson now rather than later in the season, and I’m sure you will see an improvement in coming games.
The Senior side dominated the first half of the game, opening up a 46 point lead at half time, this looked to be a percentage building win in the making. Unfortunately that wasn’t to be, with our team taking the pressure off in the last half, cruising the game out to end up with a 45 point victory. Skipton 15.13-103 to Daylesford 9.4-58. Noted for their good play were Angus Mason and Lakota Stranks.
NETBALL
A chilly morning to start our day against Daylesford with a more successful day on the court as we brought home 5 wins from our 7 games.
The 13b girls continue to impress and improve and had a fairly one sided win 12 goals to 1. Awards went to Brigette Mulcahy, Ingrid McIntyre Smith and Tilly Neville in another fantastic game for the girls.
Our 13a girls had to work hard and it again took us till the second half to settle into our best play. They lifted then and came away with a well deserved 13 to 7 goal win. Awards to Hannah Meek, Bronte Molloy and Maddie Dunn.
Our under 15s and 17s were both closer than what they have been in previous weeks with some great play from both teams against much stronger and physical opposition. The under 15s went down 10 to 21 with awards going to a determined Lily Connell, Kate Gowans and Sophie cook.
The under 17s only went down by 4 in their tight tussle with a couple of 15s girls stepping up to help out. Awards to Sophie Liston and Charli Ross.
With a few families heading away now we wish them safe travels and will keep them updated on their teams performances!
C Grade - The girls have become an exciting team to watch continuing to show improvements in all areas of play. Their footwork, drive and competitiveness is shining through and they are becoming 1 as they learn each other's movement and positioning on court. They're talk and encouragement is awesome to witness. Today they played a strong 4 quarters focusing on us only as team and our goals which we absolutely smashed! Taking away the best on today Lily Bingham, her grunt and eye for the ball was impressive to watch and her strong drives through the mid court from defensive to attack was a four quarter strong effort. Katie Fay took second with her continued efforts from last week her footwork in the circle has improved out of this world and her rebounding with 2 hands makes me a super happy coach. Bec walker took out the coffee voucher this week, Becs control throughout the mid court, her delivery into the circle and her and drive on court is phenomenal to watch.
B Grade - A very chilly day for netball but things soon heated up once the girls hit the court. An excellent first quarter saw a very fast pace set from the get go. The girls soon settled into a very good rhythm with some consistent goal scoring. The emus had a nice little lead at half time. The fire and determination continued in the third quarter with some fantastic displays of textbook defence by Nat and Gemma. Forcing the turnovers which resulted in goals. The emus came out of the huddle for the last quarter in full flight, which is rare because emus don’t fly, but they sure can run. And that’s exactly what they did, they run the game out to the end and had a well deserved win. 30-22. An excellent display of shooting skills by Erin Gillespie saw her take out the best on court today with her shooting goals from all around the ring. The centre court pocket rocket Amy Lodge displayed her usual grit and determination across the court to take out second best with great speed and agility casing down the loose ball. Great effort by all team members. Go Emus.
A grade - Emus played a strong, competitive and composed game of netball. They showed continued improvements throughout the court in a game they lead from the start and they never stopped. Playing their own game for the full 4 quarters resulted in a 43 goal win. Shooting a total of 71 goals gave our goalies a great chance to put into play what we have been practicing and working on. The second quarter was the strongest with a massive 18 goals shot to 1. Strong defence with great movement in the ring from the goalies and centre court players lead to a big break ahead going into the second half. Megan Liston received best on court with her continued hard work, strong drives, precise leads and shooting extremely accurately. Her overall growth this season has been amazing. Amelia Pollock showed outstanding speed, power and agility through out the game. Her accurate and controlled passes into the goalies set them up for the 71 goals scored. Overall all players were outstanding and played well together as a team.
Natalie Clark club legend plays her 400th game against our old rival Carngham Linton at Snake Valley, get along to the game and cheer Nat on for this milestone game, see you there!