A cold and wet morning met the Under 12 Roos as they took on an in-form Wodonga Raiders side at John Foord Oval.
The boys were slow out of the blocks, allowing the Raiders to move the ball efficiently upfield. A missed opportunity spurred the boys into action and Abe Spencer and Huddo Kuschert started to apply heavy pressure on the defensive end.
Will Massey was dominating the ruck and providing clean ball for Eli Bonnitcha and Will Forrest.
A clean run forward saw the ball move through Harry Webb up to Leo Davis. Chasing hard, Leo was able to lay a clean tackle, winning the free kick and slotting home the first goal of the match.
Again, good efficiency out of the middle saw the ball arrive in Cooper Patten's eager hands, providing the opportunity to slot the team's second goal via a right-foot snap. The boys went into the first break with an 11-point advantage.
The drizzly, wet conditions started to take a toll in the second term. As the ball became soapy, the marking started to fall away, and the boys were required to work hard.
Strong defensive pressure from Billy Barlow and a typically energetic display from Josh Parker allowed Aiden Ratcliffe and Charlie Kay opportunities to shift the ball forward.
Jake Witherden and Lachie Douglas were patrolling the wings well, providing good width and Levi Arnold was showing good intensity on the ball.
The half-time chat was centred around moving the ball. However, the wet conditions made this difficult. The Raiders started to find their flow, and much was asked of the Roos' backline. Aiden Wintle stood tall in defence and held them to just one point in the third term.
Again, Coach Patto asked for width and space in the final term. The Roos started to flow and Josh Hunter, having moved forward, was able to dominate the forward 50. A couple of range-finders were necessarily, but he eventually slotted a calming goal, paving the way or another to Eli Bonnitcha minutes later.
This was a really excellent whole-team effort and sets the boys up for big week of training for next week's semi-final.
Final Score: Corowa (4.3.27) def. Wodonga Raiders (1.2.8)
Awards this week went to Will Forrest, Hudson Kuschert, Will Massey, Aiden WIntle, Josh Hunter, Josh Parker, Abe Spencer, Leo Davis and the training award went to Nate Fenn.
Under 14s
The last game of the season saw the boys exact some revenge on Raiders Red after a controversial loss earlier in the season.
The opening ten minutes set the tone for the game as the young Roos lit up the scoreboard.
Forge, Longmire, Hanrahan and Hall were running riot as they banged on the first 5 goals of the game.
The intent of all players was fantastic as they handled and shared the ball cleanly.
A couple of end-to-end passages of play had the crowd applauding.
Archer Coppolino’s star continues to rise as his athleticism and disposal skills set the game up from half back.
Emmett Northey was playing a great game in the ruck also.
The most pleasing aspect of the season has been the improvement in bottom age players such as Lachy Ireland, Anderson, Moore, Arnold, Lavis and Murray-Wright to name a few.
The procession continued to the final siren as they recorded a 100-26 win.
Tex Longmire’s 6 and Jayden Forge with 5 were dominant while Hanrahan, Wynne and Hall were fantastic all day.
Well done boys; a great reward for grinding it out at training all year.
Under 16s
In an early elimination final, the lads were desperate to hold onto fourth spot against a very strong 2nd placed Raiders team in the last game before finals.
The opening bounce saw the Roos clear the ball only to have it rebound from half forward. The Raiders pounced demonstrating why there second on the ladder with a quick goal.
However, Mitch Parker had other ideas and put his head over the footy and showed the other boys how to win a hard ball, gathering some momentum.
Isaac Dickinson kicked a lovely goal to get the Roos game going. Caile Duryea and Jack Eales were running to all the right spots, looking to have the better of their opponents.
Lachie Hogan worked hard in the ruck, and Judd Kuschert had his moments for the term, however the Raiders looked the stronger team and lead 24 to 7 at the first stoppage.
Some minor adjustments were made with Tom Forrest into the ruck, and Ethan Lane full back of all year moved to center half forward. The change saw the Roos score six goals to level the game.
Ethan’s first goal of the year came at a great time. Jack Eales stayed deep in the goal square and became a real target with a couple for the term, Jaxson Bolger started to have a midfield presence. Suddenly the Roos had their running game going.
The half back Jay Lavis and Ed Kruetzberger were dominate and allowed the Roos to have the scores level at the halftime break, 44 all.
The third term again saw the Roos dominate the first 12 minutes and grab a 2-goal lead, but good sides find their way and the Raiders kicked 5 straight goals with the Roos unable to halt their momentum.
Angus Massey was superb down deep in defense and Hayden Barber never stopped trying, Mitch Parker had a tag assigned to him as he dominated.
The last break suddenly the Roos 20 points behind and finals slipping away.
Jay Lavis went into the midfield as did Angus Massey and helped out, and as hard as all the boys tried they were unable to break free, the last quarter 2 goals to 1 and some very tired boys.
Top game of footy, 16 goals to 12, Raiders dominate forward the difference. Well done to all the boys and the coaches for a great season!
Awards- Rivalea Award- Mitch Parker, Moloney Real Estate- Jack Eales, Boyer Automotive- Ethan Lane
A & A Automotive- Jay Lavis, Peter Ellis- Ed Kruetzberger, Upton Engineering- Angus Massey, Sportspower- Tom Forrest.
The Roos would like to thank all their sponsors for supporting them this year.
29°C