Sport
24 June, 2023
Storm goals fouled by strong winds
It was a tough day for the Jeparit Rainbow teams at a windy Sir Robert Menzies oval, with all of the teams losing against strong opposition, Noradjuha Quantong. Seniors: Once again there were numerous changes to the team with Nick Yarran, Brad...
It was a tough day for the Jeparit Rainbow teams at a windy Sir Robert Menzies oval, with all of the teams losing against strong opposition, Noradjuha Quantong.
Seniors:
Once again there were numerous changes to the team with Nick Yarran, Brad Stokes, Javaad Anderson and Antonia James all missing from the previous game.
Both Lucas Edelsten and Charles Wilde played their first games for the year, Lewis Cocks returned from injury and Justin Cozens, along with Bailey Clark, came up from the Reserves.
Kicking against a strong breeze, Jeparit Rainbow held up Noradjuha Quantong with strong tackles while Charles Wilde stood out across half back in the early stages.
Then the floodgates opened and Jeparit Rainbow were helpless as Noradjuha Quantong piled on seven goals to nil in the last twenty minutes of the quarter.
Losing the centre clearances and the clearances around the ground meant the Jeparit Rainbow backline were always battling against the odds.
Trailing by 45 points at quarter time, an early goal to Peter Weir lifted the local supporters hopes.
Two more goals to Noradjuha Quantong and the yellow carding of Tom Clarke saw Jeparit Rainbow in a desperate position trailing by 50 points.
The players dug deep and in a period of tough contested football they kicked two goals to trail by 37 points at half time.
The third quarter saw the fightback continue against the wind as Jeparit Rainbow kicked three goals to ramped up the pressure.
Weir worked hard to provide a marking target in the forward half, often coming up outside 50.
Noradjuha Quantong kicked seven behinds for the quarter - a mixture of poor kicking for goal and the Jeparit Rainbow pressure.
Key defender Tom Schumann limped off during the quarter to further stretch the Jeparit Rainbow defence.
Twenty-four points down, Jeparit Rainbow made a good start to the quarter when Matt Thomas goaled, making it six goals to nil since halfway in the second quarter.
But Noradjuha Quantong tightened up the game and a couple of poor disposals in the Jeparit Rainbow forward line meant that only a late goal to Will Hutchinson brought the final margin to under 30 points.
Matt Synoradski, Will Hutchinson and Tom Clarke all did their best to get Jeparit Rainbow back into the game, winning lots of the ball around the ground.
Charles Wilde played his usual "attack the ball at all costs" game, while Xavier Oakley in the midfield and Jordan Leach in the backline were good contributors.
It took seven players to kick the teams eight goals - by far their lowest score of the year - with Hutchinson being the only multiple goal kicker.
Final Score: JR 8.9 (57) - NQ 11.18 (84).
Reserves:
It was going to be a big task for the Reserves against the undefeated Noradjuha Quantong team.
They put up a big effort, actually winning the third quarter by a point, but kicking with the wind in the last quarter allowed Noradjuha Quantong to pull away to win by 67 points.
Every player in the team contributed to the strong effort.
Dean Perkins, Jake Parry, Murphy Leach and Liam Preston won lots of the ball around the ground as they kept driving their team forward.
Rory O’Halloran proved his versatility, playing well at fullback this week after playing full forward in the previous game.
Phoenix Oakley is competing well as an undersized ruckman.
Steve “Rock" Murphy pulled on the boots to help the team out in a welcome appearance.
Final Score: JR 3.4 (22) - NQ 12.17 (89).
U17’s:
This was an unusual game due to the strong wind blowing to the scoreboard end.
Trailing six goals to one against the third-placed opposition the boys played well with the wind in the second quarter, outscoring Noradjuha by three goals to one.
However, in the third quarter Noradjuha Quantong piled on nine goals with the wind before the mercy rule was applied.
Cooper Stasinowsky continued on with his good form, while Will Fisher has not played a poor game all year.
Ryder Gould, Jaime Eckermann, Marcel Badua and Parker Gould gave them good support.
Final Score: JR 4.3 (27) - NQ 16.3 (99).
U14’s:
The boys put in a solid effort to keep in touch in the first half, but could only score a single behind in the second half.
Fletcher Keller was this week’s best player with Caleb Heinrich playing a solid game at fullback.
Ryder Gould and Lenny Weir are amongst the best each week.
Jasper Bigham and Flynn Hutson are two boys who have stepped up this year to play some good football.
Final Score: JR 2.5 (17) - NQ 8.12 (60).