Benalla youth girls continued their run to finals with a strong 63-point win over Tatura on Sunday, with the squad outright third in the league with four regular season matches remaining.
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With Tatura numbers down, Benalla loaned players to even up the two sides, which initially benefited the Bulldogs, who got a hot start with the assistance of the Benalla players, scoring three goals to the Saints’ two points in the opening term.
But in a second term, where Tatura remained competitive, it was Benalla’s handballing, teamwork and competitive attitude that rose to the top and made it easier to move the ball forward and score.
The second half played out in similar fashion with Benalla scoring seven unanswered goals to run over the top of Tatura.
Tayissa Gray again starred down forward, kicking six majors to take her tally to 29 this season, while Sam Pritchard was judged best afield, her run and carry across the wing and through the midfield a real highlight.
Benalla’s teamwork and follow up handballs have continued to make Benalla a competitive side, which was especially noticeable in the way the ball was moved forward quickly and into the scoring zone, putting pressure on the Bulldogs defence.
An area of improvement for the Saints moving forward will be their goal kicking, with the Saints needing to practice kicking to a target to improve on its 11.16 efforts against the Bulldogs.
Benalla will have a bye this Sunday, before travelling to face Cobram on Sunday, July 6, at 12.30pm.
Final score: Benalla 11.16 (82) def Tatura 3.1 (19).
Goal kickers: T. Gray 6, M. Cronin 4, O. Antonello 2, S. Pritchard, G. Hutchins
Best Players: S. Pritchard, I. Symes, O. Antonello, M. Gray, T. Gray, A. Buka.
