FOOTBALL
Seniors
Darley 7.10.51 def Sebastopol 6.11.47
Goal scorers: H. Inglis (2), A. Azzopardi, A. Azzopardi, D. Fawcett, R. Matricardi, L. Spiteri
Best players: Adam Azzopardi, Matthew Brett, Jack Crawford, Luther Baker, Matt Denham, Darcy Matricardi
Round 14 saw us take on a full strength Sebastopol team knowing a whole team effort was needed if we were to get back on the winners board.
Despite a slow start, the boys looked to be up for the challenge, standing up to Sebastopol’s physicality around the ball and applying plenty of pressure themselves to go in five point leaders at quarter time.
Adam Azzopardi, Denham and Baker were competing hard around the contest and providing impetus forward where Angwin and J Cadman were competing hard often outnumbered in the air to give our ground level players a chance.
An arm wrestle ensued, with our boys holding their noses in front due to some stout defending from Matty Brett, Crawford and Bailey Bishop.
Sebas threw everything at us late, but our young group held their nerve to clinch a nail biting, very important five point win as we go into our final bye for the year.
Rest up, freshen up and look to prepare for the business end of the year.
Go Devils!
DJ
Reserves
Darley 3.4.22 def by Sebastopol 14.12.96
Goal Scorers: L. Noonan, S. Sanders, L.Vassallo
Best players: Jarrod White, Liam Noonan, James McNair, Ryan Densley, Drew Locke, Noah Baker
Under 19s
Darley 4.4.28 def by Sebastopol 10.13.73
Goal Scorers: N. Cadman, J. Davies, L. Smits, K. Williams
Best Players: Chase Sanders, Cooper Growcott, Kristian Williams, Jack Watson, Nicholas Cadman, Jackson Davies
We welcomed Sebastopol to Darley park for our round 14 clash.
With our lower numbers we had a large number of our Under 17s get an opportunity to come up and play with us.
We also welcomed back Charlie Taylor and Damo Nitschke back to the team from injuries.
The contest started very close and we were going goal for goal. Our clearance game and stoppage work was definitely a strong point early on and that was spearheaded by our captain Cooper Growcott who was a real driving force for us from start to finish.
From quarter time to the end of the game Sebastopol took over and showed they were a class opponent and we would make minor mistakes which the opponent punished us for and unfortunately that was the difference.
By the time we headed to our last break the task was too tall for us to reach, but to the teams credit the boys fought to the very last whistle and gave a 10/10 effort.
Josh Baker
Womens
Darley 8.5.53 def Carisbrook 3.5.23
Goal Scorers: K. Bessell (4), M. Clarke (4)
Best Players: Amelia Williams Otutaha, Matilda Rawlings, Charli Parsons-Jones, Evie Johnson, Madalyn Clarke, Kim Bessell
In what was possibly an unrecognisable team from our previous weeks having only 11 senior players to call upon, it was also a chance and privilege to have 5 x U16’s players come in and help the seniors. This included Charli Parsons-Jones (PJ), Tahlia Dodd, Evie Johnson and playing their first senior games, Scarlette Guarino and Tahli Sciarra.
The pre-game talk was about the opportunity for players to perform when required and that some would need to do a bit more of the heavy lifting than they were used to doing, and they did not disappoint as everyone played an important role and with the enthusiasm that the U16 girls brought into the game, it became infectious with a whole team approach and a victory the girls should be proud of achieving.
Mia Otutaha led strongly in the ruck and Matilda Rawlings played a great game being thrown into the middle rotations, but we should also speak about our junior girls who played three quarters of a game prior to coming in and playing senior football.
As I said the enthusiasm that they generated lifted the team and went a long way in helping with the victory. It was also a good game to see who was going to do what with many of our starting line-up not available.
There was plenty of run being provided by Abbey Killeen and Macy Le Huray who linked up well with ‘PJ’, Scarlette Guarino and Tahlia Dodd driving the ball into our forward line where Kim Bessell and Madalyn Clarke were abe to finish of all the hard work that was done up the ground.
Many players found themselves playing in positions that they would not normally play in, so it was a great team effort with some players playing possibly their best games for the year; Nat Wilks, Kiera Moran, Tahlia Tschujasehenko and Shara Taylor who applied pressure at every contest they attended.
Our young and inexperienced defence held up well for the game where Evie Johnson and Tahli Sciarra played their roles with the support of Susan Watson and by working together, foiled many attacks.
The pathway being created between our junior and senior team continues to grow and the club will be the beneficiary over the next few years as our junior’s progress though their age groups.
We now focus on and prepare for our next game this Sunday 4th August where we will play Redan in the last H&A game for the season, commencing at 12.45 pm at City Oval and even though the game is in Ballarat, it would be great to see as many as possible come out to support and barrack for our women’s team.
Brett Faulkhead, Coach
NETBALL
Under 19s
Darley 53 def Sebastopol 19
Best players:
Goal scorers:
A fantastic win from our 19s team this week. We came out incredibly strong and bet Sebas at every turn.
With a score of 13-3 at quarter time, we had gained such good momentum which carried on through the game to leave us with a 52-19 win.
A big shoutout to Sarah who shot at 100% accuracy and killed it down in the circle with 16 of the 52 goals.
Tyler and Ella continue to show how strong they are in the circle and the talent they bring to the team.
Down in defence, Addi, Chelsea, Alyssa and Holly dominated in the circle stopping nearly every ball that came their way.
Lauren and Ava showed their awesome running efforts through centre and WD with consistency down the court.
Overall it was a brilliant game that showed we are back to our usual strength after close games in the past few weeks.
Sophia
E Grade
Darley 25 def by Sebastopol 37
Best players:
Goal scorers:
It was our second time playing Sebastopol this season and remained a close competitive game for the first three quarters, however the Burras were able to stamp their authority on the game in the last. The game showed us how far we have come as a team and the connections we’ve built.
Lisa
D Grade
Darley 13 def by Sebastopol 31
Best players:
Goal scorers:
Despite the score, we definitely played the four quarters out with all we had.
The last couple of games has showed we don’t work great in the wet, and is something we hopefully won’t have to do again this season.
But there were still a lot of positives to keep in the back of our minds as we gear up for the business end of the season with finals in our sights.
Caitlin
C Grade
Darley 18 def by Sebastopol 27
Best players:
Goal scorers:
It was a hard week for the C grade girls, with a loss against Sebastopol 18-27.
Sebastopol is one of the top sides with some really experienced players.
Nonetheless, our defenders showed consistent pressure and worked so well together.
Our mid courters also had a good game and showed great passages of play to help bring the ball down to our shooters.
With the weather not in our favour and a few slip ups, Sebastopol were able to take advantage and secure their 9 point lead.
Bad luck this week girls.
Brittney
B Grade
Darley 37 def Sebastopol 17
Best players:
Goal scorers:
What an incredible effort for all of the girls this week.
We were able to start strong and be relentless with our defensive pressure across all thirds of the court!!
These past few weeks this team has been building our confidence in each other and more importantly trust in one another to play our role on the court.
One of the best defensive efforts came from our goal attack Sarah who worked so hard at every turn over to get the ball back in Darley hands.
Proud of the girls is an understatement and we look forward to the next challenge that will be Sunbury.
Well done girls
Kaylee
A Grade
Darley 62 def Sebastopol 33
Best players:
Goal scorers:
A comfortable win in the wet conditions for our A grade side.
The girls came out firing scoring 16 in the first and keeping Sebas to only 4 goals through some outstanding defensive efforts in the circle from Matilda Elliot and Anna Lawley.
Shannon Blackman was well and truly back in form absolutely dominating both defensively and offensively through the mid.
A number of different combinations were tried and each rotation seamlessly fit into the team’s dynamic.
Overall, it was a great game that demonstrated our composure and we were happy to come away with a 29 goal win.
Monique