EAST TOO STRONG FOR THE WEST THIS YEAR

The fifth annual U16 East v West Intraleague match was played on a cool, dry Wednesday night at Yarragon Recreation Reserve. In a historic result, the East claimed its first victory in the fixture with an emphatic 50-point win. The ledger now stands at three wins to the West, one to the East and one draw in the inaugural 2022 match.

The West team comprised players from Bunyip (1st on the ladder), Catani (7th), Ellinbank (8th), Poowong (3rd), Lang Lang/Nyora (10th) and Longwarry (9th). The East team was represented by Buln Buln (2nd), Nilma Darnum (4th), Trafalgar (5th), Neerim Neerim South (11th) and Yarragon (6th).

The East dominated from the outset, produced a constant stream of attacks and if not for poor conversion in front of goal could have gone into the quarter time break with far greater than a 27-point buffer. The West struggled to contain the presence of East Co- Captain Jake Dinsdale who kicked two goals in the first team while Ayden Frost chimed in with another after a crafty left foot snap.

In the second quarter Dinsdale steered through this third major before the West gained a foothold in the game and reduced the deficit to 15 points thanks to goals by Coby Hoult, after a strong mark, Reid Collins from an angle and captain Kade Zealley with a fine snap after a smart assist from Jordy Mackin. A late six-pointer by Rylee Johnson put the East team 21 points to the good at the main break.

After half time the West pegged back the margin to 15 points once again when Collins drilled through his second goal from close range but for the rest of the term the East asserted its control and with goals to Ayden Frost, his second, Campbell Moore and Dinsdale, his fourth, the East led comfortably at three-quarter time by 36 points.

In the last term the West showed some early resistance when Noah McCaughey kicked the first goal of the quarter but from then on the script was similar to the previous term with the East too slick and it extended its lead to 50 points at the final siren due to the last three goals of the match, these kicked by Lachlan Gringhuis, Tyler Wakefield and Lenny Heatley. The East showed better teamwork, unity and purpose throughout.

After the match, EDFNL Junior Interleague Co-ordinator Stephen Pratt asked coaches Joel Norton and Gerard Bongiorno to present their respective teams with best-player medals. The East award was taken home by its Vice-Captain and Nilma Darnum’s James Midgley, who showed good aerial skills, positioning and ground coverage across the entire game while the West medal went to Ellinbank’s Riley Davidson, who was central figure in and around the midfield.

For the East, in addition to James Midgley, it had a good spread of contributors led by Jake Dinsdale, who impressed all over the field while midfielders Corey Smith, Noah Tweddle and Koby McLeish fed the forwards often and forwards Ayden Frost and Lenny Heatley presented well. Jack Christian picked up handy touches at both ends and last line defender Will Tuck defused several threatening attacks.

In addition to playmaker Riley Davidson, others to impress for the West were Co-Captains Kade Zealley and Aiden Kane, both who contested strongly while defender Spencer Patterson stood up to be counted with some timely spoils. Ruckman Samuel Blackley caught the eye quite a few times and forwards Coby Hoult and Noah McCaughey often looked a threat.

The league thanks all coaches: for the West; Joel Norton, Sam Pratt and runner Tom Burgess; and for the East, Gerard Bongiorno, Steve Tweddle and Brett Tonkin. It would also like to acknowledge trainers Alan Massaro and Jamie Olierook, photographer Jeff Tull, Yarragon Football Netball Club for providing the ground and facilities, the Gippsland Umpires Association for officiating the match, and Roger Gwynne for his assistance with all the errands in the lead up to the match.

Finally, the league is grateful to the parents, guardians, families and friends who provided the boys with transport and support before and to match evening.

A squad will now be selected for the Interleague match against WGFNC on 15 July, and to be played at Lang Lang.

Quarter-by-quarter scores

East: - 3.9.27,  5.10.40,  8.13.61, 11.16.82

West: -  0.0.0,  3.1.19,     4.1.25,     5.2.32

Gippsland Umpires Association Officials.

Field – Kobi Aitken & Josh Lee

Boundary - Charlie Van Haigh, Lucas Gilcrist & Oli Fairbrother

Goal – Jack Flegg & John Tomkins