Casterton-Sandford Casterton-Sandford

Blue,

Under 18’s Under 18’s

South Gambier South Gambier

Under 16’s Under 16’s

Under 14’s Under 14’s

Coach:

Brodie Jennings

Chase Kilpatrick

Lee McTaggart

Henry Medhurst

Lachlan

Patrick

Josh Vause

Harrison Xanthopoulos

Casterton-Sandford Casterton-Sandford

Under 12 A’s Under 12 A’s

NO TEAM FIELDED IN THIS GRADE NO TEAM FIELDED IN THIS GRADE

Coach:

Samuel

Coaches:

Kobi

Hadley

Harty

Desney

Summer

Parker

Essie

Chase

Hudson

Rowan

Casey

Jack

Thomas

Sebasan

Connor

Liam Salmon

Beau

Riley Watson

Fromthearchives

Awalkdownmemorylane

FOOTY:THEEARLYYEARS:SEBFL1954

NORTHTURFSOUTMILLICENT

Tigerswintightgameinfirstsemi

NORTH Gambier won a narrow five-point victory in the 1954 South East and Border Football League first semi final against Millicent, played at Penola’sbigground.

It pushed the Magpies out of the finals series and the Tigers would then move into the preliminary final.

The oval was at near capacity as the two teams came onto the field with Johnnie Taylor leading Northandhewonthetoss.

North were immediately into attack and Terry O’Donnellwasfreedrightinfrontandgoaled.

Bowman for Millicent had opened strongly but his long kick fell short and North defence rushed theballoutofdanger

As soon as the North centreline, led by youngster TrevorProbert,startedtopushforwardtheywere met by the brilliance of Millicent centre half back NeilMcDonald.

His athleticism was amazing as he was either taking strong pack marks or gathering the ball on the run, dodging opponents and sending the Magpiesbackintoattack.

With Ray Thompson on top at full back and Eric Roughana during well at centre half back for Northitbecameabattleofthehalfbacklinesand neither side were able to make a dent on the scoreboard.

Probert was damaging in the centre but his long kick registered a behind as the wind and the weatherelementsstartedtoplayabigroleinhow thegamewouldpanout.

Peter Thompson then took a great mark up forward and put the Tigers two goals clear with a beautifulpuntkick.

The long striding, long kicking full back Ray Thompson raced down field to intercept with great judgement and then banged the ball 60 metres to the forward line where Peter Thompson rose above the pack to pull in a top mark and then goaled for his second in as many minutes.

John Hanel in the back pocket was giving Ray Thompson plenty of support and they denied Millicentamajorinthatfirstterm.

Firstquarter:North3.3,Millicent0.3

In the second quarter the early part was dominated by the respective full backs – Ray Thompson (North) and Darkie Stevens

(Millicent).

They both took several saving marks on the last line of defence as neither attackscouldpenetratethedefences.

Attiwill was finding plenty of the ball across centre and he drilled a pass to coach Fred Bolton at full forward and put a drop kick through for Millicent’sfirstmajoroftheafternoon.

Across half back Pearce and Roughana were combining well to halt the Magpie attacks but Neil McDonald was doing much the same at the otherendoftheground.

Stevens charged down the ground, taking two bounces and then banged the ball into the half forwardlinewhereGouldsnappedupthecrumbs andpassedtoBoltonwhoagainmadenomistake for Millicent and suddenly North had a game on theirhands.

It was all Millicent as they charged forward time and again but Ray Thompson was in great touch atfullback.

Curyer who was now on top in the centre gathered and got the ball to Downes who kicked long over the pack and while it fell short it bounced and bounced and finally dribbled through for a major for the Magpies to allow themtohitthefrontforthefirsttimeinthegame.

Bolton took a mark on the siren and from 60 metreshiskickjustfellshorttogiveMillicenta13 pointleadathalftime.

Millicent5.5(35),North3.4(22)

In the third term Millicent were gaining plenty of advantage around the packs where Clive “Bub” Stevens and Attiwill were creative plus Curyer was now a dominant player, not only at the clearances but around the ground and his ability to hit teammates with his passes made him the bigdangerplayerforNorth. Then through good work from Taylor, he got the ball to Peter Thompson and he kicked his third to narrowthegap.

BubStevens’pacewasworryingtheTigersandhe continually raced down the open spaces on the Penolaflankstopushtheballforward.

Then, Roberts gathered at centre wing, got the balltoTaylor,whoturnedbrilliantlyoutoftrouble topasstoJoeWaterswhomadenomistake,then in a mini burst of brilliance Roberts again broke free and goaled on the run and North were back infront.

It was during the midway point of the third quarter that the weather became terrible and heavyhailandgaleforcewindshittheground.

It rained heavily for the remainder of the quarter and players started to play in ankle deep water in somepartsaroundtheground.

Threequartertime:North6.8,Millicent5.5

With heavy rain falling play became congested as both teams used their defence to hold the score line.

In the final term neither side kicked a goal. North didnotscorewhileMillicentaddedthreebehinds tonarrowthegaptofivepointsatthefinalsiren.

Adding to the problem for Millicent was their top ball winner Bub Stevens was injured into the final term and had to leave the ground and from there Millicentstruggledtoshowthesamedashthathe provided.

Peter Thompson finished with three goals while FredBoltondidthesamealthoughhehadlimited opportunities.

Ray Thompson was close to best man on the ground at full back and his height and baulk was handy in the many packs that were created, particularly when the rain came but he his aerial workwasfirstrate.

Captain coach Johnnie Taylor was everywhere and his disposal, even in the wet was excellent while Eric Roughana’s bullocking body work and dash from half back kept Millicent out time and again.

Curyer was Millicent’s best and his drive from the midfield really tore North’s talented centreline apart.

Healsohelpedoutindefenceasalooseman.

Attitiwill, Bub Stevens (until injured) and Neil McDonaldwereotherstocontroltheirpositions.