In what is always a much-anticipated match, the Good Friday Murray Football League clash between the Deni Rams and the Finley Cats lived up to expectation.
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The slippery and, at times, windy conditions resulted in a low scoring game.
Finley had most of the ball in the first quarter, but due to the efforts of Angus Durnan, John Asntee and Cable Fitzpatick the Rams kept the margin in check.
Deni had a better second term and started to win more of the ball around the contest with Ricky Gittens, Lachlan MacDonald and Lachlan Small turning the momentum in the Rams’ favour.
Heading into half-time with only a kick in it, everyone knew that whichever team makes the most of their opportunities would go a long way to winning this match.
The third quarter saw Finley kick a couple of goals in a row, but the Rams fought back with Darcy Pogue kicking three goals of his own to give Deni the edge.
The final quarter was see-sawing affair with both sides missing several opportunities in front of goal.
The Rams eventually kicked consecutive goals and skipped away to a 13-point lead with only five minutes remaining.
But in another twist in a great contest, Fonley had a last minute surge.
Seemingly coming out of nowhere, they did just enough in those final minutes to steal the win by only one point.
Final score: Finley 8.14 (62) def Deniliquin Rams 9.7 (61)
Better players: Lachy MacDonald, Todd Gallagher, Darcy Pogue and Cable Fitzpatrick.
Awards: Ritchies IGA - Lachy MacDonald; Globe Hotel - Darcy Pogue; Murray Constructions - Lachy Small; Barber & Threadz - Todd Gallagher; White Lion - John Anstee; Rob Gittens Award - Cable Fitzpatrick.
In the reserves, Deni played a fantastic game.
The boys were itching to go from the start, mostly to celebrate the Eddie Draffin’s 150th game.
The boys did have a shaky start adapting to the wet conditions, however they started to get it all together.
Despite one player’s belief that the scoring end was up the other side of the ground, they managed to pile on four goals in the second quarter, even with Finley having a little bit of momentum at times.
The second half was pretty straightforward with the boys managing to get a buffer on the scoreboard, and eventually win the match.
Final score: Deniliquin Rams 9.5 (59) def Finley 3.4 (22).
Goals: Ben Nisbet (2), Ben East (2), Aiden Free, Luke White, Brett MacDonald, Shane Werner, Darcy McManus.
Awards: Murray Constructions - Duncan Hughes; Frank n Beans - Charlie Dudley; Globe Hotel - Bailey Townsend; Shaw Family - Brock Redden; Club Voucher - Dean McDonald.
After a solid week on the training track, the Deni thirds headed over to Finley for an exciting Good Friday clash.
In another exciting encounter for the young talents, it was great to see Deni play hard with Will Dudley being important in defence.
The team welcomed home Sam Crossley and Charlie Bull, who didn’t miss a beat and did all they could to help the team.
However, it was Finley who made the most of their opportunities.
Despite Brodie Park kicking a couple of majors, the Rams were overrun.
With glimpses of some great football, the team enter round three with plenty of energy as they chase a more consistent performance.
Final score: Finley 9.12 (66) def Deniliquin Rams 4.5 (29).
Awards: Deni Driving - Will Dudley; Murray Constructions - Sam Crossley; Ritchies IGA - Charlie Bull; Canteen - Brodie Park; Rams beanie - Nash Suckling; Player’s Player - Bobby Hall.
The traditional Good Friday game didn’t disappoint for the fourths, who were lucky that the weather was perfect for the starting game of the twilight event.
Against a very young Finley side, Deni scored 17 goals and five behinds by half time.
Coach Troy Bartlett switched up positions all game to give everyone an opportunity to play different positions.
He talked a lot about reaction times, which he said needs to keep improving.
There are too many goal scorers to mention, but the club congratulated Ari Strongman, Fred Everett, Tom Murray and James Gatacre on kicking their first goal in fourths.
It was James Gatacre’s debut with the Rams.
Final score: Deniliquin Rams 24.17 (161) def Finley 0.
Best players: Jai Park, Oscar Wren, Charlie McCallum, Chase Bartlett, Luke Moorse and Ted Wren.
Awards: Shaw Family - Jai Park; Club beanie - Oscar Wren; Club socks - Luke Moorse; Canteen - Tom Murray; Subway - Ted Wren.
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