Catch me if you can! Harley Bennell makes a run for it leaving the opposition in his wake at Saturday’s epic winning game.
Three years in the making
Wahgunyah 15.8.98 defeated Dederang 12.17.89
Best: Joshua Dwyer, Alex Lavis, Nathan Lau, James Flack, Riley O’Kane
Goals: Harley Bennell 6, Joel Costarella 2, Lachlan Phillips 2, Callum deOleveira, Justin Doyle, Joshua Dwyer, Des O’Kane, Jack Reid 1.
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There were no wounds to lick for the Wahgunyah Lions on Saturday as the club proved they are indeed a winning pride.
Following three years of straight losses, both the seniors and reserves sides took home the points with ground breaking wins against Dederang on the weekend.
Josh Dwyer addresses the players motivating them to their first victory since 2021.
“Normally Sunday is all about damage control after another loss,” club president Darryl Hore said.
“Sundays have typically been chaotic with phone calls and emails about what we can do to mitigate further losses but this week there was nothing.
“It feels surreal,” he continued.
“A couple of us decided to go for a counter meal and put a call out to anybody who wanted to come along so, instead of the frantic discussions about next week’s plan a few of the guys simply enjoyed their Sunday with a quiet afternoon at the pub.”
Coach Chris Willis discusses the game plan with the winning team.
In 2020 the club was looking really healthy with a full player list and plenty of reason to hope for great results. And then Covid arrived.
“There was obviously no footy at all in 2020,” Mr Hore said.
“In 2021 we only got through eleven rounds before the season was cancelled and it was really hard being on the border because in Victoria we weren’t able to play but in NSW we were so a lot of the guys left.”
Josh Dwyer evades the opposition and gets a clever handball off to his team mate.
By February 2022 just prior to the beginning of the season the club had only four senior players signed.
“Luckily we had two guys who were one hundred percent dedicated to rebuilding the club and made a commitment to recruit fifty new players.
“The week before the first round we had 24 fellas on the field at training and had to make a decision about whether or not to have a go, which we did, and got flogged week after week.” Mr Hore said.
A 431-point thrashing by Beechworth after 34 club members were struck down with Covid put the club in the national media spotlight and though it was disappointing and difficult, it also led to some positive outcomes for the tiny town struggling to secure players from Corowa and Rutherglen.
Reserves player Rory Bartlett looks for options as the opposition players close in.
“We could not field any junior teams in 2022 which almost broke us,” Mr Hore said.
“Were it not for the strength of our junior netball teams we would not have survived the past few years.
“But we’ve acquired new Under 17’s and 14s coaches in Jeremy Ronnfeldt, Ben Nicholson, Joel Casterella and Jack Lea and they have worked really hard to get the junior sides going again.”
The club has also picked up a new recruitment team that have approached things differently this year, looking beyond the immediate locale to source new players from further afield.
Ben Nicholson contests the ball at great height in the Reserves match.
“We’ve picked up a magnificent group of blokes from a bit further away in Mulwala and the like,” Mr Hore said.
“And the results of these efforts are starting to show now.”
With a game plan that purely consisted of just trying to be competitive in 2024, both the club and its supporters were thrilled with the wins on the weekend but will not be letting it go to their heads, realising that they still have a lot of work to do.
“We’re just focused on ensuring that we remain competitive at this stage,” Mr Hore said.
“We knew that all of the stars would align at some point and, while we’re obviously elated by the wins on Saturday, we’ll be training hard this week in the hope that we can put up a good fight against last year’s powerhouse in Yackandandah.”
Midgets
Our little loins worked very hard showing great teamwork. Great shots were scored and a tonne or intercepts were taken. Score 7-15
U13's continued their winning streak this week coming away with a 28-10 win. The girls showed the hard work they have been putting in week after week and rewarding the defenders many turnovers with strong team play moving the ball seamlessly down the court to convert goals.
Awards Elise O'Brien (club canteen award) Summer McNamara (AC Handy Fab) Charlotte Lake (Hungry Jacks)
U15
Wahgunyah under 15s versed Dederang Mount Beauty over the weekend, the girls came away with a win the score being 40 v 17. All of the girls played a great game and it was a well deserved win.
Awards Lara O'Brien (fish and chip co), Ava Johnstone(sports power), Mia Brown (canteen award) and Brooklyn Smith(Corowa cinema award).
U17
Wahgunyah 39 to Dederang Mt Beauty 19
The girls had a great game this weekend against Dederang - Mt Beauty, resulting in a 20 goal win. Our defensive trio of Jo Somerville, Evelyn Hooper & Chelsea Bennett was very strong whilst Rochelle Allan, Rahni Dickins & Poppy Massari lead from the front in our midcourt.
Our shooting combination of Issy Saunders & Imogen Lake was yet another significant key to our win. Harper Connell made her U/17s debut which was very exciting to have the versatility of Harper into our side.
Well done girls and bring on next week.
Awards: Origin Clothing: Issy Saunders The Pool Compliance Man: Rahni Dickins Canteen Award: Poppy Massari
C Grade
This was the best game we have seen our C Grade play in a very long time. Christine, Samm, Bianca and Veronica were very strong in defense, turning the ball over many times throughout the game.
The team worked well together and with a few little points to iron out over the coming weeks, their first win in a number of years is coming very soon if they continue to perform the way they have been over the past couple of weeks. Score 28 - 35
Awards Bianca Krech (Club Corowa) and Fabiana Dos Santos (Everyday Gourmet).
B Grade
B grade are continuing to improve weekly with different combinations in attack and defence the girls tried all day. Unfortunately Dederang were too good. Score 59-24
Awards Haylee Coats (Mug club award) Tara Willett (Aussie Hotel)
A Grade
A grade girls this week got shown teamwork wins games. Dederang were a class above and we have to get back to training to work on connections in the attack end and game play. Defensively Caity and Taleaka continued to fight all day with some excellent turnovers. Score 65-27
Awards Taleaka Dickins (Mug club award) Caity Byatt (Aussie Hotel)
