TRFM Gippsland League’s senior football team has fallen to a disappointing defeat at Saturday’s Worksafe AFL Victoria Community Championships at Woori Yallock Recreation Reserve.
The Gippsland team entered the annual clash as a firm favourite but was overpowered by a spirited and committed performance from the home side, 16.15 (111) to 6.15 (51).
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It was not all bad news for Gippsland, which claimed victory in the open netball, under-18 football and 17-and-under netball matches.
However, defeat in the showpiece event was tough to swallow as it left the proud league languishing in 15th place on the AFL Victoria rankings.
A fast start proved crucial for Yarra Ranges, who tallied the first five goals of the game, while Gippsland lost key defender Adrian Slottje to a knee injury in the opening minute of the contest.
Slottje was taken to hospital for scans and when Tim Northe went down with a calf injury midway through the second term, the visitors were down two bench rotations before half-time.
But the bigger problem was on the scoreboard, with late opening term goals to Chris Dunne and Mitch Bennett and coach Harmit Singh’s quarter-time team talk failing to have the desired effect.
Yarra Ranges outscored the visitors four goals to one in the second term, with their relentless pressure pinning Gippsland in its defensive half and leading to a series of costly turnovers at half-back.
The home side also used the small ground to their advantage, setting up better at the stoppages, finding pockets of space between the lines and making the most of their height against an undersized Gippsland defence.
Gippsland limited the damage in the third quarter, but Yarra Ranges kicked away again in the last to win by 60 points.
Warragul’s Brad Scalzo was awarded the AFL Victoria Medal as Gippsland’s man of the match.
Bairnsdale’s Russell Cowan, Traralgon’s Ben Amberg, Maffra’s Daniel Bedggood and Leongatha pair Tom Marriott and Zak Vernon were also named in Gippsland’s best.
Gippsland is now 15th on the 2018 Worksafe AFL Victoria Community Championships rankings and appears likely to face Bellarine Football Netball League in game eight of next year’s championships.
An impressive second half lifted Gippsland to a 39-point win in the under-18 game.
With scores level at half-time, coach Kristian Gray rallied his troops to find another gear and they responded by restricting Yarra Ranges to one second half goal on their way to a 12.9 (81) to 5.12 (42) win.
Morwell’s Anthony Rosato was awarded the AFL Victoria Medal as Gippsland’s best player, with Moe’s Josh Galea, Leongatha pair Cam Olden (two goals) and Jordan Patullo (three), Warragul’s Jedd Serong and Traralgon’s Luke Johnson other standouts.
Gippsland recorded a clean sweep on the netball courts.
The 17-and-under team set the tone with a 32-18 win, while a dominant second half led the open team to a runaway 69-42 win against a strong Yarra Ranges outfit.
Traralgon’s Stacey O’Brien was named best-on-court for Stacie Gardiner’s side.
The 17-and-under team will be back in action at the upcoming Netball Victoria Association Championships.
Thanks goes to all the players, coaches and volunteers that played a part in this year's program and we look to bouncing back in the senior football and building on the strong results in the other grades next year.
Last Modified on 17/05/2017 15:47