Plate Review
The Black Diamond Plate side welcomed a very depleted Nelson Bay in another must win match as the team looks to rally towards securing one of the few remaining finals spots.
The Bray family was kind enough to procure an exercise bike for the bench of significant vintage. Some say from a Mark Bottrill garage sale. In addition to this young Ethan once again forfeited his weekly pocket money for a banquet of gummy bears & oranges to fuel the troops.
Dan Lincoln was left with coin tossing duties as regular skipper Tim Hof missed through injury.
In a pleasant change of events, the boys got off to a flyer in the first quarter which is something that has proven problematic for most the season. Rangey ruckman Wings Barlow was instrumental in giving the midfield first use, with his aerial dominance continuing from the week prior and giving the likes of Luke Needham the chance to roll forward for some early goals and proving a welcome addition back in the side.
The goals kept coming in the second quarter as Ryan Clarke and Leigh Anderson proved hard to contain, kicking goals and more importantly, setting up teammates to convert as well with Joey Ferguson enjoying some time up forward in his cameo appearance. Dan Lincoln and Michael Vo were getting plenty of it and the backline were enjoying some quiet time for a change as they went into halftime with a 15 goal to nil lead.
Coach Chair took the unusual, but very sportsmanlike option at half time of giving Nelson Bay some of our players to help make the game competitive and to allow our players more playing time with an extended bench a less than desirable situation for us.
With the addition of Dan Lincoln, Cameron Boyd, Adam Lowe, Joey Ferguson and Connor Manwarring they breathed new life into the game as both sides slotted three goals each and were enjoying the competitive nature the game now had about it.
The final quarter saw the boys run away with the game as fatigue got the better of Nelson Bay. Highlights of the last quarter were a bone-jarring tackle from Connor Manwarring (playing for Nelson Bay) on teammate Michael Vo which saw Vo taken from the field nursing a nasty shoulder injury and in considerable distress. This has since proven to be something inspired by the World Cup as scans cleared Vo of any damage, but a shattering bruising of his ego. We also saw Jacque Bonnay extend his goal kicking streak with a nice mark and goal, clearly buoyed by the performance of his native France in the soccer the night prior. The biggest moment of the day came from young Will Scott who kicked a long range bomb which gave him his first goal for the year and icing a memorable win eventually running away 129 point winners.
Women’s Review
In a game that most would agree, was one of the best games that Warners Bay Women have played, the team managed to restrict undefeated competition leaders, Nelson Bay, to under 50 points for only the third time this season. The girls showed what true grit and teamwork can achieve and got within a couple of goals to go down in the end 47-20.
The first quarter was dominated within the centre third, with neither team willing to give any space. Nelson Bay got three goals in the opening stanza, but a Rosie Baker-Holmes snap from the side was well deserved and gave the girls the boost they needed going into the second quarter.
The second and third quarters were a true show of determined football from both sides, and the physicality of both teams was on show. Sam Delaney was again a standout for Warners Bay playing on the ball and never giving up. Her speed was matched by super enthusiastic Caitlin Wolfe and Leesa Wholohan on the wings, who covered a lot of the field to apply pressure to Nelson Bay through the centre. Defensive strong points, Sam Lawrence and Hannah Gow, also impressed with unwavering support from Steph Russell and Kate Booth.
Coach Tracy Baker-Holmes asked the girls to do two things in the third and final quarters, to leave nothing in the tank, and to play for each other. This came through with Warners Bay matching Nelson Bay for goals with a third quarter snap from Kirsty Jedrzejak and a second goal from Rosie Baker-Holmes in the final quarter.
All of the girls should be proud of the display of truly wonderful football, with marks and passages of play that is a show of the time spent training and working on skills through the week. The girls want to also thank the very supportive crowd in attendance, and the impact this has on the team to perform when most needed.
We see this as a real tipping point in the season for the girls, and look forward to coming into form as the season moves through some tough games for the team. We know they are up for it and will do us all proud. Well done everyone.
Premier Grade Review
After a convincing win earlier in the season up at Nelson Bay for the Cup side, boys were confident of putting together a good performance at home and with a number of players returning from injury, and on the back of two resounding wins at home in a row, we were focused on chasing another victory at home.
The 1st quarter was a tight affair with our boys sounding out the Marlins as they got their hands on the footy and challenged us early. After we found our rhythm the boys started to crack into the contest and find their feet as we linked up well off the back flank. Young gun Riley Warner was proving a handful as he gathered a few possessions and used the ball well moving forward. Without regular key backmen in Linc Stewart and with Oscar Anderson and Nick Metcalfe still unavailable due to injury Coach Marty turned to Kayne to give us some real size in our back half and he was spoiling everything that came his way as he kept the marlins forwards still chasing a contested mark. With our forwards really gelling over the last few rounds it was expected they would hit the scoreboard early however we didn’t have it all our way as some poor kicking limited the likes of JD and Macca to do their thing and our midfield got caught out a few times with some poor decision making and handling errors that turned over possession and allowed the marlins to have an impact. Towards the back end of the quarter we steadied and kicked a few vital goals and as dangerous small forward Cougs weaved his way out of traffic and read the play well running onto a loose ball in space to kick truly. Luke Roach picked up where he left off last week but proving a real handful for the marlins centre half back and he was able to slot a nice goal on the run to round out the quarter.
The 2nd quarter again unearthed some inaccurate kicking from the boys although everything else was working well. Our defence again were looking solid with Josh ‘Cyril’ Nicol again showing he loves playing the marlins as he racked up the touches off a back flank and linked up well with young leader Lachie Deverell. Keeping calm and working their way through the quagmire of mistakes that were starting to become the norm through the middle of the field the boys kicked a couple of goals but would enter the half rueing the missed chances in front of goal. The effort was there and the boy’s intensity was where we wanted it but we just weren’t able to master the basics so we entered the half time break with a few things to think about. With a freshen up and a new half ahead we would approach the 2nd half with the same attitude but a real focus being on our disposal.
The 3rd quarter started well as the midfield, led by Hunter and Spinksy, started to win the clearances and with big Sauce starting to get his mits on it and hitting it to our advantage we would find our ball movement improving as JD continued his rich vein of form kicking a few screwies on the run and from his set shots. Macca started to fly for his marks and young Isaiah was selling some candy as he grows his confidence playing seniors and with a very late Hardman finally arriving to the game, after a delayed flight from Brisvegas, seeing him run on with 10 minutes to go in the quarter would have been the last thing an under-siege Marlins backline would have wanted to see. Leading into the final change with a healthy lead the boys were encouraged by the coaches to really focus on our workrate and our skills.
As the game progressed it started to open up a bit more through the middle of the ground for our mids and with Voey in and under at the contest winning the footy we really put the game beyond doubt as Jacko showed his class kicking 5 goals in a dominant display of free flowing footy in our forward half. Other notable mentions include Sorro, returning from injury, getting amongst it and linking up well playing on the wing. The fact he got through the game unscathed is even more impressive. Spinksy had his usual workmanlike performance as he continues to put together a fine season and Young Riley has grown with leaps and Bounds as he continues to impress in his first season of senior football, as a 16-year-old.
Next week sees us host Newcastle City in our annual Old Dogs Day. The boys will want to put in a good performance for our last home game of the year and with this great opportunity in front of us we will look to gauge whether we are capable of matching it with the heavyweights of the competition. Both sides will play for the Neil ‘Plunger’ Dunn Cup so there has never been a better time to be a Bulldog so get down to the Kennel and support the boys as we gear up for what should be a great game of footy.
Next week all 3 grades are at home for Old Dogs Day and take on Newcastle City in what should be 3 cracking matches of footy.
Go Dogs!!