South Gambier 5.7 (37) d North Gambier 3.2 (20)
SOUTH Gambier took on North Gambier in the Under 14 Western Border Junior Football League grand final on Sunday at Malseed Park.
As expected the game was a hard physical contest, but in the end it was the Demons who edged out to a 17-point win.
The Tigers won the toss and kicked with the breeze and Bodey Hosking put his team on the board with a classy rovers goal.
South clamped down after that and held North at bay, with the Tigers carrying a five-point lead into the first break.
With the aid of the breeze the Demons were off to a good start as a free kick saw Paul Vanikiotis with an early goal.
South then opened up the game with some clean centre breaks and run from the backline with three quick goals to Ethan Sims, Mitch Harrold and Nick Wilke, to see the side go into the long break with a 20-point advantage.
The third quarter saw the Demons squander some opportunities and North fought back with goals to Emayah Young and a clever 50-metre goal from Brodie Allen to bridge the gap to 11 points at the final change.
The fourth quarter was a dour affair with neither side able to break free, but when Ethan Sims sneaked forward from the wing to mark and convert a goal halfway through the quarter the Demons were 17 points up and held on from there.
For the Tigers Jay Turner and Tyler Harris worked hard in the middle, while Zach Clarke and Emayah Young were dangerous up forward and Brad Braithwaite and Ed New worked hard to repel the South attack.
South’s backline trio of Jake Walker – who won the best-on-ground medal – Lachie Thiele and Jordan Stephens started the South attacks, while the midfield of Ethan, Mitch and Noah Sims, plus Mitch Harrold were damaging all day.
Under 12 A Lightning Carnival
THE Western Border Junior Football League Under 12 A carnival was also held on Sunday and was a close and hotly contested affair all day.
North, East, West and South Gambier, Casterton and for the first time a Mid South East Kongorong team made up the two round robin groups.
The two semi finals were gripping affairs which were decided by less than a goal, with North defeating the MSE team and South accounting for East.
Both eliminated teams had plenty of opportunities in the close match-ups, but it was not to be on the day.
The grand final saw the Demons take a lead into half time, but they were unable to hold off the fast-finishing Tigers, who took out the 2018 Under 12 Lightning Carnival to end the season which saw record male and female participation.
