The Felines ventured down the Federation Highway to take on the Wangaratta Rovers on a day where the Bureau of Meteorology were predicting showers, strong south westerly wind squalls and snow down to 120m.
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Under 14s
The young Felines welcomed back Chloe Baxter for this match in her first match for the season.
However, it was the Rovers team that got the best start and they managed to kick the first two goals of the match. The back line led by Alexia Nagle and Violet Fisher played valiantly and repelled many of the Rovers forward entries.
However, after half time the Felines matched the game equally with the Rovers. They created several excellent forward entries but were not able to convert their chances.
The Rovers were able to maintain their narrow advantage to the end to take out a deserved win
Wangaratta Rovers 2.4-16 defeated Murray Felines 0.1-1
Best: Abbey Ibrahim, Alexia Nagle, Violet Fisher, Chloe Baxter, Marlie Smith, Carrington Schmidt, Ashlyn Willett
Under 17s
A depleted Felines team were up against a much-improved Rovers team. The team plugged away for the whole match to gradually gain the ascendency and win reasonably comfortably.
In the centre, Ava Loughnan returned to the team and was instantly back to her best form with a best on ground display.
Not to be outdone, younger sister Hannah Loughnan kicked the first goal of the match and provided a real handful for the opposition in the forward line.
Maddie Ibrahim continues to improve her skills each week and for this match, she was thrown into the ruck. With a great leap, Maddie won many clearances for the team and provided great drive through the midfield.
Up front, Georgia Thomas worked hard to provide a target and took many marks from full forward.
The back line lead by Sophie Kelly, Josephine Muscat and Issy Bush were once again miserly in defence and ensured that the Rovers struggled all match to gain a significant number of forward 50m entries.
Coach Brad Nicholson was happy with the endeavour of the team and their work rate throughout the match. He also praised the improvement during the season of the Rovers team who were really able to challenge the Felines and created a hard contest.
Felines 5.7-37 defeated Wangaratta Rovers 1.0-6
Goals: Georgia Thomas 2, Hannah Loughnan 2, Abbey Ibrahim
Best: Ava Loughnan, Angelina Bigger, Hannah Loughnan, Emily Cooper, Georgia Thomas, Sienna Koop, Josephine Muscat, Madison Ibrahim
Opens
The Open Felines team were jumped by a quick starting Rovers team who dominated the early stages of the match. This included a great running goal to get the Rovers on the scoreboard. However, in the second half of the first quarter, the Felines were able to get better time in possession and created numerous forward 50m entries.
Caitlin Somerville kicked a terrific goal threading the ball past several opponents to get the Felines on the board.
Once again in the second quarter, the Felines were able to win the ball and the game was largely played in their forward half. Unfortunately, they struggled to convert this forward pressure into scoreboard pressure.
At the same time, the back line defended valiantly to keep the Rovers team out for the quarter. In the last minute of the quarter, the Felines were able to force the ball forward and Sinead Lang was able to kick a goal after the siren to put the Felines in control of the game.
The rain came down in the third quarter and turned the match into an old-fashioned slog.
The Rovers were able to slowly gain the ascendency and started to look dangerous on the fast break.
A strong mark and goal to the Rover’s Jess Whitehead meant that the Rovers went into the last quarter only one point up.
The last quarter was once again a hard slog with both teams playing strong and hard at the ball.
The back line with Kaitlyn Robinson at Centre half back was holding on. A disputed goal to the Rovers put the Rovers 7 points in front with 10 minutes of play left.
For the last 10 minutes, the Felines lifted their intensity and had the ball camped in the forward 50m. However, with the wet ball, they struggled to create opportunities for a goal.
The Felines had the ball a mere 20m goal when the final siren sounded, meaning that they fell agonisingly short for the match.
Wangaratta Rovers 3.5-23 defeated Murray Felines 2.4-16
Goals: Caitlin Somerville, Sinead Lang
Best: Mietta Habets, Kaitlyn Robinson, Yasmine Budic, Emily Keys, Claire Megarrity, Emily Nicholson, Chloe Mitchell
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