Benalla Hockey Club’s junior sides were in fine form at the weekend, with round 11 returning two wins for the Tigers, as well as a high-scoring loss.
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Under-12 v Mooroopna
Benalla’s goalie Hayden had a phenomenal game against Mooroopna, saving an epic 18 goals against the strong Strikers.
Captain William led by example, with an early fast break scoring the first for the game and surprising the Strikers, repeating this again in the second quarter.
Full back Teddy worked hard running out to halt Strikers’ momentum, and Madeleine provided great support running back from the forward line to protect the goal from fast breaks.
Sophie was unlucky not to score, after forcing some very handy turnovers in the midfield and racing the ball down the field, only thwarted by Strikers’ skilful goalie.
Benalla increased its intensity in the final quarter, showing that it can be a force to be reckoned with, with a fast goal from William off a run from Rachel and Sophie.
Rachel then stole a ball off a Strikers run, outpacing them to be one-on-one with the goalie who was unable to predict her nice push into the corner.
Phoenix really ramped it up in the fourth quarter, chasing the ball down with repeated tackles, finally getting the ball out of the corner and across to Rachel who scored Benalla’s sixth, although they went down 6:12 in their highest scoring loss of the season.
Goals: William 4; Rachel 2.
Umpire Best and Fairest votes: Hayden Littler 3; William Keen 2; Rachel Erickson 1.
Under-15 Orange v Mooroopna
Talon set the pace for Orange’s 6:2 win against Mooroopna, with a fast break from the back line down the right wing and a strong pass in towards the circle.
Erin scored early, with a well-timed shot in past the goalie after a pass across the circle from Amity on the wing.
Captain Angus W turned many balls over in the midfield, passing to the wings then moving forwards to score Benalla’s second off another lovely pass from Amity.
Liam was also handy through the midfield, with a great run passing back and forwards with cousin Angus W through to the top of the circle where he scored from a long, powerful slap hit.
After many penalty corners, Benalla finally capitalised with Angus W finding the gap to score after most of the forwards had taken shots which were rebounded.
Both Abbie and Alida assisted up high as full backs, then raced back to help goalie Annie cover the goal, holding Mooroopna to only two scores, including a fast shot into the top corner.
Goals: Angus W 2; Erin Jenkins 1; Liam 1.
Umpire Best and Fairest votes: Angus Woodward 3; Liam Carroll 2; Talon MacKenzie 1.
Under-15 Black v GVGS Yellow
Benalla Black really lifted this week against GVGS Yellow, with some great channelling runs down the right wing by Angus H, who also scored the first goal after passing to captain Jack on the wing who passed back to the top of the circle for Angus to crack it in.
Kobe and Xavier worked the ball well through the midfield, with Kobe forcing turnovers and Xavier making some great runs out wide, with a second goal after a pass across from Angus H on the backline.
Full back Cael set the tone early running the ball up the field, with Finn halting some fast runs onto goal by GVGS’s speedy players, keeping goalie Alexander well supported with only one fast goal getting past him.
Jack pushed out in their second penalty corner to Xavier, who passed to Kobe then to Angus H who scored.
Steele played a fantastic game, positioning well out wide and in the circle, with a high goal being disallowed but inspiring him to score the next off a sneaky back-pass around the goalie from Angus H.
Angus H secured the 5:1 win with a fast break through the pack to score into the corner.
Goals: Angus Hayes 3; Steele 1; Xavier 1.
Umpire Best and Fairest votes: Xavier Kramer 3; Finn Thompson 2; Steele Adams 1.
Senior results:
Strikers B Men won 3:0 against Mooroopna, with Angus Woodward flying down the wing to make good passes into and across the circle.
Latham Carroll was a solid full back, halting many of Mooroopna’s fast breaks.
Euroa Women lost 0:6 against Echuca White, with Ebony Jennings stopping multiple runs into the circle, and some certain shots on goal.
Katrina Brown positioned well on the wing as usual, and was unlucky to hit the post after a fast break.
Half-back Lee Manning had a fantastic final quarter, forcing multiple turnovers in the circle and chasing the ball out past the half line.
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