Sandhurst

The Bendigo Football Netball League would like to announce and congratulate the following list of 17 & Under netball players who have been selected in the 2023 BFNL 17 & Under representative squad:

2023 BFNL 17 & UNDER REP SQUAD

• KYLA BYRNE Castlemaine
• MILLIE CASSIDY Maryborough
• EDEN CLIFFORD South Bendigo
• BELLA CONNORS Gisborne
• REESE GILCHRIST Sandhurst
• EMMA KEATING Golden Square
• EMMA JOYCE Gisborne
• LAYLA O'SHEA Strathfieldsaye
• ELLA PATTEN Maryborough
• NEVE PINNER Sandhurst
• JAIDA RACO Sandhurst
• HOLLY SWATTON Golden Square
• DASH TAYLOR Gisborne
• MEGAN WILSON Castlemaine

The Bendigo FNL again welcome Nicole Donnellon and Sharni McPherson as co-coaches of the 17 & Under BFNL representative netball team to compete in the Netball Victoria Association Championships, after successfully leading the BFNL team to the Association Championships Finals in season 2022.

Nicole and Sharni bring a wealth of netball knowledge and growing levels of experience and success at BFNL, State, and regional Academy levels, and will again mentor and develop the brightest BFNL netball talent.

2023 KEY TOURNAMENT DATES
− Sunday 7th May Golden City Tournament (Bendigo)
− Sunday 14th May Echuca Tournament (Echuca)
− Sunday 21st May Netball Vic Association Championship - qualifying (Bendigo)
− Sunday 18th June Netball Vic Association Championship - finals (Melbourne)

BFNL Manager Cameron Tomlins said “The Bendigo Football Netball League sincerely thank all players who were able to commit to the 2023 BFNL netball representative program for showing interest and attending the trial process. We congratulate all players who were selected for the initial 17 & Under squad, who may now receive opportunities to represent the BFNL in 2023”.

“We also thank all players who trialled for season 2023 and were unsuccessful. The overall quality of the recent trials were of an incredibly high standard which is exciting for the future of BFNL netball. The BFNL wish all players the best with their future development and encourage them to trial for representative selection again in the future.”

GOLDEN Square regained its place as the Bendigo Bank Bendigo FNL’s top dog as it fought for a one-goal win against Sandhurst in the senior footy grand final.

Thousands of fans packed Queen Elizabeth Oval for what was the 10^th showdown between the great rivals for the Bendigo Advertiser premiership cup.

In a match where momentum swung wildly, especially in the final quarter it was the Christian Carter-coached Golden Square which held its nerve to win 71-65.

As he reflected on joining an elite group as a premiership player, captain, and now coach, Christian Carter declared the team of ’23 was capable of a lot more success.

“I believe this group has the hunger and quality to string more premierships together.”

Carter was a key player in the club’s golden era of 2009 to ’13 when it won five consecutive premierships.

The victorious coach said it was a mixture of excitement and relief on capturing the club’s 18^th senior premiership.

“This win means a lot to so many people, not just the 22 who played, but every player, official, volunteer, and supporter,” Carter said.

After an inaccurate first quarter in which it scored 2.6, Golden Square went to the break a point behind Sandhurst which had added 3.1.

In term two it was the Bulldogs on-ballers Ricky Monti, Ryan Hartley and Thomas Toma who started to take control around the contests.

Bulldogs’ ruckman Matt Compston had the daunting task against Hamish Hosking and was superb.

“The way Matt changed his game and angles was brilliant,” said Carter.

A key strength for Square is it work at stoppages and ability to work the ball to a running team-mate.

In the second quarter the blue and gold added 3.2 to 1.2.

By half-time Golden Square was up 38-27 against a Dragons team coached by Ash Connick, non-playing, and Bryce Curnow, playing.

Sandhurst not only charged back into the contest in the third quarter, but to the front.

Young guns Noah Walsh and Sam Conforti were outstanding at the centre ball-ups and their running game started to hurt the opposition.

As the Dragons added 3.4 they kept the Dogs to a score of 1.1.

Sandhurst was up 49-45 going into the final term.

The Bulldogs regain the lead when Liam Barrett kicks the first of what would be three goals in the last quarter.

Sandhurst veteran Andy Collins marks and makes no mistake for Sandhurst to be up 55-52 in the early minutes of the term.

Consecutive goals by Barrett, one from a set-shot and the other a bouncing shot put Golden Square in front by eight points.

Talented teenager Archer Day-Wicks took another brilliant mark and goaled for the Dragons.

When Joel Brett handpassed to Liam Duguid in the clear to goal the Dogs led 71-63 in the 20^th minute.

From there it was the Dragons who fired up and did plenty of attacking.

Golden Square’s defence was under enormous pressure as Sandhurst was relentless in putting the ball back inside the forward 50m arc.

After 30 minutes of superb footy the siren sounded with Square in front, 10.11 (71) to 9.11 (65).

“There were so many critical moments in that last quarter,” Carter said.

“Our ability to lock the ball in, pressure and tackle is what we work a lot in training.”

In an attack which featured the brilliance of Joel Brett and marking power of Braydon Vaz it was Liam Barrett who kicked a team-high three goals for the Bulldogs.

Brett finished with two goals as Liam Duguid, Hugh Freckleton, Ryan Hartley, Thomas Toma and Braydon Vaz added one each.

Best for the Bulldogs were Jack Geary who earned the Nalder Medal as best afield for the third time in his brilliant career.

The play of Ricky Monti, Tom Strauch, Matt Compston, Ryan Hartley and Thomas Toma was superb in that match which matters most.

In a season where he played his 250^th game for Sandhurst, Matt Thornton led the attack on grand final day with three goals.

Andy Collins and Sam Conforti kicked two as Archer Day-Wicks and Jake McLean added one.

Noah Walsh earned the AFL Victoria medal and was Sandhurst’s best along with Sam Conforti, Hamish Hosking, Jake McLean, Isaac  Ruff and Nicholas Stagg.

For most of Golden Square’s team it was their first senior premiership victory.

League legend and Bulldogs’ captain Jack Geary marked his sixth.

It was another grand final win for the athletic Hamish Morcom who will now join Huntly as playing coach in the Heathcote DFNL.

Tom Strauch joined his late grandfather Neville Strauch and dad Dean Strauch as a premiership player for Golden Square.

It was a day to remember for all of the 22 players who took to the field for Golden Square, along with the coaches, support staff, volunteers and fans.

There were also the hard-luck stories of Jack Merrin and Terrence Reeves who had been hit by season-ending injuries.

Golden Square won 17 matches in a row to complete a superb season.

“The loss to South Bendigo by a point in round four was the wake-up call we needed,” Carter said.

“At the time we realised we were not as good as we thought we may have been.

“To the boys’ credit they worked incredibly hard from there on in every match and training session.”

Golden Square’s premiership-winning team:

B: Jake Thrum, Zack Shelton, Harrison Burke.

Hb: Jon Coe, Jayden Burke, Jack Hickman.

C: Jack Threlfall, Ricky Monti, Thomas Toma.

Hf: Hamish Morcom, Tom Strauch, Liam Barrett.

F: Jack Stewart, Braydon Vaz, Joel Brett.

Foll: Matt Compston, Jack Geary, Ryan Hartley.

Inter: Liam Duguid, Hugh Freckleton, Brodie James, Zavier Murley.

Emerg: Macey Eaton.

Coach: Christian Carter.

In the Harmac Homes-backed reserves competition it was Sandhurst which outplayed and outran Eaglehawk to taste premiership glory.

For the second time in four weeks it was the Jake McLean-coached Sandhurst which beat the Borough.

The Darcy Richards-coached Eaglehawk went into the grand final on a win-loss tally of 17-1 in the home and away series and had beaten Sandhurst in the second semi.

In the grand final the Dragons led 14-6 at quarter-time and 21-12 by half-time.

Quarter three was when the Dragons turned up the heat.

As Sandhurst scored 4.1 it held the Hawks to a score of 1.2.

Eaglehawk won the final quarter, 16-7, but it was a Sandhurst team captained by Pat O’Farrell which celebrated a 17-point victory.

Luke Crawford and Joel Wharton kicked two goals apiece in the 8.5 (53) to 5.6 (36) victory for the maroon and blue.

Other goalkickers for Sandhurst were Harrison Free, Jack Keating, Jacob Nihill and Sean O’Farrell.

Goalkickers for the Hawks were Jack Daley, Liam Drummond, Jacob Greenwood, Ethan Hanley and Ryan Wellington.

Best afield honours went to Sandhurst’s Harrison Free who was presented with the R.F. Turner Medal.

Also in the best for the Dragons were Harrison Free, Jack Keating, Martin Leyden, Tom Calvert, Sean O’Farrrell and Luke Crawford.

Jack Daley, Ethan Hanley, Oscar Madden, Harley Bourke, Mitchell Ronchieri and Sam Dean were best for the Two Blues.

It was back-to-back premiership wins for Gisborne in the SportsPower-backed under-18s competition.

A thrilling contest between Gisborne and Golden Square ended in a 53-49 victory for Gisborne.

At the end of a hard-fought opening term it was Golden Square which led 13-7.

The Rob Kerr-coached Gisborne dominated most of the second term and led 25-15 by half-time.

Golden Square won the third term, 15-12, and then took the lead in the final quarter.

Jointly coached by Rowan Warfe and Paul Hamilton, Golden Square had scored 3.1 in the last, but a second and final goal of the match by Gisborne clinched a four-point victory.

A four-goal haul by Gisborne’s James Gray earned the Rod Ashman Medal for best afield.

Other goalkickers for the red, white and blue were Jack Clough with two, Jarrod Ainsworth and Matthew Barake.

Golden Square’s attack was led by Jack McMahon on three goals and he earned the AFL Victoria medal.

Other goalkickers for the blue and gold were Bailey Cain, Harrison Kelly, Tommi Turner and Noah Warfe.

Best for Gisborne were Kane Minns, James Gray, James Gentles, Ed Williams, Jarrod Ainsworth and Flynn Weber.

Jack McMahon, Nick Sherriff, Zac Wescott, Oliver Eaton, Xavier Carter and Tommi Turner were Golden Square’s best.

A BRILLIANT final quarter fightback has put Sandhurst into another senior footy grand final in the Bendigo Bank Bendigo FNL action.

The Dragons faced a three-goal deficit going into the final quarter of last Saturday’s preliminary final against Strathfieldsaye Storm at Queen Elizabeth Oval.

After being beaten just once in the home-and-away series, Sandhurst faced the prospect of consecutive finals defeat which would put it out of the premiership race.

A team jointly coached by Ash Connick, non-playing, and Bryce Curnow, playing, dominated most of the last term of Saturday’s contest.

The Dragons slammed on 6.3 which included brilliant goals by Archer Day-Wicks from an acute angle and a shot by Nick Stagg beyond the 50m arc.

At the final siren the Dragons led 11.15 (81) to 11.7 (73) to advance to next Saturday’s showdown with the Christian Carter-coached Golden Square for the Bendigo Advertiser premiership cup.

In the preliminary final an inaccurate Sandhurst led 5.10 to 4.2 at half-time.

The Darryl Wilson-coached Storm then surged to an 18-point lead as it dominated the third term.

Strathfieldsaye added 5.4 and kept the maroon and blue to a tally of two behinds which put the heat right on the Dragons.

Inspired by the play of ruckman Hamish Hosking and on-ballers Noah Walsh and Sam Conforti it was Sandhurst which stormed to victory in what would be Darryl Wilson’s final game as Strathfieldsaye coach.

The Dragons’ attack was led by the experienced Andy Collins and Matt Thornton with two goals apiece.

Other goalkickers were James Coghlan, Archer Day-Wicks, Hamish Hosking, Jake McLean, Nick Stagg and Noah Walsh.

Storm co-captain Lachlan Sharp kicked three goals which took his season tally to 98 as he claimed the Ron Best Medal for a third time.

Other goalkickers for Strathfieldsaye were Jed Brereton, Lachlan Gill, Hunter Lawrence, Joseph Mayes, Jake Moorhead,  Bode Stevens, Luke Webb and Riley Wilson.

Sandhurst’s best included Liam Ireland, Caleb Connick and Nick Stagg.

Storm’s best were Cooper Jones, Luke Webb, Jake Moorhead, Callum McCarty, Daniel Clohesy and Jed Brereton.

It was a thrilling finish to the reserves preliminary final between Sandhurst and Strathfieldsaye.

The Dragons led 36-21 at half-time of the match in the Harmac Homes-backed competition.

Storm moved within eight points going into the last quarter as it scored 1.2 to a behind in the third term.

Both line-ups kicked two goals in the last as the Dragons fought on for a 50-45 victory.

Sandhurst’s attack was led by Joel Wharton with two goals as Harrison Free, Brodie Montague, Sean O’Farrell, Connor Sexton and Jed Zimmer added one.

Goalkickers for Storm were Abe Sheahan, two; Dermott Bell, Lachlan Bonney, Jai Featherby and Shannon Murphy.

The Dragons’ best were Harrison Free, Isaac Carracher, Brodie Montague, Joel Wharton, Patrick and Sean O’Farrell.

Brady Hore, Darcy Mulquiny, Carson James, Joel Reinheimer, Abe Sheahan and Harry Teasdale were Strathfieldsaye’s best.

Sandhurst will now tackle Eaglehawk in the grand final.

The Hawks’ only loss in the home-and-away series was in the 18^th round when it played Sandhurst on the QEO.

Both teams met in the second semi where the Borough won by 52 points.

Gisborne dominated the second half of the SportsPower under-18s preliminary final clash with Sandhurst.

The Bulldogs led 16-13 at half-time and then scored 3.1 to a behind in the third quarter.

Led by the play of Jack Long, Frankie Ellis and Indy Williamson, Gisborne kicked away to record an 8.13 (61) to 3.6 (24) victory.

Zach Paterson kicked a game-high three goals for the red, white and blue.

Other goalkickers for the Bulldogs were Lachie Bianco, Jack Clough, Hamish Thomas, Ed Williams and Indy Williamson.

Sandhurst’s goals were kicked by Callum Craig, Wil Pinniger and Isaac Tzouroutis.

Best for Gisborne included Lachie Bianco, Lachlan Evans and Kane Minns.

Oliver Morris, Deakin Andrews, Davis McNair, Wil Pinniger, Daniel Noden and Logan Kilcullen played well for the Dragons.

It’s an all-Bulldogs clash in Saturday’s grand final as Golden Square takes on Gisborne.

They met in the second semi where Golden Square marked a three-goal victory.

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

Under-18s at 9.15am: Golden Square v Gisborne.

Reserves at 11.50am: Eaglehawk v Sandhurst.

Seniors at 2.20pm: Golden Square v Sandhurst.

Sandhurst strives to end Strathfieldsaye’s streak

SANDHURST will be striving to end an incredible streak by Strathfieldsaye when they clash in the Bendigo Bank Bendigo FNL senior footy preliminary final on Saturday.

Victory for Sandhurst would not only put it in the grand final, but also put a stop to Storm’s run of being there on that one day in September.

Since 2013, Strathfieldsaye has played in seven of eight grand finals and won the Bendigo Advertiser premiership cup four times.

The run by the Darryl Wilson-coached Storm includes the back-to-back grand final triumphs against Sandhurst in 2014 and ’15 by margins of 55 and seven points.

Sandhurst’s most recent grand final appearance was in 2016 when it beat Golden Square by 32 points.

This season’s meetings between the Dragons and Storm stand at two-nil in favour of Sandhurst.

After finishing the home and away series on top of the ladder and earning a week’s rest, Sandhurst could not stop Golden Square’s charge to victory in the second semi-final.

Now the heat’s on against a Storm line-up which has gone win, loss, win across its three finals contests.

Among the key duels will be just who does oppose Storm captain and Ron Best medallist Lachlan Sharp.

The sharpshooter goes into this match on a season tally of 95 goals.

When these teams last met it was James Coghlan who did a brilliant job limiting Sharp’s impact on the contest.

One of the best forwards in league history, Sharp kicked 142 goals and won the Michelsen Medal when Storm won the 2017 premiership.

In 2019 he booted 129 goals and Strathfieldsaye beat Eaglehawk for the premiership cup.

Best afield and recipient of the Nalder Medal was Bryce Curnow who alternated between centre half-back and centre half-forward as he played all four quarters at the city end of the ground.

On Saturday, Curnow will be aiming to play a crucial role for the Dragons.

Key players for a Sandhurst team coached by Ash Connick, non-playing, and Bryce Curnow, captain Lee Coghlan, Andy Collins, ruckman Hamish Hosking, Sam Conforti, Lachlan Wright and Noah Walsh.

It was 14 years ago that Lee Coghlan became one of the youngest winners of the Michelsen Medal.

Whether it be in an on-ball role or in attack, Lee Coghlan is one of Sandhurst’s most valuable players.

Storm’s stars include Jake Moorhead who earned the Michelsen Medal in 2022.

This season he racked up plenty of matches in the VFL with Essendon, but has returned to play a key role in Storm’s push for another premiership.

Selected as ruck-rover, Moorhead will team up with ruckman Jed Brereton, rover Callum McCarty, and centre Lachlan Gill for the important centre ball-ups.

Storm’s attack features the marking power of James Schischka and Caleb Ernst, and the pace and skill of Matt Harvey, Baxter Slater and Riley Wilson at ground level.

In defence it will be Lachlan Ratcliffe, Ben Lester, Mitch Hallinan and Luke Webb who not work to stifle Sandhurst’s moves, but also be a launching pad into attack.

They will be up against Lachlan Wright, Matt Thornton, Cobi Maxted and Nick Stagg.

The Dragons’ line-up also features Archer Day-Wicks, son of Tim Wicks, a triple winner of the Frank Harding Medal as the Loddon Valley FNL’s best and fairest in his playing days with Mitiamo.

Wicks was also part of Strathfieldsaye’s first senior team in the BFNL.

Archer’s grandfather, Terry Day was a champion ruck-rover or centreman in North Bendigo’s premiership-winning years of 1976 and ’77.

On Saturday it will be Dragons’ youngsters such as Day-Wicks, Noah Walsh, Darcy Mills and Cooper Smith giving their all to ensure victory.

Strathfieldsaye also has the experience of Shannon Geary and Daniel Clohesy.

In the reserves it’s Sandhurst against Strathfieldsaye from 12.45pm.

The Dragons won the qualifying final against Golden Square by 53 points, but were outplayed in the second semi showdown with Eaglehawk.

A 52-point victory put the Hawks into the grand final.

Key players for Sandhurst include Brodie Montague, Will Moran, Harrison Monk, Sean O’Farrell and Jake Wilkinson.

Storm’s run in the finals began by eliminating Gisborne.

Strathfieldsaye then scored an eight-goal win against Golden Square in the first semi.

Captain Wade Kinniburgh and Harry Teasdale were Storm’s leading votegetters in the race for the Alan McDonald Medal awarded to the league’s fairest and best.

Storm’s line-up to take on the Dragons includes Lachlan Bonney, Ethan and Jai Featherby, Rowan Fox, Brady Hore, Carson James and Shannon Murphy.

Preliminary final day kicks off with the under-18s match between Gisborne and Sandhurst at 10.45am.

These teams met in the qualifying final where Gisborne marked a 70-22 victory.

In last Saturday’s second semi, Gisborne went down to Golden Square by three goals.

Sandhurst won the first semi against Maryborough by 49 points.

A talented Gisborne team includes captain Kane Minns, Jarrod Ainsworth in the centre, Darcy Young, Matthew Barake and Jacob Grinter.

The Dragons will look for big games from the likes of Logan Kilcullen, Thaine Bake, Jack English, Wil Pinniger, Jacob Austin and Henry Edwards to earn a crack at the Bulldogs for a premiership victory.