THE SWOOP - ROUND 13 v NEWLYN

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NETBALL REPORT

After battling through freezing conditions at Dunnstown last weekend, the Magpies return home to take on Newlyn this Saturday.

With rain, strong gusty winds and feels-like temperatures dipping below zero throughout the day, it was one of the toughest days of the season to play netball so far. Unfortunately, the conditions didn't work in Clunes' favour across most grades, but there were still plenty of positives to take away.

Our junior sides once again led the way, with U13B, U13A and U15 all recording impressive victories despite the challenging weather. U13B continue to set the benchmark, while U13A and U15 showed great resilience to come away with important wins. The remaining grades fought hard but were unable to overcome both their opponents and the brutal conditions.

This weekend the Maggies return to the nest to host Newlyn. With a home crowd behind us and fingers crossed for kinder weather, all grades will be looking to bounce back and put together strong performances.

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FOOTBALL REPORT

Clunes has now played the top four teams in the CHFL seniors competition this year and we have a better understanding of how much further we need to improve before we can consider ourselves on the level of the true premiership contenders. Bungaree, Daylesford, Gordon and Dunnstown all have good depth in numbers and talent and the benefit of multiple experienced players in each area of the ground. The positive for Clunes is that we had periods in each of the four games against these clubs where we were competitive or outplayed the opposition. A regular message to the playing group after games this year has been good enough but not for long enough. As we develop and improve, the good enough periods will become longer until they eventually are maintained for the majority of games. When we reach that point the Clunes seniors will be ready to provide all our supporters with the excitement of consistent wins and finals games. Everybody wants that as soon as possible and all the players are striving to make it happen as quickly as they can.

Finals are not yet off the table for Clunes seniors this year due to the results being recorded across the league as we sit two wins behind eighth place currently but with five games remaining and all against teams outside the top six.

This weekend we welcome Newlyn to the Bull Milgate Oval as we look to return to the winners list. Newlyn are tenth with five wins and a draw so we know this is a winnable game with them only marginally ahead of us on the ladder. Their dominant big forward, Marcus Darmody, is leading the goal kicking in the CHFL this season but his apparent strength for Newlyn also provides a possible weakness. Darmody has kicked almost 40% of Newlyn’s goals this year and a united performance from our defensive group to restrict his output would certainly go a long way towards helping Clunes win the match.

Senior Player I’m looking forward to watching this week: Monte Reeves is a valued member of our leadership group for his ability to provide direction and support to his teammates. Another prized part of Monte’s game is his ability to play in multiple positions having predominantly played midfield for the club before being shifted behind the ball this year. This week Monte will be going forward to provide another avenue to goal and help direct our other forwards.

Reserves player I’m looking forward to watching this week: Chris Freeman played his first game for Clunes against Hepburn several weeks ago and quickly displayed his ability. Two goals and more than 15 touches in the first quarter showed how good Chris could be for Clunes. After the birth of his second child, Chris returns for another game this week and we hope he again helps lead the Reserves to a victory.

Junior player I’m looking forward to watching this week: Henry Simpson joined the club from Springbank early in the season and has settled into the U/18 squad very well. Henry is built for the contested game and has started to show his ability in recent games as he has developed an understanding of his teammates and their strengths.

Go Maggies!