Young Redeyes show up Dees

Blighty’s seniors started off well in the first quarter on Saturday.

And while they were behind on the score board, coach Kyel Bain said the side is showing a lot of fight around the contest.

“The middle part of the game was disappointing at times, letting Jerilderie do their own thing with us not prepared to run both ways,” he said.

“The last quarter was our best. The boys lifted and showed a lot of fight to finish the game out.”

Although a disappointing result overall, a highlight was Matt Hay’s first senior game and first goal.

Bryson Godfrey’s attack on the ball out of the goal square was also strong.

The best on for the day went to Bailey Burke with his clearance work.

Other awards went to Nick Hay, who ran hard all day.

Henry Michael stepped up from the thirds and played an outstanding game down back.

He was outsized at times, but never gave up.

Final score: Blighty 1.3 (9) def by Jerilderie 22.30 (162).

The Blighty reserves had a “pearler” of a day on Saturday.

While the scoreline ended up 75 to 20 Jerilderie’s way, coach Dion WInter siad it didn’t stop the boys from doing their thing.

“We had great game plan, but could not quite get the score on the board as high as we wanted it,” he said.

“However it was a year high score, and we kept them well below 100 points.

“It showed we were meshing.

“Having six of our best players out made the difference, however the fellas we had were strong and didn’t stop all day.”

Best on was Andrew Simpson for “doing his thing”. He continues to show how footy should be with his determination and ball movement.

Captain George Reid had a great game. He did not see a lot of the footy, but his defending impact was one to watch.

Veteran Kynan McKenzie showed he could still move the footy well, with great run and carry and brilliant delivery to the forwards.

Blake Knight is growing and beginning to throw his body on the line, while young thirds player Reilly Webb stood out with his speed and footy brain, which is becoming better every week.

Final score: Blighty 3.2 (20) def by Jerilderie 10.15 (75).

The Redeyes’ thirds started the game with the upper hand due to Jerilderie’s undermanned and young side.

The boys controlled the ball from the first bounce, forcing it forward and hitting the score board, which they continued to do all game.

Everyone played their part to ensure we maximised our scoring opportunities and lifted in what was a massive win for our boys. It was a sold team performance.

Best on went to Ethan McLeish, for spoiling, out muscling and keeping his opponent out of the game.

Other awards: Harry McIlwain who stood out with his tall frame, strength, and athleticism; Dean Macdonald, for putting the ball into space for his team mates and his run; Toby Grimwood, for strong one-on-one contests out marking his opponent.

We now prepare to take on Katunga in what will be a monumental game for us to stay in the top eight.

Final score: Blighty 32.16 (208) def Jerilderie 0.1 (1).

The Blighty fourths headed over to take on Jerilderie.

With a few of our key players out we knew it was definitely going to be an arm wrestle - and that it was.

To the young Redeyes’ credit they all dug deep in the last quarter and showed the true Blighty spirit.

It paid off and they came away with a hard fought win.

Better players included Cobi Johnson, who did not stop all day with his hard running and just racking up possessions everywhere.

Reagan Mcdonald continued his strong form out of the back line, showing us some flare that we didn’t know he had.

Lara Strong had a very dominant performance in the ruck and was also really good with her ground ball gets.

Jack Culton, with a change to the forward line, gave us a really strong target up forward and showed how versatile he really is.

Not to be outdone, younger brother Ollie Culton played another cracking game.

Jarred Hislop’s run and carry off the half backline was amazing, repelling plenty of attacks.

Final score: Blighty 4.3 (27) def Jerilderie 2.4 (16).