Sandhurst

A CLASH between top teams Sandhurst and Golden Square highlights this Saturday’s round 12 action in the Bendigo Bank Bendigo FNL senior footy season.

It’s second against first on Golden Square’s turf at Fur Life Oval in Wade Street from 2.20pm.

The Christian Carter-coached Bulldogs are on a seven-game winning streak, but are up against an opponent which has a record of 10 wins, one draw, no defeats.

When these clubs met in round three it was Sandhurst which retained the Ron Best Memorial Shield in a 94-59 victory.

Golden Square marked arguably its best match of the season in last Saturday’s clash with Strathfieldsaye.

The Bulldogs won by 13 goals as Liam Barrett, ruckman Matt Compston, and defender Harry Burke starred on home turf.

First goal of Saturday’s contest by Golden Square’s gun forward Joel Brett will be his 50^th of the season.

A formidable Bulldogs’ attack includes Jayden Burke, Hamish Morcom and Bradyon Vaz.

They will be up against Darcy Mills, Bryce Curnow, Lachie Hood and Liam Ireland.

On-ball duels will be crucial to the result.

The Dogs have Thomas Toma, Ricky Monti, Ryan Hartley and Jack Geary opposed to James Coghlan, Nick Stagg, Lee Coghlan and Noah Walsh.

The Sandhurst squad jointly coached by Ash Connick, non-playing, and Bryce Curnow, playing, includes VFL-listed players Sam Conforti and Lachlan Tardrew on the bench.

Golden Square’s defence led by Jon Coe, Zack Shelton and Jack Hickman is up against Matt Thornton, Lachlan Wright and Cobi Maxted.

Another big match will be at Eaglehawk’s Canterbury Park where the Two Blues take on Gisborne.

It was a 49-point win for Eaglehawk at Gisborne’s Gardiner Reserve in round three.

The Travis Matheson-coached Eaglehawk has won its past two matches and will be fighting to hold a top-three berth.

Among the many key match-ups will be on-ball where Hawks’ ruckman Connor Dalgleish takes on the athletic Braidon Blake.

Noah Wheeler and Billy Evans have been winning plenty of the footy for the Hawks, but face a huge test against Brad Bernacki and Flynn Lakey.

Key players for the Borough include Kallen Geary at half-back, Joel Mullen on a wing, Dillon Williams, Cam McGlashan and Darcy Richards in attack.

In last week’s play, Seb Bell-Bartels racked up 32 disposals, 10 marks, six clearances and 11 tackles in Gisborne’s big win against Castlemaine to earn the Barry Plant Player of the Week award.

Bell-Bartels was named in the centre for Saturday’s clash.

Other key players for the Brad Fox-coached Gisborne include captain Jack Reaper in attack or defence, Matt Merrett on a wing or at half-forward,  Jed and Zac Denahy, Jake Normington and Liam Spear.

Kyneton tackles South Bendigo at Kyneton Showgrounds.

It’s a must-win match for the sixth-placed Tigers who start the day two wins adrift of the fifth-placed Strathfieldsaye.

Inaccuracy was costly for Kyneton in a 46-point loss to South Bendigo in round three.

The play of the classy Cameron Camuel, key defender Harrison Huntley, Thomas Quinn in attack, ruckman Jye Chambers and ruck-rover Hamish Yunghanns will have a major bearing on the chances of the Paul Chapman-coached Tigers.

Kyneton named Ben Cameron in the centre to take on the in-form Brody Haddow.

Major challenge for the Tigers will be in defence against the pacy and skilful Brock Harvey, Will Keck and Steven Stroobants.

The Nathan Horbury-coached Bloods also have Mac Cameron in the ruck, Braydan Torpey and Isaiah Miller attacking off half-back, and Sam Langley and Tait Poyser at half-forward.

It will be a fourth victory for Kangaroo Flat or a first for Maryborough when they meet on the Roos’ ground at Dower Park.

Previous meeting at Princes Park ended in a 17-point win for the Roos.

It’s a second match in charge for Jeremy Hayes as Roos’ coach.

Kangaroo Flat welcomes back on-baller/mid Mitch Trewhella for this match.

Other key players for the Roos include Liam Collins in the centre, Ryan O’Keefe, Jordan and Zac Rouse, Ethan Roberts, Nic Keogh and Harry Whitty.

Maryborough coach Coby Perry was named on a wing where he will link up with Joel Swatton, up against one of his former clubs, and Luke Bucknall.

The Magpies will also look to Kya Lanfranchi, Jake Postle and Tom Harrison to defend well, Ty Stewart, Jacob Lohmann to compete strongly at centre ball-ups and stoppages.

Other key players for Maryborough are Darcy Bond, Chris Freeman and Matt Johnston.

Strathfieldsaye Storm will be keen to hit back from a disappointing hit-out at Golden Square when it takes on Castlemaine at Triple M Park in Strathfieldsaye’s Tannery Lane.

The Darryl Wilson-coached squad to represent Strathfieldsaye includes captain Lachlan Sharp, Shannon Geary, Daniel Clohesy, Callum McCarty, Luke Webb and James Schishcka.

Been a tough season for the young Castlemaine line-up which has put some fine quarters together, but conceded many goals in others.

The Magpies’ squad bound for Strathfieldsaye includes talented key forward Bailey Henderson.

Castlemaine will also look to Liam Wilkinson, John Watson, Matt Filo, Brad Keogh and Callum McConachy to win contests and use the ball well.

Bendigo FNL senior footy ladder:

Sandhurst 243 per cent, 42 points; Golden Square 233, 36; Eaglehawk 219, 30; South Bendigo 140, 28; Strathfieldsaye 136, 28; Kyneton 83, 20; Gisborne 122, 16; Kangaroo Flat 56, 12; Castlemaine 40, 8; Maryborough 17, 0.

Leaders in the goalkicking race for the Ron Best Medal:

49 - (4) - Joel Brett - Golden Square 
44 - (0) - Lachlan Sharp - Strathfieldsaye 
34 - (2) - Brock Harvey - South Bendigo 
32 - (6) - Steven Stroobants - South Bendigo 
30 - (4) - Lachlan Wright - Sandhurst 
28 - (2) - William Keck - South Bendigo 
25 - (2) - Cameron Manuel - Kyneton 
20 - (0) - James Schischka - Strathfieldsaye 
20 - (0) - Braydon Vaz - Golden Square
20 - (2) - Matt Thornton - Sandhurst 
19 - (2) - Lewin Davis - Eaglehawk 
17 - (1) - Ryan Hartley - Golden Square 
17 - (1) - Andrew Collins - Sandhurst 
16 - (0) - Darcy Richards - Eaglehawk 
16 - (3) - Harry Whitty - Kangaroo Flat 
15 - (1) - Nicholas Stagg - Sandhurst 
15 - (1) - Cameron McGlashan - Eaglehawk 
15 - (2) - Thomas Quinn - Kyneton 

GISBORNE will be chasing a premiership hat-trick on Saturday when it tackles Sandhurst in the Sportspower under-18s clash on Bendigo Bank Bendigo FNL grand final day.

The showdown between the Bulldogs and Dragons on Queen Elizabeth Oval in View Street starts at 9.15am.

A great run by Sandhurst across the home-and-away series ended in a 15-1 record and top spot on the ladder.

The Dragons won the second semi-final against Golden Square by two points.

Gisborne’s run in the finals began with a 47-point loss to Golden Square in the qualifying final.

A week later and Gisborne defeated Castlemaine in the first semi-final by 15 points.

The battle of the Bulldogs in the preliminary final ended in a two-point victory for Golden Square.

It was two-nil Sandhurst’s way against Gisborne in the home-and-away series.

The Dragons won 77-24 in round two on Queen Elizabeth Oval, and 67-34 in Gisborne’s Gardiner Reserve in the 11^th round.

Grand final week kicked off with two of Sandhurst’s best, Jack English and Oscar Cail being at Michelsen Medal and Betty Thompson Medal night to be presented with league awards.

A gun on-baller, English earned the George Symons Medal as the competition’s fairest and best.

Cail kicked 51 goals to lead the goalkicking race.

Both will play crucial roles as Sandhurst aims to end a run of five consecutive grand finals and claim the under-18s cup for the first time in a decade.

Players to watch in the maroon and blue include Deakin Andrews, Billy Bassett, Thomas Davie, Charles Duke, Logan Kilcullen, David McNair and Daniel Noden.

The Dragons team is jointly coached by Jarrod Bateson, a gun midfielder in stints with Sandhurst and Natte Bealiba, and also Isaac Ruff who will play in Sandhurst’s defence in the senior grand final.

Sandhurst is a long-time power in the under-18s competition, especially during the Ben Dyett-coached era.

Gisborne has plenty of goalscoring options.

Leading goalkickers for the Bulldogs are Lucas Hannon and Jack Rutten, 21 goals; Jye Zerafa, 18; and Marcus Trakosas, 17.

Key players for the Jordan Ryan-coached Bulldogs include August Stelma at centre half-back, ruckman Hugo Olive, Jacob Floreani in the centre, Wilhem Mackay, Diesel Lewis and Noah Gauci.

Sandhurst:

B: Henry Edwards, Davis McNair, Zane Connick.

Hb: Harvey White, Deakin Andrews, Jaxon Howard.

C: Declan Stevenson, Jack English, Darby Whatley.

Hf: Charles Duke, Daniel Noden, Finlay Lockhart.

F: Logan Kilcullen, Oscar Cail, Lachlan Borchard.

Foll: Thomas Davie, Billy Bassett, Gus Hay.

Inter: Joseph Artavilla, Shannon Tardrew, Charles Kealy, Jacob Austin.

Coaches: Jarrod Bateson, Isaac Ruff.

Gisborne:

B: Jordan Brewer, Baden Dickins, Noah Gauci.

Hb: Lachlan Evans, August Stelma, Will Watson.

C: Harrison Bryant, Jacob Floreani, Thomas Dawson.

Hf: Charlie Ozanne, Wilhem Mackay, Lucas Hannon.

F: Marcus Trakosas, Jack Rutten, Jye Zerafa.

Foll: Hugo Olive, Diesel Lewis, Campbell Johns.

Inter: Harry Young, James Bullen, Brodie Clarke, Noah Kontossis.

Coach: Jordan Ryan

RUNNER-UP last September, Sandhurst is desperate to grab the Bendigo Advertiser senior footy premiership cup when it takes on Gisborne in Saturday’s Bendigo Bank Bendigo FNL grand final.

The Dragons and Bulldogs will clash from 2.20pm on Queen Elizabeth Oval in View Street.

At Wednesday night’s media conference in the Dragons’ den, Sandhurst co-coach Bryce Curnow spoke about the hunger generated from last September’s grand final loss to Golden Square.

“We have worked incredibly hard to gain another chance at winning a premiership,” Curnow said of the effort put in by the players and co non-playing coach Ash Connick.

It was one-all between the Dragons and the Rob Waters-coached Bulldogs in the home-and-away series.

When they met in the second semi-final the Rob Waters-coached Gisborne won by 23 points.

“We had our chances to win the game,” Curnow said.

“Three goals in the first four minutes really upped the pressure on us.

“From there we had plenty of the footy, but just didn’t score enough goals.

“Defensively, Gisborne was better than us.”

A huge challenge for Sandhurst will be the on-ball duels and centre clearances.

“Gisborne is incredibly tough to beat in that area,” Curnow said of gun ruckman Braidon Blake and centreman Brad Bernacki who polled 20 votes to tie with Sandhurst captain and gun on-baller/mid Lachlan Tardrew for the Michelsen Medal as league fairest and best.

“There will be times where Blake will give them first use through his tapwork. We have to work hard to limit his influence.”

Curnow believes Sandhurst ruckman Connor Sexton is up to to the task, along with Noah Walsh, Lachlan Tardrew, Lachie Hood, and Nick Stagg.

It will be a big grand final day for Dragons’ defender Isaac Ruff who is co-coach of Sandhurst’s under-18s team with Jarrod Bateson which takes on Gisborne’s young guns.

Ruff said the Dragons’ leaders and more experienced players such as Nick Stagg and Joel Wharton who marks his 200^th game in the grand final played a big part in the preliminary final win.

He said their influence on the group at three quarter-time against Strathfieldsaye was crucial.

“We carry the momentum from the win against Storm into a grand final.”

Ruff’s first year with Sandhurst was the under-18s team in 2016.

He played his first senior game in 2017 and is part of a tight-knit defence that includes Liam Ireland, Bryce Curnow, Isaac Carracher, James Coghlan and Harrison Free.

On the coaching front he is incredibly proud of what the under-18s team has done.

“They had just the one loss in the home-and-away, but Gisborne is playing great footy, too.”

Since his first senior game with Gisborne in 2017, Jack Reaper has become a crucial part of the Bulldogs’ defence.

He will be gunning for victory and also to join the “premiership captain’s club”.

Reaper said watching on at last year’s finals had spurred many of his team-mates.

“To have seven teams (three footy, four netball) in the grand finals is a fantastic result for the club.”

After the premiership glory of ’22, Gisborne dropped to the seventh rung.

“We knew there would be quite a turnover of players after the grand final,” he said.

The Bulldogs still have 10 players from the ’22 grand final who will play in Saturday’s clash.

Injuries did not help in last season’s run, but it gave Gisborne a chance to blood many talented youngsters.

Some of those have kicked on to become key contributors on a consistent basis.

Among them are Harry Luxmoore across half-forward and Dylan Johnstone on a wing.

“They are 19 or 20 and have played brilliant footy all season,” Reaper said.

A Rod Ashman medallist as best afield in Gisborne’s under-18s grand final victory in 2022, Jarrod Ainsworth has seamlessly slotted into a defence led by Reaper, Jed Denahy and Liam Spear.

A key to the Bulldogs’ victory against the Dragons two weeks ago was a high pressure rating.

“Sandhurst is a really skillful team and has a lot of running power,” he said of an opposition that includes Cooper Smith and Noah Walsh.

“We worked really hard to limit the space they could run to.”

A sign of Gisborne’s desperation was a tally of more than 70 tackles.

A lot of the focus on beating the Bulldogs is on limiting the impact ruckman Braidon Blake, and on-ballers Brad Bernacki, Flynn Lakey and Jackson Cardillo have on the game.

“It’s not just about their brilliant skills, but work rate when opponents have control in the play.

“They work incredibly hard to put pressure on and get back to support the defence.”

In attack there’s Pat McKenna, Zac Denahy, Jack Scanlon and Harry Luxmoore to capitalise or create scoring chances.

A tight-knit back six for Gisborne includes Zac Vescovi, Jake Normington and Frank Schipano.

They face a huge challenge against Sandhurst’s marking power of Ron Best medallist Fergus Greene who has kicked 82 goals so far, along with Cobi Maxted and Lachlan Wright.

“Jed and Fergus had a great battle in the second semi. It’s one of our most important match-ups.”

Being a “stingy defence” is what Reaper and all in Gisborne’s back six take great pride in.

For both teams it’s not just about kicking goals, but also making it tough to be scored against

Kangaroos bound into another showdown with Dragons

KANGAROO Flat bounced its way into another showdown with Sandhurst in the Bendigo Bank Bendigo FNL A-grade netball series.

The Kangaroos stayed in the premiership race as it dominated Sunday’s first semi-final with Eaglehawk at Queen Elizabeth Oval.

The Jayden Cowling-coached Roos bounced back from a four-goal loss to Sandhurst in the first semi-final to end the Hawks’ season.

In a strong four-quarter performance, Kangaroo Flat poured in 66 goals and kept the Two Blues to a tally of 33.

The Kylie Piercy-coached Eaglehawk had played well to win the elimination final against Strathfieldsaye by five goals, but had few answers to combat the skill and finals experience of the Kangaroo Flat line-up.

The Roos now take on Sandhurst in Saturday’s preliminary final.

At stake is the chance to meet Gisborne in the September 21 grand final.

The Tarryn Rymer-coached Gisborne is on track to claim consecutive premierships after a 51-38 win against Sandhurst in the second semi-final.

The Bulldogs have beaten the Tamara Gilchrist-coached Dragons in all three matches this season.

It’s three-nil in favour of the Dragons against Kangaroo Flat so far in ’24.

Sandhurst has won its matches with the Roos by margins of seven, five and four goals.

It was a memorable Sunday for Strathfieldsaye on first semi-final day.

The Storm kept premiership hopes alive in A-reserve, B-reserve, and 17-and-under.

Strathfieldsaye ended Maryborough’s run as it charged to a 51-41 victory in A-reserve.

It was a three-goal thriller in B-reserve as Storm held on for a 54-51 win against Kangaroo Flat.

The day’s play began with a two-goal win for Strathfieldsaye in the 17-and-under clash with Maryborough.

Storm led 61-59 at the final siren.

Four goals was the difference in B-grade as Kangaroo Flat bounced its way to a 52-48 win against Strathfieldsaye.

On Saturday it was Gisborne against Sandhurst in four of the five matches played on second semi-final day.

First on court were Sandhurst and Golden Square in the 17-and-under match.

Both had identical 15-1 records in the home-and-away series.

Game three between the Dragons and Bulldogs ended in a 60-39 win for Sandhurst.

It was three-one in favour of Gisborne against Sandhurst in other grades.

The teams in red, white and blue advanced to the September 21 grand finals in A-grade, A-reserve and B-reserve.

The B-grade and B-reserve second semi-finals were closely-fought.

The Dragons fired their way to a 50-46 win in B-grade.

In B-reserve it was Gisborne which led 50-45 after the final play.

Gisborne’s unbeaten run in A-reserve kept rolling as it scored a 43-36 win against the maroon and blue.

A 51-38 result for Gisborne in A-grade was the Bulldogs’ 14^th victory of the season.

Bendigo FNL netball first semi-finals scoreboard:

A-grade: Kangaroo Flat 66 d Eaglehawk 33.

A-reserve: Strathfieldsaye 51 d Maryborough 41.

B-grade: Kangaroo Flat 52 d Strathfieldsaye 48.

B-reserve: Strathfieldsaye 54 d Kangaroo Flat 51.

17-and-under: Strathfieldsaye 61 d Maryborough 59.

Bendigo FNL netball second semi-finals scoreboard:

A-grade: Gisborne 51 d Sandhurst 38.

A-reserve: Gisborne 43 d Sandhurst 36.

B-grade: Sandhurst 50 d Gisborne 46.

B-reserve: Gisborne 50 d Sandhurst 45.

17-and-under: Sandhurst 60 d Golden Square 39.

There will be five clubs which feature in the Bendigo FNL’s netball preliminary finals on Saturday at the QEO in View Street.

Schedule for Saturday’s preliminary finals at Queen Elizabeth Oval:

17-and-under at 10am: Golden Square v Strathfieldsaye.

B-reserve at 11.20am: Sandhurst v Strathfieldsaye.

B-grade at 12.40pm: Gisborne v Kangaroo Flat.

A-reserve at 2pm: Sandhurst v Strathfieldsaye.

A-grade at 3.20pm: Sandhurst v Kangaroo Flat

Murphy, English claim footy medals

GISBORNE’S Jacob Murphy and Sandhurst’s Jack English were victorious in this season’s race for fairest and best in the Bendigo Bank Bendigo FNL’s reserves and under-18s competitions.

The calling of the cards was done on Monday night via Radio Fresh fm 101.5 and on Facebook.

A gun midfielder for Gisborne, Murphy claimed the Alan McDonald Medal for a second time.

A streak of maxium six votes in the last six rounds of the home-and-away series meant he was a runaway winner of the award on 25 votes.

Murphy and his team-mates marked a win-loss record of 14-2 as they finished the home-and-away series on top of the ladder.

The Alan McDonald Medal which honours South Bendigo’s legendary coach of the 1950s has gone Gisborne’s way the past three seasons.

In 2022 it was Jacob Murphy and team-mate Boyd Nalder who tied for the award.

Last season Nalder’s ruckwork caught the umpires attention as he was outright winner of the medal.

A year on and it’s Murphy who will be presented with the medal again at this Sunday night’s Michelsen Medal and Betty Thompson vote count at Bendigo Club.

Runner-up for the Alan McDonald Medal was Sandhurst’s Jed Zimmer on 15 votes.

Murphy and Zimmer have plenty more to play for.

This Saturday it will be Gisborne taking on Strathfieldsaye in the preliminary final.

Zimmer and his Dragons’ team-mates were first to the grand final after they beat Gisborne in the second semi-final.

It was a dramatic finish to calling of the cards by Kylie Ellis for the George Symons Medal for the under-18s fairest and best.

Sandhurst’s Jack English added his name to the honour board as he clinched victory by a vote from Golden Square’s Melvic Pambai.

Playing midfield, Jack English made a brilliant start to Sandhurst’s season.

By the fifth round of the season, English was on 11 votes after being adjudged best afield in rounds one, four and five.

The consistency of the Dragons’ young gun was to the fore as he polled votes in 11 of 16 matches.

A streak from rounds 13-17 netted eight votes.

A vote in the round 17 match against Strathfieldsaye clinched the medal win.

A first-year player at Golden Square, Melvic Pambai was runner-up for the award on 23 votes.

The competition’s top two in the Symons Medal were opponents in last Saturday’s second semi-final in which Sandhurst won 33-31.

The Jarrod Bateson-coached Dragons will take on the winner of next Saturday’s preliminary final between Golden Square and Gisborne in the grand final.

First presented in 1969, the George Symons Medal honours a legendary figure of Golden Square.

Previous winners of the medal include Eaglehawk’s Rod Ashman, Sandhurst rover Peter Tyack who later dominated for South Bendigo, and Golden Square’s Nathan Brown.

Several of the Bendigo FNL’s award winners were announced on Monday night and will be presented at the Michelsen Medal and Betty Thompson Medal event on Sunday.

Castlemaine’s Ryan Eyre capped a great season with the Magpies by earning the Bart ‘n Print Rising Star award.

In his first season with the club, Eyre played six senior matches as a mix of midfield and forward.

He also played two VFL matches with Essendon, and eight for Calder Calders in the Coates Talent League.

Eyre ranked second in disposal for Castlemaine on 27 per game.

The other Rising Star finalists were Maryborough’s Kaian Constable; Sandhurst’s Ollie Morris and Dayten Uerata; South Bendigo’s Zaydn Lockwood; and Strathfieldsaye’s Malik Gordon.

Golden Square’s Ricky Monti was adjudged by the coaches as Bendigo’s best in the inter-league clash with the Victorian Amateurs in Brighton.

The David McCann Champion Club award again went to Sandhurst on 111 points.

Clubs earn a point for each win.

A key player in Sandhurst’s charge to the top in senior footy was gun forward Fergus Greene.

A tally of 80 goals in his comeback to the den after stints at AFL level with Western Bulldogs and Hawthorn earned Greene the Ron Best Medal as the Bendigo FNL’s leading goalkicker.

The goalkicking awards were sponsored by Coffee Storm.

Gisborne’s Hayden Doricic kicked 36 goals to lead the race in the Drummond Golf reserves competition.

A tally of 48 goals put Sandhurst’s Oscar Cail on top in the Sportspower under-18s.

Six new coaches were appointed over summer in 2010 as BFNL clubs prepared for the 2011 season.

There were some top names among the appointments, headlined by Maryborough’s Michelsen Medallist Matt Aston and Gisborne’s ‘Rolls Royce’ Luke Saunders.

The other quartet of new faces included Luke Monaghan (Eaglehawk), Derrick ‘Dekka’ Filo (Kyneton), Darryl Wilson (Strathfieldsaye) and Tony Graham (Sandhurst).

Graham wasn’t a brand-new mentor, though. He’d led the Dragons from 1997 to 2000 including a 1998 grand final loss to Maryborough by 47 points.

He took over from Sandhurst stalwart Kieran Nihill who’d served a three-year stint.

Going through the others alphabetically club-wise, Monaghan was at the Canterbury Park helm following Filo’s eight-season era which had resulted in two senior premierships.

Monaghan had previously coached the Hawks under-18s from 2005 to 2007 and he’d then had three years as the Bendigo Pioneers assistant coach.

Four-time premiership player and Michelsen medallist Saunders took over the Graveyard duties from Ty Elliott.

Not only had he played in the Bulldogs’ string of flag wins he’d also captained the successful sides in 2005 and 2006.

Saunders’ Gisborne side went down to Golden Square in the classic 2012 grannie which wasn’t decided until the final kick of the day.

Final scores: Square 16.10 (106) def. Gisborne 14.19 (103).

A Michelsen Medallist just like Saunders, Aston headed into his first coaching role at Princes Park.

He took over from Shane Fisher who’d led the Maryborough Magpies for three, consecutive seasons.

Filo had previously coached the Kyneton Tigers from 1995 to 1997, leading them to their famous flags in 1995 and 1997.

He’d also coached Kangaroo Flat from 2000 to 2002 taking the Roos to the 2000 grand final against Castlemaine where poor kicking let the Roos down.

Final scores: Castlemaine 12.11 (83) def. Kangaroo Flat 9.17 (71).

Filo took over from Paul Houston who’d coached the Tigers for two seasons: 2009-2010.

Although we didn’t know it then, a dozen years back, Strath Storm’s Wilson would become the most successful and prominent coach of the modern era.

He’d been in charge at Dower Park in 2008 and 2009 and had suceeded in leading the Roos to the 2009 preliminary final.

Final scores: South Bendigo 16.11 (107) def. K. Flat 10.15 (75). The Roos had downed Eaglehawk and Gisborne in earlier finals in that 2009 season.

And then out at Tannery Lane Darryl has moulded the BFNL’s premier side of the modern era as the Storm won flags in 2014-15 and then again in 2017 and 2019.

So that was the list of 2011’s brand new incoming coaches.

But four senior coaches from 2010 had stayed on for the upcoming season.

Premiership mentor Nick Carter would lead Golden Square for another season although he took a couple of weeks after the Wade Street Dogs 2010 flag celebrations had eased off to re-sign with his club.

Paul Eyles was returning for a return stint with Castlemaine and like Carter was going to be back for a second year.

However, Eyles had also enjoyed an earlier crack at coaching in the early Noughties.

He led the Camp Reserve Pies in 2004-2005.

Third returning coach was Murray Collins at Kangaroo Flat who, like Carter and Eyles, was saddling up for a second year.

Longest serving coach to re-sign was South’s Rick Coburn who was going into his fifth season.

He’d taken the Bloods to two second finishes in 2009 and 2010 along with 3^rd and 4^th placings, but sources had told footy writers the Bloods would go into 2011 with a much younger list.

2009 grand final: G Square 16.12 def. S. Bendigo 10.11 and 2010 grand final, G. Square 11.21 def. S. Bendigo 8.10.

So how did this impressive array of coaches end up as September in 2011 wound to a close?

Well, Carter’s Square finished unbeaten on top  of the ladder with an 18 win-0 loss record and cantered home in the grand final over Eaglehawk by 135 points.

They restricted the Two Blues to just five majors for the day.

At the other end of the table Filo’s Tigers didn’t win a game so they finished up with the exact reverse to Square: 0 wins and 18 losses.

So the ladder read at the end of August: Golden Square 18 wins, 0 losses, 72 prem. points, 267.3%; Eaglehawk 13-5, 52, 133.5%; Gisborne 12-6, 48, 142.99%; Sandhurst 11-7, 44, 130.5%; South Bendigo 11-7, 44, 117.4%.

Outside the Five: S’saye Storm 9-9, 36, 124.1%; Maryborough 9-9, 36, 81.8%; Kang. Flat 5-13, 20, 84.8%; C’maine 2-16, 8 prem. points, 55.9% and Kyneton 0-18, 0 points, 27.45%.

So Carter ended 2011 with a brilliant season -- home and away and finals. An unbeaten season for the Square.

And apart from the disastrous grand final Monaghan’s Two Blues did OK. As did Saunders with the Graveyard Dogs reaching the preliminary final.

Graham and Coburn probably rated in the 60-65 per cent mark as both clubs were gone by the end of the second week of the finals.

Wilson’s Storm were pretty new to the BFNL in 2011 so he gets a pass mark and so does Aston with the Princes Park Pies.

Both clubs had a nine win-nine loss record

Eyles and ‘Muzza’ Collins fall short of a pass mark, but at least the Roos under Collins scraped together five wins.

But Filo’s at the bottom of the barrel with the winless Tigers not setting any benchmarks at the Kyneton Showgrounds.

And there were some familiar faces in district coaching ranks for the 2011 season.

In the Heathcote DFNL North Bendigo had appointed Damien Lock, who’d played 18 AFL games for Carlton in 1998 and 1999.

Locky was also an Eaglehawk premiership player and back a little further in his footy career had won the VFL’s Bendigo Diggers fairest and best award.

Ash Wilson was the new coach at HDFL club Huntly. He’d enjoyed a fine career with Kangaroo Flat and had later coached premiership sides at Wandella and in partnership with Barry Pitson took Mitiamo to their 1999 flag.

Matt Pinniger was back in familiar territory at Colbinabbin as he took over from Brent Millar who’d led the Grasshoppers to the 2008 HDFNL flag.

At Mount Pleasant well-travelled local footy personality Denis Grinton had been named as the Mounts coach.

He took over from former Gisborne star Shane Davis who’d handed in his resignation in November 2010.

But it was a late appointment for Mounts as Grinton’s coaching job wasn’t revealed until mid-December.

Jason ‘Jugga’ Stevens was the new man at White Hills having stepped up from assistant coach.

Stevens served under Brent Dyer and for the 2011 season would have ex-South Bendigo outside midfielder Gavin Bowles as his assistant.

Incoming coaches in the LVFL for 2011 included Phil Walsh (YCW) who’d previously coached the Eagles to their 1997 flag.

Jim Angove was taking up the reins at the Marong Panthers, Phil Birchmore was to helm Newbridge while up at Pyramid Hill Leigh Davies was taking over from Shawn Filo whose health issues meant he had to step down.

Notice is hereby given that the 2022 Annual General Meeting of the Bendigo Football Netball League will be held on Wednesday 18th January 2023, at The Bendigo Club (22 Park St, Strathdale), commencing at 7.30pm. 

Light refreshments and nibbles will be available following the meeting.

Please find below official notice of the annual general meeting, along with a Board of Management Nomination form for any prospective BFNL Board members.

Please take note of the submission deadline for Board nomination forms, along with any other general business to be considered by the Board.

General Business submission deadline: Wednesday 5th January 2022 at 6.00pm.

We look forward to seeing you there.

DEPARTURES of ruckman Hamish Hosking and captain Lee Coghlan from Sandhurst have continued what’s been a dramatic couple of weeks across the Bendigo Bank Bendigo Football Netball League.

Best and fairest in his two seasons with the Dragons, Hosking has signed to play with Birchip-Watchem in the Goldacres North Central FNL in ’24.

For Coghlan it’s a return to Bridgewater where his footy career kicked off.

A Michelsen medalist as the Bendigo FNL’s fairest and best in 2009, Coghlan also won a premiership with the Dragons in 2016.

He led Sandhurst to last month’s grand final against Golden Square.

There’s been plenty of change at Golden Square since the dramatic grand final victory.

The Bulldogs this week announced Brad Eaton would replace premiership winning coach Christian Carter for the ’24 season.

An assistant coach of the Bulldogs in ’23, Eaton will be in charge of a new-look squad.

Multiple premiership winners with the blue and gold, Jack Geary and Hamish Morcom will tackle senior coaching roles at Cohuna Kangas and Harlowe Huntly Hawks respectively.

The Bulldogs will also be without long-time ruckman Matt Compston who has retired.

Just weeks after joining the premier’s club, Zavier Murley will leave Golden Square to play for Castlemaine next season.

The Bulldogs will welcome back Kyle Stevens who had played some senior games for the club when he was with the Latrobe University Bendigo Pioneers.

From Merbein, Stevens was a premiership winner with Birchip-Watchem Bulls in ’22.

A huge plus for Castlemaine’s new senior coach Michael Hartley was being able to lure former players Kalan Huntly and Darby Semmens back to the club.

After playing key roles in Harcourt’s unbeaten run to the Maryborough Castlemaine District FNL premiership, Huntly and Semmens will make their way back to Camp Reserve.

Kangaroo Flat’s new senior coach Michael Ellings takes charge of a team whose recruits include Gisborne premiership winner Luke Ellings, and former Eaglehawk player Justin Bateson.

After a playing career with North Launceston, Ellings was an assistant coach at Old Launcestonians in Tasmania.

Next season will be his first as a senior coach.

The Roos have re-signed many of their talented youngsters, but will be without talented on-baller Mitch Trewhella who will play for Rochester Tigers.

The Tigers will also welcome back Dillon Williams from Eaglehawk.

Bridgewater has landed several recruiting coups so far.

The Mean Machine is bolstered by the arrival of Coghlan and by Lachlan Sharp, a four-time premiership player with Strathfieldaye and multiple winner of the Ron Best Medal as the league’s leading goalkicker.

Sharp has left Triple M Park to take up an assistant coaching role where Bridgewater will again be coached by Rick Ladson, a Hawthorn premiership winner in 2008 and also a premiership-winning coach with Golden Square.

Also on their way to Bridgewater are the Strathfieldsaye Storm trio of Harry Conway, Jack Neylon and Joseph Mayes.

Recruits at Bears Lagoon Serpentine include new senior coach Jake Wilkinson from Sandhurst.

A key defender, Wilkinson will play a crucial role for the Bears, as will ruckman Nathan Twigg and the skilfull Darcy Hawker who return from Boort.

Coach of the past two seasons, Justin Laird will play on for the Bears.

Another newcomer at BLS is Doolan Nihill from White Hills.

Marong’s pursuit of a premiership hat-trick in the Loddon Valley will be done without brilliant forward Brandyn Grenfell who has headed further north to play for Nyah Nyah West United.

In the Heathcote District FNL there’s been some significant changes.

Coach of Mount Pleasant’s premiership teams in 2005 and ’06, Cameron Carter returns to Toolleen as senior coach once again.

Carter takes charge again after Adam Baird and Ben Weightman stepped down after leading the Blues to grand final glory in September.

This season’s runner-up, Heathcote has signed Kyneton ruckman James Orr.

The Andrew Saladino-coached Saints are likely to hold most of this year’s team.

At North Bendigo, Tyson Findlay returns to the Bulldogs’ kennel after a stint with Cohuna which included coaching the Kangas last season.

A triple premiership winner with the club, Findlay also won the Sam Cheatley Medal as the Heathcote DFNL fairest and best in 2014.

Another big recruit at North Bendigo is key defender Hamish McCartney from Maiden Gully YCW Eagles.

Coaching changes in the North Central league include Kangaroo Flat midfielder Mitchell Collins taking charge at Charlton.

Top ruckman Josh Potter is Donald’s new coach.

A three-year stint by Rohan Brown included being runner-up in ’22. Brown will coach Lake Wendouree next season.

St Arnaud is on the coaching search.

BENDIGO Pioneers clubmates Archer Day-Wicks, Jobe Shanahan and Tobie Travaglia will be in action on AFL grand final day at the MCG.

The talented trio have been selected for the AFL Futures Match as the curtain-raiser t to clash between Collingwood and Brisbane Lions.

Many of the country’s top prospects in the under-17 age group have been selected in teams of 23.

A week after lining up for Sandhurst in the Bendigo Bank Bendigo FNL senior footy grand final, Day-Wicks now heads to the MCG for the game’s biggest day of the year.

In an on-ball role or attack, Day-Wicks has a damaging left-foot and great skills in the air.

He represented Victoria Country against Western Australia in this year’s AFL national under-18 championships and also played seven matches for the Latrobe University Bendigo Pioneers in the Coates Talent League.

Highs on his stats sheets were 18 disposals, four marks and a goal per game.

A clubmate of Day-Wicks at the Pioneers and Sandhurst, Tobie Travaglia showed a lot of courage from a wing or across half-back.

Although he is lightly-framed, Travaglia is strong in the contest, plenty of running power and superb foot skills.

Travaglia played his first Talent League under-18s match as a 15-year-old last season and this year became a key member of the Pioneers line-up.

Versatility and marking power are two of the strongest traits of Jobe Shanahan’s game.

At 192cm, Shanahan has shown a lot of potential in attack or defence, and also had stints in midfield.

The Moama teenager represented The Allies on its way to winning this year’s national under-18s championship.

The teams for Saturday’s match are named after Geelong’s four-time premiership-winning star Joel Selwood from Bendigo, and recently-retired West Coast Eagles ruckman Nic Naitanui.

Some sons of guns will play in this Futures Match.

Among them are South Australia’s Ben and Lucas Camporeale, Louie Montgomery and Tyler Welsh.

Another to watch is Levi Ashcroft, younger brother of Will who was runner-up for this year’s AFL Rising Star award.

All players in the sixth annual AFL Futures match will be eligible for selection in the 2024 AFL draft and will be pressing their case in selection for next year’s  AFL Academy boys program.

The AFL National Academy manager is Tarkyn Lockyer who played 227 matches for Collingwood, which included the 2002 grand final against Brisbane Lions.

The AFL Futures squad will assemble in Melbourne on Friday and have a training session at Essendon Football Club’s headquarters, aka The Hangar in Tullamarine.

Saturday’s AFL Futures match will be broadcast live and free on the AFL website and AFL Live Official App.

This year marks the 22^nd anniversary since the Bendigo Pioneers took on Calder Cannons in the TAC Cup under-18s grand final.

A Calder line-up which included Dane Swan, Ryan Crowley, James Kelly, David Rodan and Andrew Welsh won by 37 points.

The Rod Macpherson-coached Bendigo Pioneers line-up included six players who were drafted to AFL clubs.

Among them were West Coast Eagles premiership player Adam Selwood, Hawthorn premiership wingman Rick Ladson, St Kilda and North Melbourne on-baller Nick Dal Santo, and Brisbane Lions midfielder Troy Selwood.

Also selected by AFL clubs were Daniel Elstone to Hawthorn, and Josh Thewlis to Sydney Swans.

The Pioneers’ grand final team of 2001 included Simon Rosa, Aaron Connaughton, Brad Eaton and Luke Guerra.

Off-field the Pioneers regional manager was Ray Byrne who knew plenty about grand finals.

Byrne contested four VFL grand finals -’73 with Carlton, and ’79, ’80 and ’81 with Collingwood and racked up a 14-year stint with the Pioneers.

Dragons are Best against Bulldogs once again

SANDHURST marked a hat-trick of Ron Best Memorial Shield wins against Golden Square in Saturday’s completion to round six Bendigo Bank Bendigo FNL senior footy season.

The Bulldogs and Dragons clash drew a big crowd to Fur Life Oval in Golden Square’s Wade Street.

More than four points were to be won in a match which honours goalkicking legend Ron Best, a premiership winner at Golden Square, and also on two occasions with Sandhurst.

In a remarkable 270-game career, Best booted 1624 goals.

The crowd at Saturday’s match included Past Players, Officials and Fans of Northern United Football Club in which Best marked his final game in the ’84 grand final win by the Swallows against Eaglehawk.

It was a rematch of the ’23 grand finalists as Golden Square and Sandhurst took to the field on Saturday.

The Golden Square line-up had changed dramatically to the one which beat Sandhurst by a goal to claim the Bendigo Advertiser premiership cup last September.

Although the Dragons did plenty of early attacking the shots at goal were wayward.

By the first break Sandhurst led 3.6 (24) to 0.2 (2).

Golden Square lifted its intensity and play in the second.

The Brad Eaton-coached Bulldogs won the quarter, 33-15, to be within four points at half-time.

Quarter three was to be dominated by a Sandhurst team coached by Ash Connick, non-playing, and Bryce Curnow, playing.

The Dragons slammed on 5.4 to a point.

A 37-point lead going into the final term was nine goals by the final siren.

Sandhurst added 4.5 and held the Dogs to just two goals.

Curnow kicked a match-high four goals and the in-form Fergus Greene booted three as the Dragosn marked a 102-48 victory.

Other multiple goalkickers for Sandhurst were Caleb Connick and Oscar Perez on two.

The Bulldogs’ attack was led by captain Jayden Burke and Kai Daniels on two each.

Best afield honours went to Dragons’ captain and gun midfielder Lachlan Tardrew.

Others to star for Sandhurst were James Coghlan, Lachie Hood, Alex Wharton, Bryce Curnow and Caleb Connick.

Best for Golden Square were on-ballers Jack Threlfall and Jordan Rosengren, Kai Daniels, Dylan Hird, Hugh Freckleton and Macey Eaton.

The unbeaten Sandhurst moved to the top of the ladder going into the Reconciliation Round match against Eaglehawk next Saturday.

Bendigo FNL senior footy ladder:

Sandhurst 451 per cent, 20 points; Strathfieldsaye 164, 20; Gisborne 287, 16; Eaglehawk 121, 12; Golden Square 86, 8; South Bendigo 82, 8; Kangaroo Flat 59, 8; Castlemaine 87, 4; Maryborough 17, 0.

In next Saturday’s seventh round, Gisborne is home at Gardiner Reserve to take on Strathfieldsaye from 2.20pm.

Feature match in Indigenous Round will be Kangaroo Flat against Castlemaine on the Kangaroos’ ground at Dower Park.

Sandhurst takes on Eaglehawk at Queen Elizabeth Oval.

Maryborough and Golden Square clash on Maryborough’s turf at Princes Park.

South Bendigo has the bye.

Leaders in the goalkicking race for the Ron Best Medal:

32 - (11) - Brock Harvey - South Bendigo 
29 - (3) - Fergus Greene - Sandhurst 
23 - (1) - Pat McKenna - Gisborne 
20 - (4) - Harry Luxmoore - Gisborne 
18 - (0) - Michael Hartley - Castlemaine 
18 - (1) - Lachlan Wright - Sandhurst 
18 - (6) - James Schischka - Strathfieldsaye 
16 - (8) - Steven Stroobants - South Bendigo 
13 - (4) - Darcy Richards - Eaglehawk 
12 - (5) - Malik Gordon - Strathfieldsaye 
11 - (2) - Jayden Burke - Golden Square 
11 - (1) - Jonty Neaves - Eaglehawk 
11 - (0) - Noah Walsh - Sandhurst 
10 - (3) - Zac Denahy - Gisborne 
10 - (4) - Bryce Curnow - Sandhurst 
9 - (0) - Jack Stewart - Golden Square 
9 - (0) - Justin Bateson - Kangaroo Flat 
9 - (0) - Lachlan Tardrew - Sandhurst 
9 - (1) - Bradley Bernacki - Gisborne 
9 - (0) - Bailey Henderson - Castlemaine 
8 - (2) - Abe Sheahan - Strathfieldsaye 
8 - (2) - Ben Thompson - Eaglehawk 
8 - (0) - Cobi Maxted - Sandhurst 
8 - (0) - Harry Whitty - Kangaroo Flat 
8 - (0) - Joel Wharton - Sandhurst 
7 - (0) - Zachary Greeves - Castlemaine 
7 - (0) - Fraser Russell - Maryborough 
7 - (0) - Sam Graham - Gisborne 
7 - (1) - Matthew Merrett - Gisborne 
6 - (1) - Jordan Rosengren - Golden Square 
6 - (2) - Kai Daniels - Golden Square 
6 - (0) - Lachie Hood - Sandhurst 
6 - (0) - Nicholas Stagg - Sandhurst 
6 - (2) - Riley Wilson - Strathfieldsaye 
6 - (0) - Ricky Monti - Golden Square 

Dragons fire up on Golden Square’s court

SANDHURST fired up to record a 34-goal victory at Golden Square in Saturday’s clash to complete the split sixth round of A-grade netball in the Bendigo Bank Bendigo FNL season.

The Dragons and Bulldogs met on Ron Best Memorial Shield day at Fur Life Oval in Golden Square’s Wade Street.

In the lead-up to the match, Golden Square coach Chris O’Sullivan stepped down from the role because of increased work commitments.

Director of coaching at the club, Teigan Redwood stepped up to be A-grade coach.

It was a tough initiation for Redwood and the young Golden Square team against last year’s runner-up.

The blue and gold worked hard against the Dragons who have had a disjointed run across the opening seven rounds.

On Saturday it was the Tamara Gilchrist-coached Sandhurst which was too strong in all thirds of the court.

Standings in the Bendigo FNL A-grade netball competition:

Kangaroo Flat 210 per cent, 16 points; Gisborne 163, 16; Sandhurst 181, 12; Strathfieldsaye 112, 12; Eaglehawk 72, 8; Castlemaine 78, 4; Golden Square 56, 4; South Bendigo 54, 4.

The Sandhurst Dragons were in top form on Golden Square’s courts in all grades of netball.

Sandhurst won the A-reserve contest, 49-26.

The maroon and blue won the B-grade match, 59-15.

Details from the B-reserve match were not supplied.

At 17-and-under level, Sandhurst marked a 61-34 victory against the blue and gold.

The rising stars of both clubs were unbeaten going into the match.

Indigenous Round will be played next Saturday.

Feature match of the day will be Kangaroo Flat against Castlemaine’s on the Kangaroos’ court at Dower Park from 2.20pm.

Gisborne plays Strathfieldsaye at Gisborne’s Gardiner Reserve.

Sandhurst faces Eaglehawk at Queen Elizabeth Oval.

It’s a bye for Golden Square in A-grade, but the Bulldogs will travel across to Maryborough’s Princes Park to play the Magpies in the lower grades.

South Bendigo has the bye.

League ladders:

A-reserve:

Gisborne 217 per cent, 20 points; Strathfieldsaye 154, 20; Kangaroo Flat 106, 14; Maryborough 100, 14; Sandhurst 107, 8; Castlemaine 90, 8; South Bendigo 72, 4; Eaglehawk 67, 4; Golden Square 63, 0.

B-grade:

Gisborne 216 per cent, 20 points; Kangaroo Flat 133, 20; Sandhurst 168 16; Strathfieldsaye 133, 16; South Bendigo 87, 8; Castlemaine 83, 8; Eaglehawk 81, 8; Golden Square 57, 0; Maryborough 39, 0.

B-reserve, pending result Golden Square v Sandhurst:

Strathfieldsaye 145 per cent, 20 points; Sandhurst 213, 16; Gisborne 192, 16; Kangaroo Flat 132, 12; South Bendigo 114, 12; Eaglehawk 114, 8; Golden Square 67, 4; Castlemaine 59, 4; Maryborough 29, 0.

17-and-under:

Sandhurst 224 per cent, 20 points; Golden Square 161, 20; Maryborough 103, 16; Strathfieldsaye 138, 12; Castlemaine 97, 8; South Bendigo 93, 8; Gisborne 90, 8; Eaglehawk 47, 4; Kangaroo Flat 41, 0.

KANGAROO Flat finally broke Sandhurst’s dominance against it to win the Bendigo Bank Bendigo FNL’s A-grade preliminary final on Saturday.

The Jayden Cowling-coached Kangaroos showed they had learnt a lot from the four-goal loss to the Dragons in the qualifying final as they took to the court at Queen Elizabeth Oval.

Led brilliantly by the play of Milly Wicks at wing defence and Abbey Ryan at goal attack, Kangaroo Flat surged to a nine-goal lead by half-time.

It was goal-for-goal throughout the third as the Flat maintained a nine-goal buffer.

The Tamara Gilchrist-coached Sandhurst capitalised on some turnovers in the final term to edge closer, but the Roos steadied and led 51-47 at the final siren.

Kangaroo Flat’s players and supporters celebrated a long-awaited victory against the maroon and blue.

The focus now moves on to a grand final showdown with reigning premier, Gisborne.

The Tarryn Rymer-coached Gisborne beat the Roos in the 18^th round.

Belief played a big part in the Roos’ latest triumph and will be the theme in trying to net the A-grade premiership trophy for the first time since 2016.

Kangaroo Flat was runner-up to long-time nemesis, Sandhurst in 2019 and ’22.

In this season’s run to the finals, Kangaroo Flat scored a six-goal win on Gisborne’s court in the ninth round.

During the year, Jayden Cowling and Tarryn Rymer teamed up as coach and assistant coach of the Bendigo Strikers 23-and-under team in its debut Victorian Netball League season.

It was a superb finish to the A-reserve preliminary final between Strathfieldsaye and Sandhurst.

Both teams had met in the qualifying final which went the way of the Dragons, 45-34.

After a seven-goal loss to Gisborne in the second semi-final, Sandhurst took on the Storm which had won the first semi-final against Maryborough by 10 goals.

It had been one-all between the Dragons and Storm across the home-and-away series.

Storm surged to a 41-38 victory in Saturday’s preliminary final and will now face Gisborne in the season decider.

Gisborne dominated the B-grade preliminary final against Kangaroo Flat.

The team in red, white and blue charged to a 57-38 victory.

It will be a big day of netball for Gisborne as it takes on Sandhurst in the grand final.

The Dragons have qualified for three grand finals.

Sandhurst marked a 51-32 victory against Strathfieldsaye in the B-reserve preliminary final.

First-up on Saturday were the 17-and-under teams from Golden Square and Strathfieldsaye.

It was the Bulldogs who controlled a lot of the contest to score a 56-37 victory against Storm’s rising stars.

Five clubs will be represented across grand final day.

Gisborne will be vying for premiership glory in four grades.

The Sandhurst Dragons will have three teams in action.

Golden Square, Kangaroo Flat and Strathfieldsaye Storm all have one team which has reached that one day in September.

Schedule for Saturday’s grand finals at Queen Elizabeth Oval, View Street:

17-and-under at 9am: Sandhurst v Golden Square.

B-reserve at 10.30am: Gisborne v Sandhurst.

B-grade at 12.00pm: Sandhurst v Gisborne.

A-reserve at 1.30pm: Gisborne v Strathfieldsaye.

A-grade at 3.00pm: Gisborne v Kangaroo Flat

THE Roos from Kangaroo Flat will be striving to end Sandhurst’s hoodoo whey clash in the Bendigo Bank Bendigo FNL’s A-grade netball preliminary final on Saturday.

The Kangaroos and Dragons will play from 3.20pm at Queen Elizabeth Oval in View Street in a clash to decide who faces Gisborne in the grand final.

All three previous meetings between the teams since this season have gone the way of the Tamara Gilchrist-coached Sandhurst.

Each time the Jayden Cowling-coached Kangaroos have reduced the deficit.

In round one, Sandhurst won 46-39 on the Kangaroos’ court in Dower Park.

Another great battle in the 10^th round ended in a 47-42 for the maroon and blue at Queen Elizabeth Oval.

Day one of the Bendigo FNL finals series included the qualifying final showdown between Sandhurst and Kangaroo Flat which went the way of the Dragons, 46-42.

Last Saturday it was Sandhurst against Gisborne in a rematch of the ’23 grand finalists in the second semi-final.

The Tarryn Rymer-coached Gisborne showed it will be tough to stop in its charge toward back-to-back premierships as it marked a 51-38 victory.

Key players in Sandhurst’s quest to contest another grand final include Heather Oliver and Bec Smith in attack, Shae Clifford in mid-court, and Ruby Turner in defence.

Gun defender Charlotte Sexton did not play in the second semi-final.

Kangaroo Flat dominated most of the second half against Eaglehawk to win the first semi-final by 33 goals.

Mid-court duels will be a highlight.

A player to watch is Kangaroo Flat centre and 2023 Betty Thompson medallist, Chelsea Sartori.

Kangaroo Flat has Annie Spear and Abbey Ryan as key targets in attack, Milly Wicks at wing defence, and Steph Greene in defence.

In A-reserve, Sandhurst takes on Strathfieldsaye from 2pm.

A big week for Strathfieldsaye began with gun goaler Lucy Spalding announced as joint winner of the Jenni Holborn Medal with Kangaroo Flat’s Emma Moroney as league fairest and best in Monday night’s league vote count on Radio Fresh fm 101.5.

Now the target for Spalding and her Storm team-mates will be on defeating the Dragons to earn a grand final berth against Gisborne.

Margins of three and a goal separated the Dragons and Storm in the home-and-away series.

Sandhurst won 38-35 on Storm’s court at Triple M Park in the eighth round.

In round 17 it was Strathfieldsaye which beat the Dragons, 45-44 at Queen Elizabeth Oval.

They met again in the qualifying final which went Sandhurst’s way, 45-34.

The Dragons were beaten in the second semi-final clash with Gisborne by seven goals.

Storm charged to a 51-41 win against Maryborough in the first semi-final.

In B-grade, Gisborne takes on Kangaroo Flat from 12.40pm.

A player to watch will be Gisborne’s Emma Joyce who was runner-up to Castlemaine’s Shae Denahy for the Carol Bingham Medal as league fairest and best.

It’s one-all in this season’s matches between the Bulldogs and Kangaroos.

Gisborne won the round nine match on its Gardiner Reserve court by 17 goals.

The Kangaroos bounced back for a 40-31 victory at Dower Park in the 18^th round.

After finishing the regular season with a 14-2 record and on top of the ladder, Gisborne was beaten, 50-46 in the second semi-final clash with Sandhurst.

Kangaroo Flat bounced back from a 45-34 loss to Sandhurst in the qualifying final to win the first semi against Strathfieldsaye by four goals.

It will be Sandhurst against Strathfieldsaye in the B-reserve match from 11.20am.

An unbeaten run by the Dragons in the home-and-away series included a 56-34 result at Strathfieldsaye’s Triple M Park in round eight, and 45-35 win against Storm at the QEO in the 17^th round.

The Dragons will be fired up after a 50-45 loss to Gisborne in last Saturday’s second semi-final.

Storm overcame a 37-goal loss to Gisborne on day one of the finals series in the qualifying final to beat Kangaroo Flat by three goals in the first semi-final.

Among the players to watch is Strathfieldsaye’s Chelsea Crapper who was runner-up to Gisborne’s Taylah Ranieri for the league fairest and best medal.

Preliminary final day begins with the 17-and-under match between Golden Square and Strathfieldsaye from 10am.

The Bulldogs’ run to a 15-1 record in the home-and-away series included a 49-43 win against Storm in round two at Fur Life Oval in Golden Square’s Wade Street.

Round 11 included a 47-30 win by the blue and gold on Storm’s court at Triple M Park in Tannery Lane.

After a 10-goal win against Maryborough in the qualifying final, Golden Square went down 39-60 against Sandhurst in the second semi-final.

Strathfieldsaye has made its way from a 59-56 win against Gisborne in the elimination final.

Storm fought on for a 61-59 victory in the first semi-final showdown with Maryborough.

Schedule for Bendigo FNL netball preliminary finals on Saturday at Queen Elizabeth Oval in View Street:

17-and-under at 10am: Golden Square v Strathfieldsaye.

B-reserve at 11.20am: Sandhurst v Strathfieldsaye.

B-grade at 12.40pm: Gisborne v Kangaroo Flat.

A-reserve at 2pm: Sandhurst v Strathfieldsaye.

A-grade at 3.20pm: Sandhurst v Kangaroo Flat

SANDHURST’S winning run against Kangaroo Flat kept rolling in Saturday’s start to the A-grade netball action in the Bendigo Bank Bendigo Football Netball League.

The Dragons and Kangaroos met in the rematch of last season’s grand finalists on the court adjacent to Queen Elizabeth Oval.