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