On Saturday the Young Saints AFL Club did battle with the Orange Tigers and put on two impressive games.
Despite this the Saints were unable to come away with the points.
The First Grade side were right in the contest up until just on three quarter time when the Saints had a player sent off, and then with around 15 minutes left in the final term another Saint was dismissed to the sin bin.
Orange capitalised on the ill discipline to kick away and take the victory.
Once again the Saints’ backline were dogged and kept the scores close over all four terms, with Jarrod Pope from fullback and Issac James across the halfback line putting in a really strong game to give his side plenty of go-forward.
In the forward line the Under 18 players stood tall and gave the side a lot of confidence in their goal approach, and the defence was honest and staunch.
Kai O’Rourke and Brodie Harmer-Clark were standouts.
The teams’ midfield keeps on getting better and last week gained plenty of possession and pushed the side forward with newly-found confidence.
One perfect example was Ethan Cummins who was voted players player.
The women’s game was an absolute cracker with the Saintees leading all the way only to be agonisingly pipped at the post to go down by a single point.
Coach Michaela Perceval couldn’t have been prouder of her chargers and believes a couple of wins more before the season finishes are quite achievable.
Kayley Hart in the forward line was in everything, as was Caitlin Shaw.
Two of the standouts in this game were Bridgette Windsor who never took a backward step and battled it to the end.
The other was Carly Slater who was voted players player and received the CTR Trophies’ award for a skilled and dominating performance.
She is going to be a handy asset over the remainder of the season for the Saintees.
On Sunday the Under 14s played the Bushrangers from Bathurst and were defeated 75-1, but the scoreline didn’t reflect the standard of the game.
All the lads walked off the field high in spirits and all smiles which is a pleasing thing to see in junior sport.
First year players Alex block and Blake Carrie came out of their shells and showed some real want during the game.
The backs – as in all grades – stood up and had a real go, repelling many attacking raids with the Bushies kicking at least five goals by going over the top with strong long kicks and rolling them through.
Lachie Pratt playing onball and back was the team’s best, closely followed by Aiden Pratt and Rhys Minnic who is improving each week.
The PJs Volunteer of the Day awards this week went to Josh Sanderson and Alex Pratt.
Tomorrow all grades take on the Bushranger Outlaws in Bathurst and will be travelling by bush which has seats spare. These are $20 a head or $10 for Under 18s and will leave the Young Hotel at 8am. Call Geoff Harmer on 0457 341 719 for more details.
Under 14s play at Orange.
