Sport
25 April, 2023
JR take Edenhope by Storm
A cold, wet day greeted the Jeparit-Rainbow footballers and supporters as they made their way to Edenhope for Round 1 of the 2023 season. The day’s early games were played in constant showers - the Seniors escaped the rain, but the conditions were...
A cold, wet day greeted the Jeparit-Rainbow footballers and supporters as they made their way to Edenhope for Round 1 of the 2023 season.
The day’s early games were played in constant showers - the Seniors escaped the rain, but the conditions were slippery and made for more difficult play.
With the Seniors and U17’s both pulling off impressive wins it was a good start to the 2023 season.
Seniors:
There were two changes to the Jeparit-Rainbow team announced on Thursday evening, then key forward Peter Weir pulled out on Friday while Lucas Edelsten pulled up sore during the pre-game warm up, so Joad Fuller came into the team after playing a complete Reserves game.
As the game began, all the interest was on how the club's off-season recruits would shape up. There were soon signs that these recruits would have a big impact as Tom Clarke had a blistering start to his time at Jeparit-Rainbow, kicking the first three goals of the game as he constantly found space in the forward line.
Nick Yarran and Brad Stokes won lots of possessions throughout the game and their ball use was first class.
Will Hutchinson kicked three goals and was another dangerous midfielder.
Matt Synoradski showed blistering pace on his wing and kicked two goals, while Braxton Ah Mat was a strong defender.
Veteran Ash Clugston worked hard up forward, constantly leading up and presenting, while Jakob Cocks showed good form in the midfield and up forward.
Matt Thomas competed well in the ruck, and Will Batson was a strong defender.
Jeparit-Rainbow were in control of the game after Clarke's early goals and never let Edenhope Apsley back into it.
The team plays a very slick brand of football with hard running from all the players in the 32-point win.
Joint coach Matt Everett was very pleased with how the team went.
“I was super impressed with this first up effort - we played an exciting brand of football,” he said.
“Our first three quarters were outstanding but we fell away a bit in the last quarter due to fatigue, and with the Darwin players having to leave early we had no-one on the bench for the last ten minutes of the game.”
Final Score: Edenhope-Apsley: 11.7.73, Jeparit-Rainbow: 15.15.105
Reserves:
With several players unavailable the club struggled to field a team with the bare minimum fourteen players running out onto the oval.
It was country football at its best as Edenhope-Apsley players took turns playing for Jeparit-Rainbow to even the numbers up on the field.
The final margin was 149 points, with Jeparit-Rainbow failing to kick a goal.
Newcomers Trey Patullo and Lachlan Schultz played top games, while young Jaime Eckermann continued on with his U17’s form to again be amongst the best players.
Joad Fuller and Hayden Jamieson defended well against overwhelming odds, and Kodi Effrett battled hard for the whole game.
Final Score: Edenhope-Apsley: 23.14.152, Jeparit-Rainbow: 0.3.3
U17’s:
This was an enthralling contest in difficult conditions.
With the scores level at three-quarter time, Jeparit-Rainbow kicked away in the last quarter to win by twenty points.
The boys have put in a big pre-season and their fitness showed up at the end of the game.
Will Fisher continued on from his U14’s form from last year to win many possessions, while one of the older boy’s,
Jaime Eckermann, showed great leadership.
Seamus Clarke, Parker Gould and Cooper Stasinowsky also stood out in a very even team.
Xavier Evans, in his first game for the team, showed lots of promise.
Joint coach Tom Long was very happy with the win.
“During the pre-season we stressed three things to the boys - resilience, courage and ruthlessness - and today they showed all of those,” he said.
“I thought we had control for much of the game, but it didn’t show on the scoreboard until the end.”
Final Score: Edenhope-Apsley: 4.5.29, Jeparit-Rainbow: 6.13.49
U14’s:
The boys tried hard but were no match for their opposition, but coach Nathan Cocks said there were some positive signs.
“I was impressed with the boys playing their first games for the team and the overall team effort,” he said.
The experienced duo of Lenny Weir and Ryder Gould led from the front, while Caleb Heinrich in his first game, Baxter Stasinowsky and Hugo Gould stood out from the younger players.
Final Score: Edenhope-Apsley: 6.12.48, Jeparit-Rainbow: 2.1.13