Monbulk footballers lose to experienced Narre Warren side

Monbulk acquitted themselves well against experienced opposition. Picture: ROB CAREW

Seniors

When coming up against the reigning premiers on their turf it is not ideal to lose key players from last Saturday and need to make 5 changes to the side for this week, but that was what confronted the Hawks. The end result on the scoreboard did prove to be an emphatic win for Narre Warren although it was only really in the second quarter where the Magpies got off the leash and slotted 8 goals in twenty minutes. For the rest of the match, the Monbulk had acquitted themselves quite well against their experienced opponents and in the last term they won the quarter and controlled much of the play. While the Hawks were outmatched, every player had given their all in the cool and slippery conditions.

Narre Warren 15.11.101 def Monbulk 4.7.31

Best: Glenn Strachan, Nicholas Wall, Lochlan Beecroft, Lachlan Sheppard, Bailey Rutherford, Hayden Finlay

Goals: Glenn Strachan 2, Ben Hughson 1, Hayden Finlay 1

Reserves

For the Monbulk Reserves, the corresponding fixture last year resulted in a 124-point drubbing, but the Hawks were able to put in a much stronger performance this time around. Four debutants appeared in the Reserves line-up, Colee and Bremner from the Under 19s along with two first-timers in the maroon and gold. Monbulk trailed the premiers by 27 points by halftime but then fought out the match by going goal for goal in the second half to eventually go down by 30 points in their first loss of the season. Monbulk still holds third place and will look to bounce back this week.

Narre Warren 10.12.72 def Monbulk 6.6.42

Best: Brodie Emmett, Toby Versteegan, Lewis Oliver, Josh Rak, Matthew James, Ash Bremner

Goals: Brodie Emmett 3, Aaron Smith, Ash Bremner, Michael Langworthy

Under 19s

The Monbulk and Narre Warren Under 19s had both had a perfect start to the season over the first three weeks to both be undefeated. A good match was anticipated which was close in the first quarter before Narre Warren kicked a few goals in the middle two terms to hold a 22-point lead at the final change. The Magpies managed to break through the Hawks backline in the last quarter to kick five goals to one and the final margin was bigger than the game had shown in general play.

Narre Warren 9.8.62 def Monbulk 2.4.16

Best: Nick Taylor, Riley Finlay, Noah Rutherford, Charlie Barge, Jack Downard-Pengilly, Timothy Rickard

Goals: Nick Taylor 1, Jett Bolton 1

NETBALL

A Grade

The Narre Warren netballers are just as dominant as their footballers, with talented squads for each of their grades. In A Grade the Magpies jumped out of the blocks to post a rarely seen 24-4 scoreline by the first break. Although Monbulk regrouped after this and was able to challenge for periods of time, the Narre girls were playing some superb netball and took out a convincing win.

Narre Warren 66 def Monbulk 25

Best: Nicole Macdowell, Paige Whitworth, Sophie Stubbs

Goals: Nicole Macdowell 12, Paige Rondinella 9, Sophie Stubbs 4

B Grade

Last year Monbulk fought some classic encounters with premiers Narre Warren in B Grade and caused a boilover to beat them in this corresponding fixture at Kalora Park 36-34. With both sides undefeated over the first two rounds another chapter was to be written. What eventuated was not in the script and created some unwanted records as the Magpies took control from the opening and didn’t relent for the entire match.

Narre Warren 83 def Monbulk 17

Best: Alice McCormick, Siobhan Munday, Rihanna Kelly

Goals: Iris de Wit 12, Chloe Schmidtke 3, Rylie Truscott 2

C Grade

The C Grade Hawks faced a similar fate to the other teams and came up short against their ladder-leading opponents. Some good passages of play were shaded by the consistent results that the Magpies were able to achieve on the rebound.

Narre Warren 56 def Monbulk 17

Best: Jess Whitworth, Laura Del Biondo, Tara Donald

Goals: Jamie Sands 15, Jenna Schnehage 2

D Grade

Narre Warren began their day of success in the morning when they got the better of the young Monbulk combination in D Grade. The Hawks improved their avenues to goal in the second half but were to come up short on the day.

Narre Warren 48 def Monbulk 14

Best: Leah Hansby, Kate Smith, Sammi Kelly

Goals: Sammi Kelly 11, Kate Smith 2, Hannah Dickason 1