Yarrawonga 3.4, 5.7, 8.9, 10.10.70.
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Lavington 2.2, 4.5, 6.5, 8.9.57.
Goals: Yarrawonga: Leigh Williams 2, Jess Koopman 2, Willie Wheeler 2, Nick Fothergill 1, Logan Morey 1.
Lavington: Luke Garland 3, Jack Driscoll 2, Jack Harland 1, Tyson Neander 1, Jake O’Brien 1.
Best: Yarrawonga: Cameron Wilson, Willie Wheeler, Bailey Frauenfelder, Lach Howe, Leigh Williams, Leigh Masters.
Lavington: Tim Hanna, Will Glanvill, Ewan Mackinlay, Luke Garland, Maclayn Hallows, Jonathon Spina.
The Yarrawonga Pigeons have secured the all important four points at the JC Lowe Oval in a hard fought contest against a competitive Lavington.
In a high-pressure opening quarter, the Pigeons were forced to work for their scoring opportunities with the Panthers bringing high effort and energy around the ball.
Kickstarting the day for the Pigeons was Leigh Williams who booted through two early goals whilst the in-form Nick Fothergill produced some magic with a dribble goal in front of the tennis courts to give the home side their third and an 8-point lead at the first change.
Lavington began the second quarter in great style with two goals within the first two minutes through stalwart Luke Garland and youngster Jack Driscoll to give the Panthers the lead.
After the majority of the quarter being played at Lavington’s end, the Pigeons were finally able to breakthrough on the scoreboard through a touch of a class from Willie Wheeler at the 20-minute mark of the quarter.
Wheeler, on the back of a Lavington turnover across half forward thanks to Mark Whiley, was able to run to 40 and slide a much-needed goal through on his left foot to regain the lead for the Pigeons.
A late bit of individual brilliance from Leigh Williams right on the half time siren was a huge moment in the context of the game. Williams, hemmed up against the boundary line in front of the opposition coaches' box, produced a stunning check side to stretch the margin back out to the 8-points.
Although not playing their best football, Pigeons Coach Steve Johnson remained positive at the main break however identified that his troops needed to tidy up their skills around the ball as fumbles throughout the first half invited Lavington’s pressure which then in turn was having an impact on the game.
If the Pigeons could tidy up this area of their game, they looked as though they would have enough firepower to hold the Panthers at bay.
Throughout the third quarter, the players from both teams displayed impressive work rate and relentless effort. The Panthers demonstrated their attacking prowess by converting two well-executed opportunities into goals.
On the other hand, the Pigeons stayed ahead of the game with three goals of their own.
The determined forward line efficiently found ways to breach Lavington's defense, enabling them to secure a slight advantage on the scoreboard. In particular it was the lively Jess Koopman who bobbed up with two goals of his own in the third term.
With a 16-point buffer heading into the final quarter, the Pigeons were encouraged to maintain possession of the football and take uncontested marks where possible in a bid to starve Lavington of scoring opportunities.
The final quarter saw the Pigeons do just enough in the important moments to secure the points.
Bailey Frauenfelder is putting together a consistent year off half back and yet again was able to display brilliant run and carry combined with lethal foot skills in a strong four quarter performance.
Onballers Cam Wilson and Willie Wheeler were excellent contributors for the Pigeons across the day whilst Lach Howe played his role superbly in the ruck.
The Pigeons are in a strong position after round 5 with 4 wins and 1 loss and will now turn their attention to a trip to Myrtleford to take on the Saints before having two weeks off.
Oakfm Player of Year votes
Yarrawonga v Lavington: 5 Willie Wheeler, 4 Mark Whiley, 3 Cam Wilson, 2 Billy Glanvill (Lav) 1 Bailey Frauenfelder.
Leaderboard
14 Josh Mathey (Wod)
13 Willie Wheeler and Mark Whiley (Yarra)
12 Isaac Muller (Alb)
11 Nick Fothergill (Yarra).
Reserves
Yarrawonga 9.4.58 defeated by Lavington 10.10.70.
The Pigeons Reserves side have suffered their second defeat of the season, going down to a strong Lavington side at the JC Lowe Oval on Saturday afternoon.
After leading for large portions of the day, the Pigeons eventually ran out of steam in the final stages of the game as the Panthers ran away with a 12-point victory.
With limited rotations available, the midfield brigade of the Pigeons did a power of heavy lifting throughout the entire game.
David O’Dwyer, Doug Arnold, Max Hemphill, Tom McKimmie and Reed Bonat all played fantastic roles for the home side.
At the main break, it was the Pigeons who held a slender 1-point lead. However, they knew that they were going to have to play out the full four quarters with Lavington breathing down their necks.
The Pigeons were able to get the game on their terms in the third quarter and early into the last as the contest began to look like a classic Yarrawonga style game. Hard, contested and repeated stoppages was just what the Pigeons required.
An early goal in the final term to Max Hemphill gave the Pigeons a big boost of confidence as they stretched the margin out to two goals.
However, in the final 10 minutes of game time, it was the Panthers who would have more run in the legs as they were able to get on top of the Pigeons late in the piece.
The Pigeons will look forward to regaining some key personnel back into the line-up as they head to McNamara Reserve to take on the Myrtleford Saints.
Goals: Jacob Adkins 2, Xavier Leslie 2, Reed Bonat 1, Hayden Cartwright 1, Nick Gorman 1, Max Hemphill 1, Dillon Walsh Hall 1.
Best: David O’Dwyer, Douglas Arnold, Reed Bonat, Max Hemphill, Hayden Cartwright, Bronson Schofield.
Thirds
Yarrawonga 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.1.1
Lavington 2.5, 8.7, 13.10, 16.16.112.
Goals: Lavington: Harryson Barber 4, Declan Thiele 3, Patrick Lavis 2, Corby Robertson 2, Caleb Clemson, Jack Costello 1, Oscar Lyons 1, Cruz Nash 1, Alex Swinnerton.
Best: Yarrawonga: Ned Harvey, Alexander Di Cioccio, Lochie Forge, Blake Keenes, Mitchell Parker, Luke Slattery.
Lavington: Patrick Lavis, Corby Robertson, Jack Costello, Jordan Croker, Nick Paton, Xavier Russell.
Pigeons Loft
What a start to season 2023. Our A Grade Netball and 1st XVIII continue to drive along and it has been great to see so many people at our first three home games.
Whilst we do not return to our home ground for a month (King’s Birthday Weekend) I am sure our volunteers will look forward to a bit of a rest from presenting and cleaning our arena.
Running the club without the huge behind the scenes work of our amazing volunteers would simply not be possible.
Speaking of our next home game, King’s Birthday v Wodonga – there will be a Past Players event on the outer wing. More details will follow but contact Craig Ednie and Nick Dykes to secure your spot to this all-inclusive day. The day will also honour the 2013 Premiership team.
Last Saturday upstairs, Paris Bonat again hosted the Mint Boutique Ladies Day. As always, the event was well attended with over 120 Pigeon women in their finest.
A special thanks to the myriad of supporters and sponsors of the day including Bella Pelle, Jaycees and Bang Events (Drew and Anna Barnes) who fitted out the rooms.
If you need event assistance, make sure you hit up Anna @BangEvents. Again, a special thank you to Paris Bonat for creating a special day on the Pigeon Calendar.
One of the attendees and after turning on a performance on court, was 100 A Grade and 200 Club gamer superstar Hannah Symes. Hannah has filled a variety of roles from coach, committee person to Toni Wilson medallist.
Often it is hard to put into words the culture the Pigeon netballers have created. Hannah personifies it. Each week she travels from Albury to continue to play for her Pigeons, and not just play, star. A wonderful player and phenomenal human.
This weekend we head up the Ovens to challenge Myrtleford. It is always a great club to visit and always a challenge on the field and court.
Following that match we have two byes before heading to Rovers on June 3.
If you have not got your membership, they are available at the gate or Hargraves during business hours: 16 Orr Street, Yarrawonga.
We take this opportunity to thank our major partners: ClubMulwala, Kennedy Builders, Belmores, BETR, Blum, Yarrawonga Holiday Park, Yarrawonga Hotel and Yield Finance for their support.
Pigeon Con’s Coronation joke: I’m not a fan of the new coins released with King Charles’ head on them…. But then I don’t like change.
Awards:
Netball Awards
Squires Winery – Hannah Symes (special thanks Squires for coming on board).
Football Awards
Yarrawonga Hotel – Brayden Coburn.
Yarrawonga Hotel – Doug Arnold.
Yarrawonga gate raffle: The winner of the YFNC gate raffle was David Orford with ticket #19553.