Chewton Soldiers Memorial Park saw Female Football Week come to a close with three great performances with the Castlemaine Goldfields Football Club’s U12, U14 and U16 Matildas all taking out exciting wins. This weekend sees a slightly quieter home schedule with only four games, kicking off with an U10 inter club game between CGFC U10 Green and Gold at 9am and finishing up with U16 Green taking on Strathdale at midday. 

Seniors 

The Women rested up with a bye in Round 7 of the Central Victorian League 2, but will resume this weekend away to Epsom in Round 2 of League Cup where they will be looking to cement their hold on a top 2 spot in Pool 1 

Sunday saw our two homes game for Metro Div 5 Men and Central Victorian Youth squads observing a minute’s remembrance in wake of the sad news of the loss of Dallas Keogh-Frankling the previous day. Like so many across the community those at our club were rocked by the news and extend our deepest condolences to Dallas’s family, friends and the wider Football Netball Club community. 

In the 11am kick-off the Div 5 men continued their excellent start to the season with a solid 4-0 win over a young Brunswick Zebras side. A first half goal by Denick Bio, was followed up in the second half by a brace from Ollie Gunter and one from Michael Jones. The win sees the Maine in 4th (joint second) on the ladder with 13 points but a game in hand over those around them and looking to climb to top spot in the coming rounds. This week they are away to 5th place Point Cook. 

In the second game of the day at Soldiers Memorial Park the Youth squad were looking to put on a positive performance after an up and down start to their season. Against a Spring Gully side one point ahead of the ‘Prospects’ going in to the game, it was always likely to be a tight game. In the end a goal to Castlemaine’s Ruben Christie secured the 3 points with a much improved game for the young Mainers. The win moves them up to 3rd on the ladder. This week they take on 4th place Shepparton United SC in what looks to be another tight game on paper. 

In Metro Div 7 the Reserves travelled down to Albert Park, who had been one of the more consistent teams in the competition, so far. 

Looking to bounce back from last week’s heavy loss, Maine were determined to play well and took it to Albert Park from the beginning. Unfortunately against the run of play the ‘Parkers’ opened the scoring. Castlemaine looked likely throughout most of the first half, creating many chances and exploiting their lack of pace at the back. A couple of one v one chances missed and hitting the crossbar twice, Maine couldn’t break through. 1-0 down at the half. 

The second half started well for Maine again, with more chances created. Surely, a matter of time, and indeed winger, Gianluca finally broke through shortly after half time to level. For the next 20 minutes Maine continued to dominate. This was our best game yet, going forward, with some exciting football being played. 

Unfortunately it is the defensive side which continues to need the work and in the space of 10 minutes and after some sloppy defending, Maine were punished, with two Albert Park goals. 

And so it would finish with a 3-1 loss. Special mentions to Liam who was threatening most of the day, Ollie who fought hard at the back and captain for the day, Camilo, who helped keep our shape, in the middle. 

This week sees the Reserve team on the road again, away to RMIT. 

This weekend we hosted Natte Bealiba. Natte are always a strong contest and they came prepared as always. The Reserves came away with a smashing win to hold 4th position on the ladder and the under 14.5’s had a killer win. On the court, Maldon really showed Natte, top-rated teams, that we are really warming up against the top sides with B grade only going down by 4 against Natte who sit 2nd on the ladder and C grade coming out with a great win. As for Junior Netball, Under 17s and 15s played brilliantly and won their games. Off the field and court, the Club also hosted its Western Themed night which went off with great delight. It was great to see lots of faces and everyone having a ball. Next weekend for Round 8 we head to Newstead for a night game with games starting at 12.55pm at the Newstead Rec Reserve. Newstead will be putting on some food and live music so come along and support two local Clubs.

Football

Seniors: Maldon 54 Def by Natte 55. It was a tough game against Natte on the weekend, but the efforts were there and it was disappointing to go down by one point. Moving forward into the season this game will give us great confidence. Better players were Pat Long at full-back, Alex Farrow on ball along with Matty Gray, Noah Thompson and Tanner Bishop were all strong contributors.

Reserves: Maldon 127 Def Natte 51. Another fantastic performance against a side we will be fighting with for a top 4 finish. After an even first quarter, our superior work rate and physicality allowed us to get on top and completely dominate the remainder of the game. Our mid-season recruits have fitted in perfectly and made a strong side even stronger 

Best: T. Rowe, B. Kitchingman, M. Colston, J. Knight, B. Brown, C. Cross.

17.5s: NO GAME 

14.5s: Maldon 97 Def Natte 7. Maldon played some outstanding football to come out big winners over Natte Bealiba. Best- Tom Hamilton, Aihen Turner, Tadgh Cananzi, Levi Mason, Francis Walls, Riley Davey. 

11.5s: Maldon 1 Def by Natte 46. With 4 players out and playing one of the top teams, we were against the odds. We held Natte to a pretty low score by their standards – thanks to our little legends never giving up. Our team tackle trophy went to one of our first-year players – Archer – for a thundering, bear hug tackle on the biggest player on the ground!

Best: Zavier Turner, Seth Gross, Dean Wilson, Nash Jennings, Darcy Robertson, Lucas Pascoe

Netball

A Grade: Maldon 36 Def by Natte 46. What a great effort by each and every player out on the court. Natte sure didn’t have it easy. It was one of the best starts we have had. Going into the quarter break only 2 goal’s down. We continued to push Natte. A strong defensive end made Natte change. Best On: Taige Weir

B Grade: Maldon 34 Def by Natte 38. The Team had a great start to the game, showing 2nd on the ladder that they could match them. All players out on the court gave 100%. The game was a goal-for-goal situation. A few positional changes in defence and goal still kept us in the hunt for a win. Unfortunately, a few umpiring decisions in the last quarter allowed Natte to keep the lead. Best: Claire Hamilton

C Grade: Maldon 32 Def Natte 29. Natte ended our final’s campaign in season 2021, so this game meant a lot to us to make sure we got it across the line and that’s exactly what the Team did! It was a fantastic showcase of teamwork and determination from all players Best: Jess Flavel.

Under 17s: Maldon 31 Def 30 Natte. The U17’s started very well on the weekend with Natte placed well on the ladder, it was going to be a tough game with many U15’s girls doing a stellar job stepping up. The Maldon team was able to certainly take it right up to the Natte team and were able to maintain top of the ladder with a thrilling win. Best: Eva Gross for her exceptional defence and excellent intercepts.

Under 15s: Maldon 21 Def Natte 15. The U15’s were again victorious on the weekend, with Natte certainly bringing their game on the weekend. We were able to settle well and again recorded a good victory against a third place Natte. Best: Jess Davies who was very accurate at goal and able to steer the team home for a captain victory

Under 13s: Maldon 9 Def by Natte 35. With a tough game ahead and quite a few different position changes, the under 13s kept their heads high and fort to the end, the defence down the court made it hard for Natte to bring the ball down. Best: Holly Willams and Grace Smith

Under 11s: Maldon 2 Def by Natte 12. It was another tough day at the office the passionate U11s. With limited numbers due to illness, the team worked hard to overcome the skillful Natte. Intercepts happened for us as we attacked every ball and we worked hard on our focus game goals. Our team also proved that we have flexibility as we were able to move our players around and goals were still met. Best: Martha and Scarlett.

Round 7 saw the Creekers head down the road to Newstead. Our U11.5s went with their strongest team yet, 23 players, and 2 emergencies that ran water for us. We started off a bit slow, and the first quarter saw Newstead score a few consecutive goals. After the first quarter, and a little more encouragement, the kids turned it on and really started playing well as a team. We kept them to minimal scores in the quarters thereafter. We saw 2 goals kicked off which were great team plays and connections from the backline to the forward line, where both Evie M and Mehkai B both got the results on the board. We saw players step up and try new positions, and we also had a few milestones. One was Thomas C, who played his first 2 quarters of footy ever and had a blast, and we also saw Blake T play his 50th club game. Congratulations again for a great achievement. Awards: Ashleigh Goulding and Thomas Chaplin.

Tough day at the office for the Reserves, as Newstead put the foot down in the first quarter and kicked 11 unanswered goals. After a rev-up at quarter time, the boys responded and were much harder at the ball, and it was really pleasing to see the boys linking up and taking some control of the game back. The first ten minutes of the third quarter, was arguably our best for the game, with repeat efforts and we rattled Newstead a little. Every player fought extremely hard right till the end, and came off the ground absolutely spent. Better players: River Murray, Jackson Rewell, Alex Pagano, James Cole, Jesse Callaghan, Paddy Taylor-Potter.

The intensity around the ball was evident as the seniors came out all guns blazing in the first quarter, the pressure and attack on the ball was pleasing to see. Ben Carson took a chance early and got us on the board, and Newstead took a 2-point lead into quarter time. As the game progressed, our pressure got harder, and we fought right till the end. We couldn’t be any prouder of the effort and endeavour that was shown. Better players: Mitch Stevens, Joel Wootton, Michael Dettmer, Sean Moss, Hadley Bassett, Harley Muscat.

A super close and well-fought game by both teams in the U11 match, had everyone on the edge of their seats, right down to the last minute of the game. Going into Saturday’s game, both teams were undefeated, and our little Creekers managed to keep the undefeated title, winning the match by a single goal! Final score: Creek 6 – Newstead 5. Awards: Kaelyn Jenkin & Sebastian Pratt.

The U13s played really well and it was a close game all the way through. Newstead managed to pull away in the last quarter, and took the win by 5. Final score: 20-15. Awards: Daisy Rowe and Amelia Brown.

Our 15 and under team tried really hard against a clean Newstead outfit, and while the score line looked lopsided, you wouldn’t have known it watching the game. There was lots of great play all down the court and a huge amount of effort from every single player on court. Final score: 29-9. Awards: Indi Wouda and Lucy Nugent.

C Grade’s final result also didn’t reflect the game they played. There was some great defensive play with some turnovers and impressive intercepts, all down the court, and also strong attack work. Unfortunately, our goal opportunities were narrow, and a strong Newstead attack line did the job well for them. Final score: 37-17. Best on court: Alison Picken and Marissa Johnson.

B Grade came out strong and went into the first break with a narrow lead. They were goal for goal in the second, and started the second half down by one goal. An 8-4 quarter for Newstead ended up winning the game in the so-called “premiership quarter.” Although the Creek girls put in an excellent final quarter, which they won by a goal, the final score line was Newstead by that 4-goal advantage they got in the third. Final score: 33-29. Best on court: Alicia Martin and Montanna Stevens.

The A Grade match was a great game to watch. Some lovely netball by both teams. A lot of the game was goal for goal, with Creek going into the main break with a 5 goal lead. Unfortunately, a 31-21 second half, saw the margin reversed at the final siren, and Newstead got the win by 5. Final score: 51-46. Best on court: Taneisha Wrigley and Jess Rhone.

The Campbells Creek FNC wishes to pass on our greatest condolences, strength and support to all the family, friends, teammates, and the wider community of the Castlemaine FNC. We are all devastated for you, and with you, in this difficult time.