A look back over last weekend’s action in the under-16 to under-18 junior competitions.
With South Morang having the bye this week, three games took place in the Under 18 Girls. The round opened with Yarrambat facing Whittlesea at the Whittlesea Showgrounds. The Bats were fresh off a bye while Whittlesea looked to bounce back after last week’s loss against Laurimar. The visitors were able to maintain control for the entire game, keeping Whittlesea goalless until the last quarter to win by 15 points. Yarrambat’s Charli Reading led all goal scorers with two majors while teammates Tegan Fitzmaurice and Abbigail Serong both put in strong performances. Taylah Read kicked the Eagles’ only goal of the day while Ella Daly continued her good form despite the loss.
Plenty Park Oval saw an entertaining contest between Diamond Creek Women’s and Laurimar. The Creekers were hoping to return to the winners list while the Power were hoping to make it three straight games unbeaten. The home side led at every break, but the Power kept it close heading into the final term, although eventually, Diamond Creek Women’s prevailed by 15 points. Josephine Khoury was a star kicking three goals, earning best on ground honours. Sarah Campbell performed best for Laurimar while Larissa Tedford also stood out, she was one of her side’s three goalkickers on the day.
Top side Montmorency travelled to Eltham Central Park to take on the winless Eltham to round out Sunday’s fixtures. Despite the Magpies running away with a 20-point win in wet conditions, the Panthers did well defensively, conceding the least number of points from an opposition side so far this season and only giving away one behind to the visitors after half time. Indra Lambeth had a great game for the Magpies which included a goal while teammate Kaitlyn Manzoney continued her strong form this season. As has been the case all season, Ava Klaic was outstanding for Eltham.
Four games took place in the Under 17.5 Blue, with the undefeated Diamond Creek Blue kicking things off as they faced West Preston Lakeside at J.E Moore Park. The Creekers dominated from start to finish away from home, registering 28 scoring shots to win by 59 points. Kade Garraway continued his great goal-kicking form, kicking another bag of three and finishing as his side’s best player, while teammate Jamil Dayoub also booted three. Matthew Warren was a standout for the Roosters, kicking a season high two goals to be his side’s best player for the third time in 2023.
Eltham continued their good form this season with another impressive win, this time against Whittlesea at Eltham Central Park. The Eagles kept up with the Panthers throughout the opening two terms, trailing by just 14 points at the main break, however the hosts were able to take over towards the end of the game to secure a 49-point win and remain in 2nd spot. Jackson Smith had an outstanding performance for Eltham which included two goals while teammates Miller Wortley and Jett Williams also kicked two. Harvey Hempenstall led the Eagles goal scorers with two goals while teammate Jack Morley was their best.
Laurimar claimed an important win over Epping at Laurimar Reserve, in response to a tough defeat the week prior. The Power’s six goal to nil opening term set the tone for the rest of the afternoon, as they produced a comprehensive 48-point triumph to sit two wins away from the top four. Carter McCall kicked three majors to take his season tally to 10 for Laurimar, with Lachlan Wyper having a solid performance. Yusuf Kurtoglu was Epping’s most influential and was their only multiple goalkicker with two goals. He’s now kicked five in his last three games.
The closest game of the round was between Yarrambat and Montmorency at Yarrambat War Memorial Park. The Magpies had won their last three games leading into the clash as they aimed to take a spot in the top two. But the Bats were up for the fight with scores level at three quarter time before they edged out the visitors to claim a four-point victory. Kyan Carman slotted another three majors, boosting his competition goalkicking lead to a comfortable 10 goals. Lincoln Wright and Josh Caputo both had big games for the Bats while for Montmorency, Jaxon Riley followed up his six-goal haul last week with another three majors.
Two games took place in Under 17.5 Red with the round kicking off at Wallan Recreational Reserve for Wallan and South Morang. The Lions were at their best against the winless Magpies, registering 31 scoring shots on their way to a 65-point triumph. Despite another heavy loss for Wallan, they did kick their highest score for the season after a four-goal last term. Jesse John Christidis led all goal scorers with five majors while teammate Charlie Rouse kicked two goals for the Lions. Dylan Coldrey and Wil Rice had great efforts for the home side.
A close game occurred at Anthony Beale Oval as Greensborough clashed with Research. Both sides were coming off wins as they looked to solidify a top four spot by the week’s end. Just one-point separated the two sides at half time before the Searchers kicked three goals to one to lead by 12 at the final change. In a great last quarter, where nine goals were kicked between both teams, the visitors held on to win by just five points. Competition leading goal kicker Josh Shepherd booted four goals while teammate James Shadbolt was brilliant for Research. Sebastian Coulter was terrific for the hosts in the narrow loss.
With Research having the bye this week, two games were played in Under 16 Girls Blue. Diamond Creek Women’s took on Yarrambat at Plenty Park Oval as the Bats looked to bounce back after a close loss while the Creekers were hoping to extend their winning streak. The hosts started the game well and would go on to keep the Bats to just three majors for the match on the way to a 29-point win. Maddison Meagher was the only multiple goalkicker with two goals in a solid performance for Diamond Creek Women’s. Emily Johnson and Sommer McCormack continued their good seasons and were the visitors most impactful.
Hoping to make it two straight wins, Whittlesea travelled to Laurimar Reserve to face the unbeaten Power. The Eagles were able to turn their momentum from last week into a solid first term where they led by seven at the first change. They would keep up the fight up until three quarter time where they trailed by just a behind, before the visitors kicked two majors to nil in the final term to claim a 13-point victory. Emma Hendrie was excellent in front of the big sticks, kicking three majors while teammate Tess Gilson was impressive for the Power. The efforts of Lana Carroll and Emma Pyle kept the Eagles in the hunt all afternoon.
Three close games took place in Under 16 Girls Red with a lower-scoring affair between Wallan and Montmorency White at Wallan Recreational Reserve to kick things off. Both sides were difficult to split throughout the opening three terms, with Wallan holding a narrow one-point advantage at the last change, before they kicked eight points to nil in the final term to triumph by nine. Rebecca Pallant kicked the winning major for Wallan while the performances of Montmorency White’s Isabel Anthony-Harvey-Beavis and Molly Brown were brilliant.
It was a top of the table clash between Darebin and Diamond Creek Women’s 2 at A.H. Capp Reserve, with the game going right down to the wire. The Falcons looked the goods to keep their gap on top of the table intact after getting out an 18-point advantage at half time. However, they would only kick one more goal for the afternoon as the Creekers attempted to stage a huge comeback. However, the hosts hung on to claim a four-point victory. Matilda Thompson and Claire Stephens were both outstanding for Darebin, each getting a goal for their efforts, while the Creekers had four individual goalkickers.
Mernda took Eltham to their absolute limit in their battle at Waterview Recreation Reserve. Scores were level between the two sides at half time before the Panthers created a 17-point lead at three quarter time as they looked to run away with the game. However, the Demons had one more surge in them, keeping the visitors to one behind while kicking two goals themselves. But they just fell short of their first win of the season, going down by six points. Joss Hanrahan kicked three goals for the winning side while Georgie Conlin was named as Eltham’s best. Despite the loss, Charli King kicked three goals for Mernda and had a brilliant match alongside teammate Harmony Taupau.
With South Morang having a bye this week, three games took place in Under 16 Boys Blue. The round opened with a Friday night clash between Mernda and Kilmore Blue at Waterview Recreation Reserve. After both sides suffered big losses last week the match shaped to be a critical game for either team to respond. The Demons looked the best side in the opening three terms and led by 19 at the final change, but the Blues put up a strong fight, and despite going down by seven points, won plenty of admirers, especially Harley Lisle who kicked three goals for the visitors.
After coming off big wins last week, Montmorency and Eltham Black looked to be an intriguing battle at Montmorency Park North Oval. The Panthers looked to have the better of their opponents for most of the match and led by 21 points at three quarter time before the Magpies almost pulled off a big comeback, keeping the visitors scoreless. But their 2.4 last quarter wasn’t enough to topple Eltham, going down by five points. Luke Klaic and Henry Kilbry both booted two majors each while Nate McCurdy was best on for the Panthers. Benjamin Knight was a terrific contribution for the hosts.
Fresh off the bye, Yarrambat took on top of the ladder Whittlesea at the Whittlesea Showgrounds. The Eagles were hoping to maintain their unbeaten streak and looked the goods to do so with a 20-point half time lead. But the Bats kept reducing the deficit throughout the second half and despite dominating the final term, they could only muster 0.8, with the Eagles claiming a 12-point win. Justin Chamber-Jones kicked a season-high three majors, being Whittlesea’s best, while Dylan Smyth and Archer Harvey kicked Yarrambat’s only goals, with Charlie Stewart playing a great game.
Three games took place in a round of big wins in Under 16 Red starting with South Morang Gold facing Kilmore White at Mill Park Lakes Reserve. The Blues kept up with the Lions throughout the opening half, before the home side kicked six goals to one in the final two quarters to claim a 57-point triumph. Jordan Tarkpos was on fire inside 50, booting seven goals for South Morang, while Stephan Pisani also enjoyed a good day in front of goals kicking four. Despite the loss, William Bowshall-Tanner was a standout for Kilmore.
Unbeaten Research took on the winless Eltham Red at Research Park, with the hosts coming out on top. The Searchers took the game by the scruff of the neck in the opening minutes, scoring at least four majors in each term on their way to a 100-point victory. The Panthers did however register their highest score since Round 2 this season, kicking five majors after half time. The home side had 11 individual goalkickers, with Joshua Northey playing an excellent game. Eltham’s Joel Brown was a highlight also, kicking three of his team’s six goals.
Laurimar claimed their third consecutive win of the season after a comfortable victory over Epping at Epping Recreation Reserve. The Power led by 12 at quarter time before kicking 12 goals to one in the final three terms to finish as 80-point victors. The visitors had 10 individual goal scorers, half of them with multiple majors, while Bailey Rowe played one of his best games of the season. Gabriel Bortolin continued his stunning form for the Blues with another best on ground performance.
