GE BDAFL Reserve Grade
Round 7 saw the Ressies side travel to Gosford. Saturday was a perfect day for football and as players were arriving at the ground they were confronted with a competitive Gosford side, duck droppings all over the ground and Muz getting his hair braided so his locks didn’t get in his eyes.
This week saw the return of Voey and Clarke while Scot Ducker was missing another game through sheer laziness but putting in a Stella performance at the sponsor after the game. The boys started slow for the first 5 minutes and conceded 2 goals, but managed to turn it around and kick the next 5 goals straight. The boys started the 2nd quarter wanting to keep the momentum going and managed to keep Gosford goalless while kicking 4 goals for themselves.
Daniel “Piggy” Gray had a brain fart when he thought he was Buddy Franklin and had a shot from 60m out only for it to land on the club rooms and out on the full. The 3rd quarter was probably the highlight of the game with Trent Stewart managing to get possession of the ball in the forward pocket and kick an on the run goal from the boundary.
Coming into the last quarter Daniel “Chair” Russell decided to mix the team up and give others a run in positions they may not normally play. Chair coincidentally, put himself as full forward only to be smashed by his opponent from a hospital ball. Chair was very happy with how the team played and impressed by Lachie, Ethan, Ollie, Lydon Murray, Vo and Ethan’s Mum for another 5 star effort with the half time lollies. Ryan Clarke had a slow start to his comeback game letting in a few easy goals down back only to turn it around once the coach put him in his preferred position down full forward with 2 excellent goals. Oliver Gilmour and Daniel Gray proved their goal kicking prowess coming away with 5 and majors each.
Final Scores: Warners Bay 15.7.97 def Gosford 6.9.45
Goal Kickers: O. Gilmour 5, D. Gray 4, R. Clarke, M. Bottrill, L. Bligh-Parker, I. Bird, D. Russell, T. Stewart
Best Players: L. Dennis, E. Bray, O. Gilmour, L. Bligh-Parker, M. Younger, M. Vo
GE BDAFL Women’s Grade
The Bulldogs went down to a strong Gosford team at Adcock Park on the weekend. It was a hard-fought contest, with Warners Bay having some solid moments of football. Round 7 opened with Captain Elizabeth Brown and defender Kate Booth taking to the field celebrating their 50th game for the Bulldogs, in a historic moment for the club. From the first bounce the Gosford midfield showed promise of a competitive, high paced match with Gosford locking in their first goal a few minutes into first quarter. However, it wasn’t long before the scores were even again with legendary midfielder Amy Pittman kicking a fantastic goal in the first 10 minutes. Whilst the doggies put up a hard fight, Gosford kicked the final 3 goals leaving the score 28-8 going into the second quarter.
Alicia Rolls kicked the first goal into the quarter shortening the gap, before the Tigers put another three onto the Bulldogs with a lead of 48-15 at half time. The speed of the Gosford midfielders was evident going into the third quarter, constantly feeding the ball into their front line. The Warners Bay defenders were relentless in their efforts throughout the entire match, as usual. After Gosford secured another 3 goals, full-forward Chelsea Scott kicked a beautiful set shot despite the pressure from the other side. The Bulldogs held strong against the Tigers in the final quarter, only having two goals against them.
Katie Johnston had another blinder in defence, proving herself as a key player for the Bulldogs. Sam Lawrence made a noticeable return with a solid game in both forwards and defence alongside Jess McKenny, who had a consistent game in any position she played on the day. Britt Wood and her constant aggression and pressure on the ball made significant impact in the game in the midfield, alongside Kate Booth. A special mention to Melanie Cook who spent the second half in the ruck, proving strong against a solid Gosford.
Final scores: Gosford 12.11. 83 def Warners Bay 4.4 .28.
Goal Kickers: C. Scott, K. Johnston, A. Rolls, A. Pittman
Best Players: K. Johnston, S. Lawrence, K. Booth, B. Wood, J. McKenny, M. Cook
BDAFL Premier Grade
In the final game of the day, Premier Grade went into the match without core mid fielders Jack Hardman and Ben Hunter and key forwards Ryan Sorenson and Tristan Warner, however captain Jake Roach was able to make a his return from a quad injury for his first game of the season.
The first quarter saw the Tigers come out spirited and hard at the football, which gave them an early lead. The boys were able to steady the ship however and kick a few goals to establish a small lead at the first break. The second quarter saw the doggies start to get on top, establishing a 4 goal buffer at the main break. In the third quarter, the boys came out firing kicking the first 3 goals to get right on top of the opposition, however the Tigers were able to hit back with 3 majors of their own to test the nerves of Dogs. A goal to Nicholas Metcalf right before the 3 quarter siren steadied the ship for the dogs. In the final quarter the dogs were able to flex their muscles kicking 5 goals to 1 and come away with an 8 goal win.
For the Dogs all 22 gave a solid contribution, however Luke Roach and Nicholas Metcalf were clearly the best. The ever reliable Leo Vo and Josh Nicol were also strong contributors whilst new recruit Angus Lodge proved again to be a handful up forward kicking 3 majors. It was the second game in a row the boy from the Central Murray League provided a headache for opposition back man with his tackling pressure, hardness at the footy and decision making proving to be too much for the opposition. Premier grade are now outright 4th on the ladder with huge games against Terrigal-Avoca (3rd) and Newcastle City (2nd) in the next 2 weeks.
Final Scores: 15.14.104 def Gosford 7.11.53
Goal Kickers: J. Roach 3, A. Lodge 3, K. Gibbs 2, N. Metcalfe, I. Olsen, B. Crawley, K. McClure, M. Spinks, S. Gibbons, L. McKenna
Best Players: N. Metcalfe, L. Roach, O. Anderson, L. Vo, J. Nicol, A. Lodge
Round 8 will see all three grades at home against the Terrigal-Avoca Panthers for Indigenous Round and Sponsor’s Day.
Go Dogs!
Scores from around the ground.
Hunter Haval Black Diamond Cup
Singleton 11.9.75 Wyong Lakes 5.6.36
Cardiff 22.18.150 Maitland 5.1.31
Warners Bay 16.13.109 Gosford 7.11.53
Killarney Vale 28.16.184 Lake Macquarie 5.3.33
Newcastle City 22.16.148 Nelson Bay 7.6.48
Terrigal Avoca – Bye
GE Black Diamond Women’s
Newcastle City Stars 38.24.252 The Entrance Bateau Bay 0.0.0
Wyong Lakes 5.6.36 Singleton 1.0.6
Gosford 12.11.83 Warners Bay 4.4.28
Killarney Vale 14.14.98 Lake Macquarie 6.3.39
Maitland 29.16.190 Port Stephens 1.0.6
Cardiff 19.10.124 Muswellbrook 0.0.0
Nelson Bay 12.11.83 Newcastle City Nova’s 1.4.10
Terrigal Avoca def Wallsend-West Newcastle – Forfeit
Black Diamond Plate
Wyong Lakes 13.10.88 Singleton 7.7.49
Warners Bay 15.7.97 Gosford 6.9.45
Killarney Vale 22.16.148 Lake Macquarie 4.0.24
Cardiff 14.6.90 Muswellbrook 12.7.79
The Entrance Bateau Bay 17.9.111 Maitland 3.1.19
Terrigal Avoca 18.14.122 Wallsend-West Newcastle 1.4.10
Newcastle City 27.21.183 Nelson Bay 0.6.6