Round 1 of the new Limestone Coast Football Netball League kicked off last weekend with two of the games ending in big scores, while the third went down to the wire.
Casterton Sandford V Millicent
Millicent continued its dominant form in 2024 with a big win over Casterton Sandford in Casterton on the weekend.
Millicent had Dylan Shanks making his A grade debut on the weekend, taking the field with his brothers Kalan and Billy.
The first quarter was a bit shaky for the reigning premiers as they kicked two goals and three, as the Cats took advantage and hit the scoreboard in the first term.
Millicent lifted its intensity in the second term, kicking six goals as the Saints began to pull away from the Cats.
The Cats still had some good passages of play in the quarter as they kicked another goal but were down by 43 at half time.
The hosts refused to back down in the third quarter, even though they were looking at a huge deficit.
Casterton Sandford did well slowing down Millicent in the quarter and remained competitive in the term as both teams kicked two goals, with the visitors winning the quarter by two points.
The Saints continued to hold a big lead thanks to their early efforts and went into the last quarter up by 45 points.
The Saints stopped playing around in the fourth term as they held the Cats to two goals in the quarter while adding to their lead with a massive seven goals to close out the game.
Millicent’s Kalan and Billy Shanks had a great game together in round 1 with Frazer Bradley also putting up a good performance for the Saints with five goals.
Millicent defeated Casterton Sandford 17.12 (114) to 6.5 (41).
South Gambier V East Gambier
South Gambier started the 2024 season on a high with a big win over East Gambier at Blue Lake Sports Park on Saturday.
South had three young Demons debuting in this game as Will Attiwill, Brody Fox and Kobe Bannon all suited up in the red and white for their first A Grade games.
For the Doggies, new recruit Jaise Coleman debuted for the red and black on the weekend.
South got away to a cracking start in the first quarter with 15 scoring shots.
They converted eight of them to hold a comfortable lead to kick off the season.
On the other hand, East had a slow start to the game.
The Doggies did however find themselves with points on the board as they picked up a goal in the first term.
After the first quarter South held a 48 point lead.
The Demons continued to put their foot on the pedal in the second quarter as they dished off another five goals.
The Doggies put up a fight as they continued to kick goals, managing two in the term.
As the teams headed back into their changing rooms for half time, the Demons had a lot to be happy with as they held a 67 point lead.
South kept its momentum from the first half into the third quarter and continued to dominate the play with repetitive inside 50s.
The Doggies struggled to hold off the relentless pressure as they let the Demons have another five goal quarter.
East had limited time with the ball inside their forward 50, but they took advantage of it to kick a lone goal in the quarter.
At three quarter time South was charging away towards a win, up by 95 points.
The only highlight from East’s dark day was their fourth quarter, as the Doggies outscored the Demons four goals to two.
But by then the game was already way out of hand as South came away with the win.
East’s fourth quarter will be something they will be looking to build off heading into this week’s game against the Cats.
The return of South Gambier ruckman Mason Hein proved to be a great pick up for the Dees as he looked exceptional in the ruck on the weekend.
South Gambier’s Ethan Chuck also had a good game, kicking six goals in the win.
South Gambier defeated East Gambier 20.16 (136) to 8.5 (53).
West Gambier V North Gambier
West and North kicked off the 2024 season with a ripper game with the Roos coming away with the four points on their home deck.
West Gambier had Sam Casey making his A grade debut on the weekend with North Gambier having Riley Ellis and Toby Nixon also making their A grade debuts.
Both teams got off to a hot start to kick off their seasons, both slotted three goals in the first term.
The Roos edged a small lead in the quarter after having a few more scoring shots, to be up by two at the first change.
Both sides retained their momentum in the second term as the goals kept coming, with the Roos sending through three goals, but that was not enough to hold the lead.
The Tigers had a big second quarter, registering four goals, as they took the lead to be up by five points at the main break.
After a big second quarter it appeared the Tigers had lost their momentum after the half-time break, only coming up with one point in the third term.
The Roos took full advantage of this as they snatched back the lead with a three goal quarter to head into the final stanza with a 16 point lead.
The Tigers knew they had to correct their mistakes from the previous quarter and that was what they did.
West had plenty of chances to put the game away but just could not, having six scoring shots and only coming away with six points.
The Tigers had to make up ground fast as they kicked three goals in the quarter, but it was not enough as North ran out of time and fell short by only three points.
West Gambier’s Sam Casey had a great first game on debut, along with Michael Minuzzo who is looking like having another great season for the Roos this year.
West Gambier defeated North Gambier 9.13 (67) to 10.4 (64).
