Gulls close in on top five

A grade: Drouin 55 def Bairnsdale 50, Warragul 31 def Moe 29, Morwell 40 def Leongatha 20, Maffra 48 def Wonthaggi Power 45, Traralgon 49 def Sale 32.

B grade: Drouin 37 def Bairnsdale 36, Moe 39 def Warragul 27, Morwell 46 def Leongatha 23, Wonthaggi Power 33 def Maffra 29, Traralgon 43 def Sale 23.

C grade: Drouin 44 def Bairnsdale 19, Moe 37 def Warragul 28, Leongatha 21 def Morwell 16, Maffra 38 def Wonthaggi Power 32, Traralgon 38 def Sale 31.

Under 17: Bairnsdale 33 def Drouin 15, Moe 61 def Warragul 13, Leongatha 30 def Morwell 22, Wonthaggi Power 40 def Maffra 28, Traralgon 47 def Sale 36.

Under 15: Bairnsdale 20 def Drouin 18, Moe 53 def Warragul 20, Leongatha 48 def Morwell 20, Maffra 29 def Wonthaggi Power 22, Sale 59 def Traralgon 12.

Under 13: Bairnsdale 28 defeated Drouin 12, Moe 38 def Warragul 8, Leongatha 36 def Morwell 17, Wonthaggi Power 44 def Maffra 19, Sale 40 def Traralgon 23.

Warragul’s A grade team are closing in on the top five after a win over the fancied Moe on Saturday. A grade: Warragul 31 defeated Moe 29. The Gulls came out firing in the wettest conditions they’ve seen all year, taking a five-goal lead at the first break.

Plenty of poise and composure in the attack end saw the girls extend the lead over the next two quarters. They led by 11 goals at the final break.

The last quarter was far from the Gulls’ best, becoming a little hesitant to undo a lot of their hard work from the first three quarters.

Moe made the most of this, pegging back the margin. The Gulls held on to win by two goals and were just happy to get another win on the board against Moe who sat comfortably second on the ladder.

Awards: Mackenzie Minichello, Renee Cook and Jaime Rollinson. B grade: Warragul 27 lost to Moe 39. The B grade girls couldn’t join the winning list for the club this week.

The Gulls came out with guns blazing and played an amazing first half.

After being even with Moe at quarter time, they battled the rain and wind to lead by three goals at half-time.

In the third quarter, both Moe’s attacking and defensive skills were too good for the Gulls and they gave up the lead.

As hard as the girls tried, they couldn’t seem to come back from the third quarter loss and went down by 12 goals. Although they didn’t come away with a win, the Gulls had some outstanding performances from both goalers and the midcourt.

Awards: Stevenson. Cindy Dawson and Madeline C grade: Warragul 28 lost to Moe 37. After a one-goal loss for the Gulls when they first met Moe, the C grade girls were expecting a tough game and hoping to reverse the result.

The Gulls had a slightly different team, missing a couple through injury and holidays. However, they were able to include Grace Radford from the 17s and Cara McIntosh back from injury.

Moe’s accurate goaling meant defenders Matisse Olsson and Sarah Hams didn’t get many opportunities to rebound. However, they made the most of the few that did come their way and, supported well by Emily Sandman in wing defence, did a superb job of transitioning the ball out of defence and into attack.

In the second half, Cara was a welcome inclusion in that defensive line-up, bringing experience and a great encouraging voice. Tanya Barr and Hannah McKenzie combined beautifully in the midcourt and worked tirelessly to help the goalers work the ball close to the ring, given the conditions.

Claire Sandman, who has spent more time in the midcourt than goals this season, switched into goaler mode seamlessly and played a great game. Grace Radford positioned well and goaled beautifully when she came on in goal shooter and was a pleasure to play with. Unfortunately, the final scoreline didn’t reflect how truly well the girls played. Awards: Hannah McKenzie and Sarah Hams. Under 17: Warragul 13 lost to Moe 61. In a tough game against Moe, the Gulls struggled to convert turnovers in the freezing conditions.

Grace Radford provided great height down the defence end, however, that was not enough to save the scoreline. Georgia Hams’ drives down the court and feeding into the ring were unfortunately not enough to get the girls over the line.

Awards: Georgia Hams, Grace Radford and Jacinta Bagot. Under 15: Warragul 20 lost to Moe 53. Against a tough opposition, the Gulls did well keeping up in the first quarter but faded a bit after that.

Bella Hefford did well when she was thrown into new positions. Emily Hobbs played a really strong game in goals, strongly supported by Liv Sheehan, whilst Bridie Mulqueen held her own in every position she played.

Zoe Phillips and Jacinta Bagot tried hard in defence as always and Ella Weir, Jaz Porch and Laura Miller were consistent down the court.

Awards – Bella Hefford, Emily Hobbs and Bridie Mulqueen. Under 13: Warragul 8 lost to Moe 38. On a freezing cold morning, the Gulls once again got off to a good start. However, strength across the court combined with an undermanned Gulls resulted in Moe getting ahead on the board early. The Gulls were unable to bounce back.

With two under 11s filling in, coaches Green and Cole were challenged with positioning but did a great job of using top age players in key positions throughout the game.

Injured Tia Jenkins cheered her team on from the sidelines with solid exhibitions of the floss dance.

Awards: Keely Pyle, Tess Talbot and Ella Pitkin with a special mention to future Gulls Maggie Cook and MacKenzie Heenan for filling in.