By David Ball
Round 5 saw our teams heading up to Berwick Springs for the first time where we were met by wet and windy conditions. The reserves once again were forced to dig deep to replace the many injured
and unavailable players. Coming up against the ladder leaders they worked hard early into the wind to keep Berwick Springs to just the 1 goal at quarter time. Adam Beath in the middle and Beau Hawkins in defence stood out. As the day progressed and our bench dwindled Berwick Springs proved too strong, handling the conditions well and with fresher legs they ran out convincing winners, Yarra Glen losing 0.0 to 11.22. Craig Dodsworth in his first game played well in defence and Matt Campbell was admirable in his first stint in the ruck.
The seniors got off to a disappointing start allowing Berwick Springs to a 6.3 to 0.0 lead at quarter time. The second quarter was more competitive with Sam Horsley in the middle and Jayden Schille down back and through the middle getting plenty of the ball. As the rain started getting heavier Yarra Glen’s effort lifted in the third quarter with each team only scoring the 1 goal. Berwick Springs were starting to find space as the Yarra Glen boys appeared to tire and in the last quarter, Berwick Springs added another 6 goals to the River Pigs 2 points. The final score was Yarra Glen 2.6 v Berwick Springs 16.15.
Nathan McCulloch, Ryan Smith and Billy Gardner were among the best along with Sam and Jayden. The goals were kicked by Jimmy Marks and James Whelan.
Netball
The netballers faced difficult conditions with a strong wind making goal shooting difficult. The A grade team won every quarter with Chelsea Birchall in the centre being very active, Steph Gibbs made the most of it with 31 goals. The defence was tight keeping Berwick Springs to just 13 goals, Katelyn Vanderkolk and Meaghan Carter teaming well. The final scores saw Yarra Glen win 39 to 13.
B Grade controlled the game from the start to be 26-10 up at halftime. After a lacklustre third quarter, the girls stepped it up in the last to run out 41-21 winners. In attack Abbey Page (18 goals) and Melissa Hutton (16 goals) combined well, with Kim Williams putting in another great 4 quarter performance. Ashley Shanks added 7 goals.
C Grade got off to a great start being 11-3 up at quarter time. They continued to extend their lead through each of the next 3 quarters to notch up their first win of the season with a convincing 39-15
victory. The best players were Alex Bray (15 goals), Jasmin Wood and Jacinda Fraser who dominated in the centre.
The D Grade game was a great contest with many lead changes throughout the game. The wind made shooting for goal very difficult with Sarah Orlandi doing a great job with 27 goals. The last quarter started with Yarra Glen 3 goals up but we quickly found ourselves 3 down. The whole team worked hard to get the score back to level with minutes to go. Berwick Springs steadied, however, and Yarra Glen lost by 3 goals, 34-37.
Next week we are back at home and face off against Gembrook-Cockatoo.
