It was a tough first up assignment for Deni Rovers seniors when they travelled over to Waaia to take on the reigning premiers on their home turf.
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The Rovers started off kicking with the breeze, and a great goal from Kaiden Joss from the boundary line got them on the scoreboard early in the quarter.
Rovers played good link up football and led the Bombers by seven points at quarter time after a very encouraging start.
Waaia used the breeze well in the second quarter to establish a handy half-time break, and several early goals in the third rang alarm bells for the Rovers coaching staff.
However, the Deni side steadied and kicked the next five goals of the game to get themselves back into contention at the final break.
The first half of the last quarter was very even with the young Rovers side trying desperately to bridge the gap. However, the experienced Waaia side played polished footy and kicked away in the last 10 or 15 minutes to record a hard earned victory.
Coach Alex Hay was disappointed with the loss but was happy with the way his side fought out the game.
In particular, he was encouraged by the performances of the four debutants.
Jackson Muldoon-Leetham and Tyson Willis, who are both thirds players, and Harry Turner and Cam Robinson all played their first senior games for the club amd contributed well.
Better players for the game included Hay, who played a great game on-ball together with Ray Murphy. Both provided plenty of scoring chances.
The experienced duo of Alan Bond and Brendan Hope defended well against a skilled Waaia forward line, whilst another youngster in Jai Ezard continues to develop his skills and took several good marks on the half back line to be amongst the best players.
Captain Adam Bodey suffered an injury early in the game, but James Kirby took over to play well in the ruck.
There are plenty of promising signs against a hard first up opponent, and on occasions the Rovers moved the ball well and teamed up to kick 12 goals for the game.
Goal kickers: Terry Lumbar 2, Alex Hay 2, Kaiden Joss 2, Scott Howard, Liam Headon, Harry Turner, Joey Hay, Tyson Willis, Cam Robinson
Final score: Waaia 21.15 (141) def Deni 12.11 (83).
Reserves
The Deni Rovers Reserves met Waaia on Saturday missing a handful of key players.
Whilst the ground presented beautifully, there were gusty conditions for the duration of the game.
The Rovers won the toss and kicked with the wind, matching it with Waaia with 1.2 (8) apiece at quarter time.
The second quarter saw Waaia kick away with the wind at their back, creating a six goal lead at half time - 7.5 (47) to 1.3 (9).
Whilst the Rovers backline was under siege, Daniel Mison, Dylan Mills and Nick Stubbings competed hard to help stem the flow.
The third quarter was relatively even with Rovers kicking four goals to Waaia’s three. Bailey Caruso kicked two goals for the quarter and worked hard as a small forward whilst John Glowrey, Matt Johnson, Nick Stubbings and Tim McDonnell competed hard in the middle.
Waaia kicked three goals in the last quarter to win by eight goals.
Whilst the scoreline was not favourable for the Rovers, there were some positive signs with some really good tackling pressure around the footy and a number of thirds players filling in and having an impact.
Rovers will be looking to improve on this performance when they meet Katandra the week following the Easter break.
Goal kickers: Bailey Caruso 2, Matt Horne 2, Tim McDonnell
Best players: Daniel Mison, Tim McDonnell, Ryan Hetherington, Dylan Mills, Matthew Johnson, Connor Didcock
Final score: Waaia 13.9 (87) def Deni 5.6 (36).
Thirds
From the first bounce the boys were firing on all cylinders, banging on seven goals in the first quarter.
Things didn’t change much in the second. They applied relentless pressure and Waaia couldn’t find a way, even with a four goal breeze, to penetrate the Rovers backline.
In the third and fourth, Tyson Willis danced the tango in the forward line ending up with four goals for the day and a best on performance.
With another 10 different goal scorers, the Rovers added 22 goals to the board for the day.
Coach Chris Maher welcomed five newcomers to the team.
Goal kickers: Baxter Cowley 4, Tyson Willis 4, Cam Wills 2, Brody Wills 2, Harry Way, Luke Holloway, Brodie Elphick, Eddie Dudley, Max Caruso, Harry Mcilwain.
Best players: Tyson Willis, Liam East, Harry Way, Cam Wills, Logan Leiper, Eddie Dudley
Final score: Waaia 1.0 (6) lt Deni 22.20 (152).
Awards: Deni Driver Training – Tyson Willis; T McCully Constructions – Liam East; Glow Beauty – Harry Way; Fanmac – Cam Wills; Rovers Canteen – Logan Elphick; Subway – Eddie Dudley and Jackson Muldoon-Leetham.
Fourths
The young Roos came out firing in the first quarter with five goals notched up on the scoreboard.
The midfield combined well with Isaac Behsman, Bentley Hardman, Sam Conallin, Tom Way and Connor Wilson providing some good passages of play.
Kelsey Clark had a strong first quarter, not only scoring herself but setting up numerous teammates.
The second quarter started off the same with the midfield driving the ball into the forward half.
Logan Elphick was on fire kicking three goals for the quarter and Spencer Cowley provided some solid leads and assistance to the small forwards.
The third quarter gave the backmen a chance to show what they were made of and stopped the young Waaia runners from converting in front of goal.
Lincoln Meharry, Nick Fanning and Stuart Benger provided some solid defensive play along the half back flank.
The final quarter capped off a stellar game with a huge team effort.
Goal kickers: Logan Elphick 7, Spencer Cowley 2, Cormick Hardman 2, Kelsey Clark, Tom Way, Isaac Behsman
Better players – Isaac Behsman, Logan Elphick, Bentley Hardman, Connor Wilson, Nick Fanning, Lincoln Meharry
Awards: Fanmac Ag– Connor Wilson and Lincoln Meharry; Rover’s Canteen – Nick Fanning; Thursday Night Dinner – Logan Elphick; McDonald’s – Callan Glenn; Subway – Isaac Behsman and Jobe Unwin.
Final score: Waaia 2.1 (13) lt Deni 14.8 (92).
Fifths
We have a few new players who all gave it a red hot go.
It is great to see the older kids helping out on the field with the new players.
Coach Shayne Knuckey is looking forward to the season ahead to see the improvement of the kids.
Awards: Rovers Canteen – Jed O’Donnell; Rovers Thursday Dinner - Kayden Atley; McDonald’s – Henry Campion, Jye Benger and Lincoln Sartore; Subway – Ryan Bulmer and Callan Leiper; CWS – Oscar Cartwright; BLT Fabrication – Carter Sartore.
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