Sport
5 May, 2023
Harrow-Balmoral hit JR hard
Seniors: Jeparit-Rainbow made three changes for the top-of-the-table clash at Balmoral last weekend. Matt Thomas and Tom Long were injured and Patrick Grace-Long was unavailable, so into the team came Ben Smith, playing his first game for the club...
Seniors:
Jeparit-Rainbow made three changes for the top-of-the-table clash at Balmoral last weekend.
Matt Thomas and Tom Long were injured and Patrick Grace-Long was unavailable, so into the team came Ben Smith, playing his first game for the club, while Bailey Clark and Xavier Oakley were playing their first games for the year.
Smith is a young athletic player who the club hopes will develop into a solid lockdown defender.
Already lacking big man strength with the absence of Thomas, the team suffered a big blow in the first minutes of the game when key defender Braxton Ah Mat injured his leg in a heavy clash.
Simon Clugston had to move into the backline, which left Peter Weir as the only tall forward while Daniel Batson had to ruck single-handed for rest of the game.
While Jeparit-Rainbow tried to reorganise, Harrow-Balmoral kicked five early goals with the final margin being 35 points as the teams went goal-for-goal over the final three quarters.
The undermanned Storm pushed the ladder leaders with their slick brand of football which contrasted to the rougher, more physical style of their opponents.
Daniel Batson was a tower of strength in the ruck, while the midfield trio of Nick Yarran, Brad Stokes and Tom Clarke won lots of ball as they showcased their skills.
Tom Schumann defended strongly in the high scoring game, while every player contributed in a good team performance.
Jeparit-Rainbow’s 15 goals featured ten separate goal kickers with Peter Weir, Brad Stokes, Jakob Cocks, Matt Synoradski and Javaad Anderson all kicking two goals.
Despite the loss, joint-coach Scott Driscoll was pleased with how the team performed.
"After a slow start and the early injury, we played catch up against quality opposition," he said.
"The group found a way to claw back some momentum and play the brand of football that led to success in the first two games.
"Part way through the last quarter we wedged within four goals but just couldn’t sustain the effort.”
Reserves:
This was a very difficult game for the team as they suffered a 170 point loss, with veteran Jason Hutson kicking the teams two goals.
Jake Parry showed great leadership, while Dean Perkins, Hayden Jamieson and Murphy Leach continued on with their good form from the last game.
Jaime Eckermann continues to impress as he plays his second game for the day, while Max McKenzie never stops giving his all for the team.
U17’s:
For the second week in a row the team came up against a much stronger combination and were mercy ruled in the second quarter.
Seamus Clarke and Will Fisher tried hard around the ground while Josh Schultz was a strong defender.
Zander Eckermann and Jaime Eckermann also showed good form, while Rylan Schneider, on loan from Nhill, impressed.
Marcel Badua, in his first game for the year, kicked the team’s only goal.
U14’s:
After last week’s narrow defeat, the boys came out determined to win.
After an even first quarter, Jeparit-Rainbow broke away and only poor kicking for goal prevented a bigger win than the 44 point margin.
Lenny Weir, who has started the season in outstanding form, kicked three goals and led from the front.
Dustin Eckermann and Fletcher Keller were two other senior boys who played great games.
Max Spokes, who has taken his football to a new level this year, kicked two goals, while younger players in Eli Badua and Flynn Hutson also stood out in an even team effort.
Coach Nathan Cock, was very pleased with the win.
"The boys played great team football over the four quarters which set us up for a really good win,” he said.