The Deni Rams senior side had it all to play for in their away match up with Rumbalara at the weekend, with a win improving their chances at playing finals.
Deni travelled to Mercury Drive on Saturday to take on a dangerous Rumba outfit.
The game started at a furious pace with Rumbalara exploding away from contests with their superior speed.
The Rams defence was under constant pressure and was forced to defend tirelessly, led well by captain John Anstee with great support from Mick Barnett, Cable Fitzpatrick and Ryan McDonald continually repelling Rumba’s attacks.
Deni trailed by five points at quarter time.
The second quarter started in the same fashion with speed on the ball from Rumba.
The Rams gained a bit of a momentum around the contest due to Hamish Shepheard in the ruck with great support from Reid Crowe and Todd Gallagher.
Wingers Noah Bradley and Lachie Osborne started to give the Rams some speed around the ball.
Angus Durnan was a huge focal point for the Rams at CHF but Deni lost Will Henderson to a hamstring strain in the second quarter.
Deni took a 14-point lead at half-time, and the third was a real arm wrestle with neither side giving an inch in what was developing into a very physical affair.
The Rams kicked three goals to two for the quarter, setting up a huge last.
The Rams blew the game away with some great passages of team footy, continually linking up with creative handballs that gave their forwards opportunities.
Angus Durnan and Todd Gallagher capitalised on the Rams’ dominance and both finished with five goals.
Bryce Scoullar also gave the Rams a suitable option up forward with several good grabs.
The Rams completely dominated the last quarter, kicking eight goals two to no score from Rumba, to run out convincing 65-point winners.
Angus Durnan had his best game for the year and his sticky hands were a highlight.
Reid Crowe, who has missed a lot of footy, showed how potent he can be around the footy.
Final Score: Deni Rams 17.12 (114) def Rumbalara 7.7 (49).
Goals: Angus Durnan 5, Todd Gallagher 5, Jake Hobbs 2, Hamish Shepheard, Tom McCallum, Bryce Scoullar, Ricky Gittens, Sam Lloyd.
Best players: Angus Durnan, Reid Crowe, Todd Galagher, Bryce Scoullar, Ryan MacDonald.
Reserves:
Another win for the boys, travelling over to Shepparton to face Rumba on their home deck for a game that could catch you off guard if you're not switched on.
With some good footballers in the Rumba side, the first quarter was going to be a hot contest.
Belief in their own play style, the Rams style of football, would overcome what they threw at Deni.
As Deni kicked away to have it done just after half-time, with the home and away season nearly at an end, coaches wanted the boys to try on some new tactics in preparation for finals.
The Deni side were able to execute and the tactics which worked well will help come finals for Deni.
Final Score: Deni Rams 22.17 (149) def Rumbalara 2.1 (13).
Goals: Ben Nisbet 8, Ben East 4, Clay Howe 2, Darcy McManus 2, Lachlan Marshall, Bailey Townsend, Kai Hillier, Jayden Pitts.
Best players: Kai Hillier, Darcy Cullenward, Monte Barnes, Miller Fitzpatrick, Aiden Free, Zac Free.
Thirds:
The thirds were looking to bounce back after a tough couple of rounds.
With only three games remaining, the Rams needed a win to stay in the hunt for a finals berth.
Rumba took it up to the visiting Rams in a tight first quarter, with the Rams taking a two-goal lead into the first break.
The Rams were asked for a stronger second quarter, and they responded well, kicking five goals to two and taking a five-goal half-time lead.
The third quarter was a much more even affair with the Rams pressure dropping off, allowing Rumba space to run the ball.
Only some great work from the Rams defence kept Rumba from taking advantage on the scoreboard.
The Rams went back to basics, man-on-man football in the final quarter.
It helped them regain control and, with their big men up forward finding form, the Rams ran away with a good 58-point win.
Next week the Rams travel to Tongala needing another win to stay in the finals race.
Final Score: Deni Rams 13.6 (84) def Rumbalara 4.2 (26).
Goals: Toby Grimwood 5, Doug Billings 4, Jai Park 2, Ben Crossley, Nash Suckling.
Best players: Henry Robinson, Josh Todd, Toby Grimwood, Nash Suckling, Doug Billings, Jack Sander.
Fourths:
Round 16 saw the Rams under-14s take on Rumbalara on Rumba’s home turf.
The previous encounter of the two sides saw the Rams grind out a hard-fought 22 point win, so this game could have gone either way.
The Rams were a little slow to start, and definitely undersized compared to the Rumbalara team, however they managed two goals to Rumba’s three in the first term.
After a couple of changes in the second quarter we saw a shift in the game.
Our defenders worked overtime to keep Rumba scoreless for the second quarter, while the Rams managed another two straight goals.
The momentum continued with the young Rams team, with all players giving maximal effort, at the third break Rams were a neat six goals straight and 14 points in front.
With the run on their side, the Rams continued to dominate up both ends of the field, taking the win.
Final score: Deni Rams 9.1 (55) def Rumba 4.5 (29).
Goals: Logan Elphick, Zac Grimison, Jack McGrillen, Tom Ives, Ollie Ives, Tynen Rothe.
Best players: Zac Grimison, Logan Elphick, Harry Nolan, James Gatacre, Talen Barnes.
Under-12s:
Deni’s under-12s travelled to Victoria Park on Sunday for a top of the table clash against the three Echuca Bombers sides for the Lightening Premiership.
A fabulous achievement for the boys to have finished in the top four clubs for the under-12 GMJL Competition.
The first game against the Echuca Bombers was tough, the boys were outclassed by a very tall and skilful side.
Final score: Bombers 4.1 (25) def Rams 0.0 (0).
In the second game against Echuca Murray Bombers, the boys' voice and confidence grew, but again it proved difficult to match Murray’s skills.
Final score: Bombers 5.01 (31) def Rams 0.0 (0).
The last game against Echuca Green was the highlight of the day.
The boys had beaten this team by a point during the season, giving the group hope for a win.
Some much improved voice and teamwork, and plenty of big names such as Sam Hay, Jaxon Rothe, Angus Burge and Lachie Tritton putting on a show.
The boys were unlucky to let a point slip through the backline and not put a score on the board.
Final score: Green 0.1 (1) def Rams 0.0 (0).
Under-10s:
The under-10s went over to Nathalia for the annual gala day, playing four short matches to finish off the season.
With some of the older boys resting throughout the day, it gave the younger ones an opportunity to see what next year will bring.
The boys showed enormous spirit throughout the day, led by an inspirational Jackson Catt and Oliver Hall who had plenty of the ball.
The better players for the day were Edward Bliss, Nate Fitzpatrick, Jed Fitzmaurice and James Massingham.