U16 FOOTBALL INTERLEAGUE – EDFNL v WGFNC REVIEW
In the U16 Interleague clash on Wednesday night between the Ellinbank & District FNL (EDFNL) and the West Gippsland FNC (WGFNC) at the Lang Lang Community reserve in Caldermeade - the EDFNL pressed the WGFNC for three and a half quarters before the visitors drew clear with the final three goals of the match to run out 21-point victors in bitterly cold but dry conditions. The hard-fought win made it back-to-back victories for the WGFNC after it secured a 58-pointvictory in last year’s game.
The opening quarter saw the WGFNC kick early and late goals to go into the first break with a 10-point lead. It was a real arm wrestle for the 15 minutes between the goals and the good crowd in attendance could not help but be impressed with the tackling and pressure applied by the EDFNL when it did not have the ball.
In the second term the EDFNL generated far more inside 50’s and were rewarded with late goals by Archie Thompson with a clever snap and Charlie Armour to take a two-pointadvantage into the main break. The EDFNL held the WGFNC goal less during the quarter largely due to many timely interceptions by full back Charlie Kilmartin, centre half back Riley Butters and half back Dan Christian while Blair Loft did well to quell the early dominance of WGFNC playmaker Jeremy Kelly.
In the third quarter the WGFNC midfield lifted and thrust the ball forward on a regular basis but could only manage two majors - but enough to hold an eight-point lead at three quarter time. The highlight of the term was a brilliant goal by the well performed EDFNL vice-captain Declan Shortis who spun out of heavy traffic to steer through the goal of the match. In the last quarter the WGFNC finished the stronger and with goals at the 11 & 18-minute mark it achieved a well-deserved win.
While the EDFNL were outplayed in the last quarter it was not for lack of effort. To cut them some slack it did not have an interchange bench to draw upon after three quarter time due to a few injuries and the boys appeared to tire in the later part of the term. Declan Shortis provided plenty of run and grunt around packs and was awarded by coach Sam Pratt the EDFNL best on ground medal. Defenders Charlie Kilmartin, Dan Christian, Riley Butters and ruckman Nate Murphy provided a lot of resistance while Blair Loft, Ethan Seskis, captain Gavin Monson, Jhy Good and Jesse Etchell all produced some fine moments in a solid team effort.
Congratulations to the WGFNC. It’s defence proved hard to penetrate and its forwards displayed more polish. Ruck rover Jeremy Kelly from Phillip Island was presented with the WGFNC best player medal by their coach Jason Hill post-match. The EDFNL thank the WGFNC Operations Manager Brett Tessari and his league for their co-operation in makingthe match happen for the second consecutive year for once again there was no U16 Gippsland carnival this season.
The league executive would like to acknowledge the coaches over the campaign, Sam Pratt & Lachlan Guy, assistants Stuart Casey, Zac Gray & Matt Irwin. Also, thanks to our trainers, Helen Bould, Jess Short, Hailey McCauley, Patrick Dorian and Alan Massaro who helped over the last six weeks. Also thanks to photographer Jeff Tull, timekeeper Keith Fort, the Lang Lang Football Netball club for the use their ground and facilities and the Gippsland Umpires Association # who officiated the match.
Much appreciation to the EDFNL Junior Co-Ordinator Stephen Pratt for the preparation he put in that made this match a bigsuccess. The league is also grateful to all families and friends that provided the boys with transport and attended training and tonight’s match. The EDFNL Board of Management strongly believe thestrength of all clubs and the league centres around the development of its junior ranks thus looking forward to this match being an annual fixture.
# Denotes our GUA umpires who officiated were:
Field – James Trowbridge, Simon Finger & Flynn Pallot.
Boundary – River Firth, Katherine Groendahl & Lauren Finger.
Goal – Zaiden West & Thom Dunham.
QTR by QTR SCORES
EDFNL : 0.2.22.4.163.4.223.5.23
WGFNL: 2.0.122.1.134.6.306.8.44
EDFNL Goals: - Archie Thompson, Declan Shortis & Charlie Armour.
EDFNL Best:-Declan Shortis (BOG medal), Nate Murphy, Charlie Kilmartin, Dan Christian, Charlie Armour & Blair Loft.
