Junior footy

The young Pigeons suffered their first defeat on Sunday against Albury. Conditions were perfect for the showdown that everyone had been waiting for and the standard of footy certainly didn't disappoint.

Spectators were treated to a ripping game of football and both sides walked away with their heads held high.

Mac Hargreaves and Byron Dodd (co-captains for the day) lead the way from the first bounce.

Mac had so many possessions the statistician's pen ran out of ink. Whilst Byron was in and under packs all day.

Wally Hammon played a tremendous game at fullback. His desperation and reliability are attributes that coaches dream of.

Whilst Lachy Cruikshank turned it on down forward. When the team needed a lift across half forward, Lach took it upon himself and bashed and crashed his way into the game.

Unfortunately, the result didn't go Yarra's way this week.

However, there's no doubt this bunch of little legends are finals bound, and with another opportunity to have a crack at Albury on their home deck in a couple of weeks excitement is brewing!

Goals: T Parker 2, N Saunders, H Bramich.

Best: M Hargreaves, W Hammon, S Cummins, L Cruikshank, B Dodd, A Lawless.

Under 14s

Yarrawonga 6.5.41 def Albury 3.9.27.

The boys came out strong against Albury kicking the first goal. Albury replied with a goal of their own and this set the stage for a good game of footy.

Albury's tackling kept constant pressure on Yarra all day keeping scoring low. Yarra was able to score 4 goals to Albury’s 1 in the 2nd quarter giving Yarra a lead they held onto for the rest of the game. The boys kept battling away all game keeping Albury to only 3 goals overall.

Well done Yarra.

Goals: C Clark 2, J Comensoli 1, D Skehan 1, C McCarty 1, L Kaine 1.

Coaches awards: C McCarty, J Comensoli, J Cummins.

Under 16s

Yarrawonga 12.8.80 def Albury 4.6.30

The Albury Tigers travelled to Yarrawonga this week to take on the Under 16s boys. Yarra started strongly and continued their great efforts throughout the game, winning each quarter to find themselves up by 8 goals at the final siren.

Jace Gove was proving to be a headache for the Albury backline, creating opportunities with some slick handballs in the forward line.

Bayden Sage had a great game with a couple of highlights being a quick handball under pressure resulting in a goal for Gus Saunders and a strong contested mark and a precision kick in the last quarter setting up a Sam Trembath goal.

Matt Saxton came off the bench in the first quarter and straight away made his presence felt whilst playing on the wing. Matt ran hard all day, running into space and punching the ball into the forward line on numerous occasions.

Charlie Rae was on fire on the other wing. Charlie ran hard and was ferocious at the contest, combined with some strong marking and excellent bursts through the packs he was able to drive the ball into the Yarra forward line all day.

Brayden Bramich also had a great day out. Brayden was getting his hands on the ball, dishing out some great handballs and provided some great forward line pressure, keeping the ball locked in the forward line.

In what was a reflection of the pressure Brayden was applying he laid an excellent tackle on an Albury player as he attempted to run the ball out of their backline.

Awarded the free kick Brayden lined up for goal right on the boundary line in what could only be described as an impossible angle. Undeterred Brayden took on this challenge and with a great checkside kick he was able to split the big posts for goal of the day.

After being away due to injury and holidays for the past 4 weeks Sam Trembath returned to the side and made an immediate impact.

Playing full forward throughout the match Sam was able to use his silky ball skills and excellent speed to totally outclass his Albury opponents. Sam finished the day with a match winning 7 goals.

Goals: Sam Trembath 7, Lucas Tonna 2, Braeden Bramich 1, Zac Forge 1, Gus Saunders 1.

Best: Sam Trembath, Mitch Tyson, Zac Forge, Ryder Stevens, Charlie Rae, Xavier Mitchell.

Awards: Charlie Rae (Lake Cafe & Wine Co), Matt Saxton (Club Award), Braeden Bramich (Intersport Wingates), Sam Trembath (YMH sock award), Bayden Sage (YMH sock award).