Hutt’s Back
Last weekend I was fortunate to call the Cobden and Warrnambool game. It was a great sight to see young Jack Hutt back up and running at the Bombers, albeit heavily bandaged. Jack is one of the great young players in the competition that has been regularly plagued by injury, not allowing football supporters to witness the great things he can do on the football field. Jack looked dangerous up forward, kicking three goals as well as contesting really well. Cobden are a young side, and having him in the line-up makes them a lot better and hopefully he can be a part of their positive progression.
It got me thinking which other players are similar, players that we have not been unable to witness due to injury. Ben Malcolm of the Tigers in some ways fits that category. An experienced player who has produced many great games over the years, but has been hampered by injuries and I feel we haven’t been able to fully see what he can do. Hopefully the big man is back soon and ready to help steer the Tigers deep in the finals.
WorkSafe Game of the Month
Terrific news the Hampden Football Netball League will be showcased this weekend, with the North Warrnambool and South Warrnambool clash receiving Game of the Month status. It has worked out perfectly that former GWS Giants coach Leon Cameron is one of the special guests, viewing the team he was recruited from in the late 80’s, the Roosters. 2016 premiership hero Tom Boyd will also be visiting and watching a high quality game of football as well as speaking about an extremely important topic in society at the moment; mental health and wellbeing. Let’s hope it’s a close encounter, with a big crowd and lives up to the status of Game of the Month.
North Warrnambool vs South Warrnambool – I really like the game style of the Roosters, their forward line is terrific and each member shares the load. They have a dour defence and arguably the best midfield in the competition. North Warrnambool have endured quite a few injuries and would love to take a scalp but I don’t think it will be today.
Portland vs Terang Mortlake – I’m loving the Portland Tigers, it is terrific for the league they are up and about. Terang Mortlake will be hoping to make a real battle of it, but it won’t be at Hanlon Park (one of the league’s toughest road trips). Tom Sharp to kick at least another 5 this weekend.
Port Fairy to Koroit – I want to be real positive heading into this match but Koroit’s form suggests it could be a very significant margin. The Saints midfield is playing well and their forwards of Dobson, Korewha, Couch, Neave and Hausler are in fine form.
Camperdown vs Warrnambool – Warrnambool are heading into this encounter in good form. Darcy Graham was welcomed back into the line up last round, adding more midfield depth and their forward line is first class with Rowan, Cowling and Jed Turland combining for 15 goals against Cobden. Everything has to go right for Camperdown to win, including enough footy coming into the path of Sam Gordon.
Hamilton and Cobden – Match of the Round for mine, two young emerging homegrown sides to battle. Cobden were very good for all but one quarter last weekend while Hamilton are starting to implement coach Waldron’s game style with consistency. Melville Oval is always a tough destination to play, I think Hamilton in a thriller.
Have a great day at the footy.
HIlly
The HFNL wishes to congratulate Brett Harrington from the Koroit Saints who will line up for his 250th Senior Football Game this weekend against Camperdown at Victoria Park.
This is an enormous achievement and will entitle him to automatic Life Membership of the HFNL.
Key stats and achievements for Brett below:
Brett also played all of his Junior footy at Koroit.
Koroit President Stephen Hoy said “Harry is one of the main reasons Koroit has had the success we have enjoyed. The standards he sets drives everyone around him and he is Koroit through and through. More importantly he is a terrific person and we are so lucky to have him at KFNC”.
Please join us in congratulating Brett and we wish him all the best in his 250th.
Lasts Week’s Results
Hamilton Kangaroos were able to score their first win for the season over Terang Mortlake 50 – 38. Kellie Sommerville was a welcome return for the Kangaroos with a best on court performance and Ellen Rose Lee played well for the Bloods.
South Warrnambool asserted their dominance again with an impressive 27 goal win over the Blues. Holly Phillips chipped in with 41 goals for the Roosters, whilst Jordi Bidmade had another great game for the Blues.
Portland fought hard all game to score an upset win over North Warrnambool Eagles. The Eagles struggled to find answers for the Tigers dynamic attack, and the Tigers were able to score a 9 goal win. Mikaila Pitt was elusive in the circle for the Tigers and Nakiah Thomas played well for the Eagles.
Camperdown played some of their best netball against Port Fairy with Krystal baker scoring well for the Magpies and helping her team to a 17 goal win over the seagulls. Tessa Allan tried hard for Port Fairy.
And in the final game of the round Koroit and Cobden played out a thriller at Victoria Park. Cobden were up by 3 at half time but Koroit, after making numerous changes clawed their way back and were eventual winners by 3 goals. Laylka Monk was amongst the best for the Saints and Jess Bouchier, playing her first Open game played well and went on to score 20 goals for the Bombers.
Milestone Game
This week we Congratulate Sarah O’Meara from the North Warrnambool Eagles FNC who will play her 250th Club Game this week. Sarah first came to the Eagles in 2008 as a 17/U player and won the 17/U Premiership in her first year. She has since won Premierships in Open and Div 1. She won the League Best and Fairest Div 1 Award in 2018 and was Runner Up League Best and Fairest in 2019. She has also won numerous Club Best and Fairest and Runner Up Best and Fairest Awards in the Div 1 grade. Sarah has also taken on Coach/Assistant Coach Roles for 13/U, 15/U and Div 1 Teams and has coached a 13/U Premiership Team.
Sarah is a valued member of the Netball Community at North Warrnambool and has contributed a great deal to the Club over the past 15 years. Congratulations Sarah. This is an awesome achievement. Well Done!
Unavailability resulting in opportunities for younger players
We all understand the impact COVID and more recently influenza has had on player availability. One thing’s for sure, these diseases are not discriminative, Players, Coaches, Umpires and Volunteers are all being affected. Whilst it is great to be back playing the football and netball that we have all missed so much over the past two years, please do not discount the tremendous efforts of all clubs, their officials and volunteers navigating their way through a season like we’ve never experienced before.
As I think about the upcoming round and who might take home the premiership points, if you are fortunate enough to have a full team list to select from you are in with a chance and as has been the case in the earlier rounds, so many of the younger players have had an opportunity to play at a higher level than what they would normally.
The benefits of extra court time for the younger players will no doubt be beneficial for the Clubs down the track and perhaps towards the end of the season we might see more Clubs vying for a spot in the Top 5.
With these factors in mind my selections for this week are:-
With strengths all over the court, Koroit will be too strong for Camperdown. Portland are capable of scoring a win over Port Fairy. South Warrnambool will comfortably account for Hamilton. Cobden and Warrnambool will be a great contest but Cobden will be keen to make amends for last week’s loss and will score a narrow win. North Warrnambool Eagles and Terang Mortlake will also be keen to get back on the winners list but I think North will steady and get over the line in another close game.
FOUR exports featured in wins at AFL level as round nine of the home and away season took place last weekend.
Willem Drew
Home Club: Koroit Saints
AFL Club: Port Adelaide Power
Stats: 8 kicks, 13 handballs, 2 marks
Another solid performance from the Koroit export as the Power recorded a third straight victory over North Melbourne.
Sam Walsh
Home Club: Cobden Bombers
AFL Club: Carlton Blues
Stats: 12 kicks, 14 handballs, 7 marks
Kicked two goals to go alongside a 31 possession haul in another game for the Blues.
Hugh McCluggage
Home Club: South Warrnambool Roosters
AFL Club: Brisbane Lions
Stats: 15 kicks, 7 handballs, 3 marks
Once again collected more than 20 possessions in the Lions win over Adelaide.
Zach Merrett
Home Club: Cobden Bombers
AFL Club: Essendon Bombers
Stats: 6 kicks, 8 handballs, 4 marks
A quieter outing for the Cobden product by his standards, with Essendon falling to Sydney.
Sean Darcy
Home Club: Cobden Bombers
AFL Club: Fremantle Dockers
Stats: 5 kicks, 4 handballs, 0 marks
Battled gamely to finish with 39 hit-outs and a goal in Freo’s loss to Gold Coast.
Rowan Marshall
Home Club: Portland Tigers
AFL Club: St Kilda Saints
Stats: 7 kicks, 5 handballs, 2 marks
Also kicked a goal and recorded 17 hit-outs in the Saints 10 point win over Geelong.
Jamaine Jones
Home Club: Portland Tigers
AFL Club: West Coast Eagles
Stats: 8 kicks, 7 handballs, 2 marks
Made a return to the Eagles AFL side and collected 15 disposals in the loss to Melbourne.
DID NOT PLAY:
Lewis Taylor
Home Club: Terang Mortlake Bloods
AFL Club: Sydney Swans
Did not feature this weekend with Sydney having a week’s break in the VFL.
Gary Rohan
Home Club: Cobden Bombers
AFL Club: Geelong Cats
Enjoyed a week’s rest as the Cats VFL side had a bye.
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan
Home Club: South Warrnambool Roosters
AFL Club: Western Bulldogs
Finished with two behinds from five possessions in Footscray’s VFL defeat to Collingwood.
INJURY LIST:
Josh Corbett
Home Club: North Warrnambool Eagles
AFL Club: Gold Coast Suns
Still sidelined with a hip injury.
Ben Cunnington
Home Club: Cobden Bombers
AFL Club: North Melbourne Kangaroos
Sidelined indefinitely as he recovers from testicular cancer.
Only recently I was checking out the weekend round of scores in the Victorian Football League, the second tier competition under the AFL. Whilst it didn’t surprise me, I was a little overwhelmed by the amount of Hampden Football Netball League products running around, and there were quite a few. As we all know, the Hampden League is a premier competition and has produced an excessive amount of top football talent, whether to the AFL, VFL or other state league competitions. I think we should all be very proud of the players running around in the AFL and VFL and hopefully now, you will keep an even keener eye on the results each week. Here are a list of players to check out on a weekly basis: Footscray – Josh Chatfield (Koroit) and Angus Bade (Warrnambool), Geelong – Fraser Marris, Marcus Herbert, Liam Herbert (South Warrnambool), Tom Feely and Lachlan Waddell (Hamilton), Scott Carlin (Terang Mortlake), North Melbourne – Connor Hinkley (Koroit), Werribee – Keegan Gray (Portland) and Carlton: Archie Stevens (South Warrnambool).
Harrington Milestone
Multiple Koroit premiership player Brett Harrington will line up in the red, white and black for the 250th time this weekend against Camperdown. What a contributor ‘Harry’ has been for the Saints, a key member of the midfield group in those strong premiership winning teams. Brett, a past winner of the Maskell Medal, has strong leadership skills and is a past premiership skipper. They breed them beautifully at Koroit and Brett is another one of the exceptional players who has graduated into a top level Hampden League player from the Koroit academy.
Pekin Reaches the Ton
One of Cobden’s favourite sons, Paul Pekin, will run around in the red and black this weekend for the 100th time against Warrnambool. Paul made his senior debut with the Bombers as a 16 year old in 2014, before really establishing his position in the side from 2015. A Hampden League representative, Paul attacks each game the same, with plenty of tenacity and application. He is known for his playing on the edge style, which has commonly seen him ruffle a few feathers against opposition players. Paul is this season a co-captain of the Bombers, a role I know he will grown into as the senior goes on. Enjoy game 100 Peko!
Round 6 Matches
Cobden vs Warrnambool – What a game this should be. Cobden is building nicely each week and would love to get a scalp. Warrnambool’s early season form has been a little indifferent but I think they have enough fire-power to win.
Koroit vs Camperdown – I love what Koroit are doing at the moment, blooding heaps of kids who are making a great impact, on-top of their senior guns. Camperdown are young and a great learning opportunity this weekend. Saints easy for mine.
South Warrnambool vs Hamilton – South Warrnambool are the team to chase at the moment and Hamilton in previous seasons have matched up reasonably well. It will take a mighty effort for the Kangaroos to win, I’ll confidently stick with South Warrnambool.
Port Fairy vs Portland – How good are Portland going? They are playing a confident, exciting brand of football that will be hard to shut down this weekend. The Seagulls are improving each week, but not enough to win.
Terang Mortlake vs North Warrnambool – Injuries have certainly had an impact on the form of North Warrnambool in recent weeks as well as being outplayed by their opposition. A really important game for them to get some confidence and form back, but it will be against a Bloods side that will be keen to upstage a top contender. North Warrnambool will improve and win.
Good Luck to all teams this weekend.
See you at the footy!
Hilly
PORTLAND is feeling the presence of added expectation this season but is embracing the pressure according to captain Daniel Jackson.
The Tigers are set to host North Warrnambool at Hanlon Park in the Hampden League Live Match of the Day on Saturday and will be searching for a fifth successive victory to start the season.
Its hot start comes off the back off a strong 2021 campaign, in which the Tigers had qualified for finals for the first time since entering the competition before COVID-19 ended the season prematurely in an unfortunate twist of fate.
While the playing group was disappointed with that turn of events, Portland’s response has been emphatic so far, recording wins over Warrnambool (39 points), Cobden (47 points), Hamilton Kangaroos (23 points) and Camperdown (76 points) leading into last weekend’s bye.
Jackson, a midfielder, admits there is more eyeballs on his side’s ability to perform this year following last season’s success, but so far he has been pleased with how his team-mates have embraced the challenge.
“Obviously last year was a bit unknown, we weren’t really sure how we were going to go,” he said.
“I think we definitely exceeded expectations last year and playing into this year I think expectations (on us) have been higher.
“That’s probably put on a bit more pressure and we’re probably going into games a bit more nervous when people expect you to win.
“There is a little bit more pressure but the boys have stood up so far this year.”
The clash with North Warrnambool is the first time Portland will face a top five side since round one but a good chance to nonetheless test itself again one of the premier teams of the competition.
The Eagles are aiming to return to the winners’ list following a shock loss to Warrnambool a fortnight ago, with Jackson wary of the 2019 grand finalist’s firepower.
“They’ve all been tough games. You don’t get any easy ones as we’ve learnt playing for a few years now in the Hampden league,” Jackson said.
“North Warrnambool are going to be a very strong side and obviously haven’t played their best footy yet.
“They have a lot of new faces and they’re going to come together and will get the ball rolling soon enough but hopefully not this week.”
In other games this weekend, Warrnambool will host arch rival South Warrnambool, Camperdown welcomes Port Fairy, Koroit faces Cobden and Hamilton Kangaroos take on Terang Mortlake.
TWO locals made returns from injury, while a South export starred in round eight of the AFL season.
Willem Drew
Home Club: Koroit
AFL Club: Port Adelaide Power
Stats: 8 kicks, 10 handballs, 2 marks
Racked up 18 possessions along with two clearances in the Power’s victory over the Western Bulldogs.
Sam Walsh
Home Club: Cobden
AFL Club: Carlton Blues
Stats: 12 kicks, 14 handballs, 7 marks
The former Cobden junior was prominent in the Blues win over Adelaide.
Hugh McCluggage
Home Club: South Warrnambool
AFL Club: Brisbane Lions
Stats: 14 kicks, 12 handballs, 4 marks
Four goals, 10 tackles and seven inside 50s capped off a best on ground performajce for the South export in the Lions win over West Coast.
Zach Merrett
Home Club: Cobden
AFL Club: Essendon Bombers
Stats: 13 kicks, 15 handballs, 3 marks
Capped off another strong performance with a goal as the Bombers defeated Hawthorn.
Sean Darcy
Home Club: Cobden
AFL Club: Fremantle Dockers
Stats: 9 kicks, 8 handballs, 7 marks
Made a successful return from a week off with concussion, finishing with 37 hit-outs and a goal as well as 17 touches in the Dockers triumph over North Melbourne.
Rowan Marshall
Home Club: Portland
AFL Club: St Kilda Saints
Stats: 5 kicks, 3 handballs, 1 mark
Made a return for the Saints in their loss to Melbourne, with the Portland product kicking two goals
DID NOT PLAY:
Jamaine Jones
Home Club: Portland
AFL Club: West Coast Eagles
Had a week’s break after the Eagles WAFL clash with East Fremantle was postponed.
Lewis Taylor
Home Club: Terang Mortlake
AFL Club: Sydney Swans
Collected 26 disposals and kicked a goal in the Swans VFL win over Werribee.
Gary Rohan
Home Club: Cobden
AFL Club: Geelong Cats
Finished with 17 possessions in the Cats VFL triumph against North Melbourne.
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan
Home Club: South Warrnambool
AFL Club: Western Bulldogs
Had the week off with the Bulldogs VFL affiliate not playing.
INJURY LIST:
Josh Corbett
Home Club: North Warrnambool Eagles
AFL Club: Gold Coast Suns
Did not play in the Suns win over Sydney.
Ben Cunnington
Home Club: Cobden
AFL Club: North Melbourne Kangaroos
Sidelined indefinitely as he recovers from testicular cancer.
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