The game against Bright on Saturday was always going to be important for the team to see where it sat against one of the top sides in the competition. Missing some key players, the Bats knew they had to be at their best to match it with Bright.
Bright started the game strongly with some fast clean football, putting the boys under pressure from the start, and as has been all season we didn’t get off to the best start but credit to Bright players doing their homework as they had the match-ups right.
Charles Hunter and Brayden Wapling both had good days with support from Dylan Beavis up forward, getting better each week and finishing with three good goals.
Jamie Dunne tried hard all day as did Sully Malay with his pace, causing issues for Bright, along with Rhys Goodley continuing from the previous game with another strong game.
Best players: Charles Hunter (Peter Davis Rural), Brayden Wapling (Goorambat Railway Hotel), Dylan Beavis (Royal Hotel), Jamie Dunne (Hollywood’s Pizza), Rhys Goodley (club dinner), Sully Malay (Bill Bo Pop).
Goals: Dylan Beavis 3, Lachy Boyle 2, Jamie Dunne 2, Brush Haebich 1, Travers Nolan 1.
Reserves
G Bat 0-1 0-1 0-1 0-1 1
Bright 6-5 11-11 18-16 23-18 156
The reserves came up against a very strong side in Bright on their home ground on Saturday and to make it harder for them they were a little undermanned with some key players moved up to the senior team.
With pressure put on the backline from the start, with the experience of Jeremy Sloan and Brenton Doig, both playing great games down back would have made it worse without them.
Other players to stand out for the boys on the day were Daniel Bryant, Matthew Kilpatrick and Mitch Dansey in for his first game for the boys, he will be a great asset going forward.
Best players: Jeremy Sloan (Bouwmeesters Bakery), Brenton Doig (Royal Hotel), Daniel Bryant (Subway), Matthew Kilpatrick (Macca’s Knife Sharpening & Mowing Service), Mitch Dansey (Sportspower).
Netball
A-grade
Bats 41, Bright 49
Traveling to Bright, the Bats were a bit light on for players. They were lucky to have Brittany Button returning for the day, which also saw a family trio on the court. Charli Button stepped up from under-17s, making her A-grade debut, alongside her sisters Kylie Relf and Brittany Button. Chelsea Bamford had an outstanding performance, showing her versatility all over the court to also help the Bats out.
It was a tight tussle all day with fast movement by both teams. Bright’s accuracy in the ring enabled it to get the upper hand on the Bats and it came away with the win.
Awards: Best on court: Chelsea Bamford: Goorambat Railway Hotel. Second: Kylie Relf — Jenny Milner. Third: Brittany Button — Bill Bo Pop.
B-grade
Bats 33, Bright 39
The weather was fantastic, but a touch cold for the girls and they took a while to warm into the game. Bright got a great jump start and had the Bats chasing from the get go.
First quarter saw them down by seven goals.
Defenders Maddi Thomas and Fiona Doig worked hard all game, giving plenty of opportunity. The second quarter saw Bright stretch its lead. Our midcourters found their groove feeding but the goalies couldn’t quite capitalise.
Alyssa Priest went into goals which gave some movement and flow. Lacey Carter stepped up from under-17s. The Bats chased hard and won the last quarter but couldn’t close the gap created at the start.
Award: Best on court: Alyssa Priest — Di Cleaning cash. Second: Fiona Doig — Rambling Rose. Third: Amelia Gall — Terry White Pharmacy.
B-Reserve
Bats 28, Bright 68
B-Reserve had a strong first quarter but were outdone by the accuracy of Bright’s goal shooters. In Goorambat’s advantage, we had Emma Dowdell fill in where she brought height and worked well with Ella Woods in goals. In the mid-court, Abby Hammond stood out as she was able to bring the ball down court with speed and agility. Best on court went to Carissa Parrant for her work in the centre, where she made minimal errors and provided stability to the team.
Awards: Best on Court: Carissa Parrant — Royal Hotel. Second: Abby Hammond — Madison Jane Hair. Third: Emma Dowdell — Rambling Rose.
C-grade
Bats 49, Bright 55
With the long drive over to Bright, the Bats were up for a tough game. We were a few players short this week, so brought up under-15s player Ella Hogan, who was fantastic in the mid-court. Working well together, Charli Button and Matilda Hopkins, meant Bright had it tough getting down the court. Along with the defensive pressure that Lacey Carter and Eleanor Renkin put on over the ball, the Bats only went down by six.
Awards: Best on court: Ella Hogan — Hume Solar cash award. Second: Charli Button — Hume Solar cash award. Third: Eleanor Renkin — Sportspower. Encouragement award: Sophie Hammond — Spot 4 Icecream.
Under-15s
Bats 4, Bright 54
This week we had a couple of fill-ins to help us out with a few of our girls away. The girls were ready to have some fun and were very excited to play. Pippa Martin, Willow Hamill and Amelia Keen, being the only players from our under-15s, played exceptionally with girls they haven’t played with before. Imogen English, Charli Levy, Alarna Button, Talarna Hopkins and Emma Hall combined beautifully with each other to get the ball into the attacking third. All the girls kept their heads up throughout the whole game and kept putting pressure on the very experienced Bright side. We had great feedback from the Bright coach saying how amazing the girls played.
Awards: Best on court: Imogen English — Hume Solar. Second: Willow Hamill — Hume Solar. Third: Alarna Button — Subway. Encouragement award: Charli Levy — Chill Out Smoothie Bar.
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