THE SWOOP - Round 4 v Learmonth

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NETBALL REPORT

Round 3 sees us head over to Learmonth for our annual White Ribbon Round, where we pause to acknowledge the lives of Sharon Siermans and Hannah McGuire. Sharon played junior netball at both Clunes and Learmonth making this week especially meaningful. We continue the ongoing fight to prevent violence against women.

With two courts in action at Learmonth, there’ll be a few changes to game times, so keep a close eye on when and where you’re playing!

A huge congratulations to our A Grade side for their gritty win over Ballan last week. Known for their physicality, Ballan never make it easy, but our girls dug deep and came away with the win. Special mention to Tlarnee Lake, who was outstanding and deservedly took home the ANZAC Medal. Across the grades, our ANZAC Medal recipients were:

B Grade – Mia Hayne

C Grade – Mim Meyers

D Grade – Adrienne Harris

U17 – Tatym Featherston

U15 – Taya Anderson

13A – Maddie McLennan

13B – Ava Remilton

Looking ahead to this week, we’re in for another big day. Learmonth are always strong, particularly in the senior grades, so A and B Grade will need to bring their best to keep that winning momentum rolling.

C Grade are still chasing their first win, the players stepping up from last year’s U17s are settling in nicely and really starting to make their mark.

D Grade will be eager to bounce back after a tough contest against Ballan. With plenty of experience in the lineup, they’ll be looking to play some steady controlled netball. Our U17s and U15s continue to show great depth and promise, and they’ll be looking to take control of their matches this week. All the best to Nikol and Ally coaching these teams. The 13A girls are in a rebuilding phase this season, with just two players returning from last year’s incredibly successful side, but growth is happening every week, and a win might be just around the corner.

And how good are our youngest Magpies? Our only undefeated netball side! Under Tatym’s leadership, they’re going from strength to strength, with some fantastic passages of play starting to come together.

Don’t forget Lightning Premiership is just a few weeks away. We’d love to see plenty of support there cheering us on!

Please note the changed game times for

this week:

13B – 8:50am

13A – 9:30am

U15 – 10:30am

D Grade – 10:30am

U17 – 11:30am

C Grade – 11:30am

B Grade – 12:30pm

A Grade – 1:30pm

FOOTBALL REPORT

ANZAC Day last weekend at the Bull Milgate Oval was a fantastic occasion for the club and we thank Ballan FNC for their assistance on making the day and night a successful event. Hopefully we can return the favour to Ballan next year and allow them an opportunity to attract a big crowd like we were able to do. Great to see so many enjoying the football and netball with cars filling the streets around the oval and the Wesley College students coming down for a look as well.

Our Seniors played some attractive football at times during their match and showed character to come from behind at three quarter time to win by eight points. Matthew Ryan was a worthy winner of the ANZAC Medal as he controlled the half back line before singing into the midfield for the final

period. Two goals capped off his performance that earned him praise from both coaches and the umpires.

Ballan had our measure on the scoreboard in the other football matches last weekend but the Clunes teams did not disgrace themselves and played all games out in the spirit we would expect. Numbers are good in the Reserves, U/15 and U/12 teams while the U/18s fought hard with some support from

a few U/15 lads. The U/18s are only a few players away from having a good team and recruiting continues.

And so it’s the short trip to Learmonth for our big derby game against the traditional rivals. They’ve started the season well in the Seniors and Reserves and sit on top of the ladder in both grades. Big rivalry games against local opposition are a fantastic part of country football and netball. The opportunity to take on Learmonth at their ground is one every player should relish and the challenge is one we look to rise to. Regardless of results across the day all Clunes players are supporters are urged to join our opponents in their social club after the final siren.

Today is our White Ribbon game through which we honour the lives Sharon Siermans and Hannah McGuire. We’ll be aiming to be aggressive and ruthless on the field but before, during and after the game we must be respectful of everybody connected to both clubs.

Senior Player I’m looking forward to watching this week: Jack Harwood is finding his feet in the CHFL and where he fits into the Clunes team. Little brother plays at Learmonth so I’m sure he’ll want bragging rights this week.

Reserves player I’m looking forward to watching this week: Leo Taylor has returned to Clunes after a few years away and is showing he’s the type of player that plays his role and minimises mistakes. Looking for another rock-solid showing from Leo.

Junior player I’m looking forward to watching this week: Killian McDougall is starting to understand how to use his body as a bigger player in the U/15s and has also shown he is developing his game awareness as he brings his smaller teammates into the play. Keen to see Killian working hard against Learmonth.

White Ribbon Day for Clunes FNC and we all understand the significance of that. All the best to all our teams.

Go Maggies!