Football
25 June, 2025
Pimpinio overcome Rupanyup
Pimpinio recorded their sixth win of the season in men’s senior football on Saturday, defeating Rupanyup in round 10 of the Horsham District Football Netball League.
Playing at Rupanyup, Pimpinio started well with Matthew Healy scoring the opening goal, before the Tigers established a 27-3 lead at the first break.
Rupanyup posted a stronger second quarter as the Tigers led 60-24 at half-time.
A spirited second half from the Panthers kept it challenging for Pimpinio, eventually reducing the deficit to 33 points.
The final score was Pimpinio 14.13 (97) to Rupanyup 9.10 (64).
The best players for Pimpinio were Matt Rosier, who returned from injury, and Jason Westley.
For Rupanyup, Ryan Timmins and Blake Turner were among the best, with Turner booting six goals to take his season tally to 34.
For Pimpinio, Nick Groves led the team with five goals.
Guy Smith, coach of Pimpinio, gave praise to Rupanyup for providing some challenges to his side.
“We couldn't quite get our matchup right in the back half,” Smith said.
“They had a couple of guys that were slipping under the radar a little bit as far as getting their hands on it and having first shots on goal.
“To their credit, they've got some good players that you've got to watch, and they threw everything at us.”
Smith acknowledged that his team didn’t execute as cleanly as he had intended.
“We were probably our worst enemy,” Smith said.
“We didn't really deliver the ball well, and we definitely had a lot of opportunities and forward entries, but unfortunately we didn't capitalise.
But the Pimpinio coach was still happy to get the win, crediting the contributions of reserve players who stepped up.
“We went in still with seven guys out,” Smith said.
“It gave some other players that had been playing the reserves for a long time a chance to sort of step up and have a go again.”
The win is Piminio’s sixth for the season, lifting them to fourth on the league ladder.
Rupanyup are currently in tenth place with two wins.