Under-12 vs GVGS
Benalla under-12s hockey team went up against Goulburn Valley Grammar in Shepparton, ending in a close 5-8 game.
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Zander Gillies stepped in as goalkeeper, stopping skilful shots on goal and clearing the ball up the field.
Captain Hayden Littler was the leading goalscorer of the match, making multiple runs up the field that led to two goals.
Abbie Thannhauser and Finn Thompson took on both defensive and attacking positions throughout the game, making solid tackles and runs up the field.
Steele Adams and Bella Gillies made a great duo in the forward line, working together to score a goal each.
William Keen’s enthusiasm lifted the team’s spirits, also making strong clearances from the backline.
Goals: Hayden Littler (2), Bella Gillies (1), Finn Thompson (1), Steele Adams (1)
Votes: Bella Gillies (3), Hayden Littler (2), Steele Adams (1)
Under-16B Orange vs SYC
Benalla Under-16B Orange took on SYC on a very cold and windy Saturday morning.
A very tightly contested game saw two very evenly matched teams trading goals early.
Forwards Kobe Rawlings, Brodie Rawlings and Serenity Donoghue kept the SYC defenders busy with lots of hard-running swift passes.
Defensive wing Amity Hurd kept the pressure on all game and even scored a crucial goal.
Swapping full-backs Liam Carroll and Xavier Kramer were instrumental in repelling the SYC attacks and goalie Alex Orlov once again kept several shots on goal from getting past him.
Kobe Rawlings led the way with three goals. Benalla ended up trailing at full time by just one goal as the final score was 7-6 in favour of SYC.
Fantastic effort by the whole team, who played with 100 per cent commitment until the final siren.
Goals: Kobe Rawlings (3), Amity Hurd (1), Liam Carroll (1), Brodie Rawlings (1)
Votes: Liam Carroll (3), Brodie Rawlings (2), Kobe Rawlings (1)
Under-16B Black vs Strikers
After a three-week break, the Under-16B Black team faced a tough opponent in Strikers in this round.
Cold and windy conditions made for less-than-ideal playing conditions. The team tried hard all game playing against slick opposition but fell short at the final whistle, 20-4.
Goals: Angus Hayes (2), Jack Chittick (1), Lachlan Johnson (1)
Votes: Talon MacKenzie (3), Annie Ferguson (2), Cael Johnson (1)
Under-16A vs Mooroopna
It was brother-against-brother this week as Zander Gillies pulled on a Mooroopna jumper for the game.
Zander scored three goals against his brother Olly Gillies. Olly was able to keep Mooroopna at six goals, clearing many shots on goal and feeding the ball to full back Caleb Gillies.
Caleb used his strong passes and the boards to move the ball to the forward line.
Forwards Noah Gillies and Jacinta Woodward worked together, moving the ball around the Mooroopna goalie and had multiple shots on goals, earning them each a mark on the scoresheet.
Angus Woodward positioned himself well throughout the game, with the second effort rebounds throughout the game earning seven goals for the team.
Goals: Zander Gillies (3) for Mooroopna, Angus Woodward (7), Noah Gillies (4), Jacinta Woodward (1).
Votes: Jacinta Woodward 3, Caleb Gillies 2, Angus Woodward 1.
Women vs Strikers
The Benalla Women made it challenging for Strikers this week in Shepparton, giving them some strong challenges throughout the game.
The women played a strong defence to prevent the Strikers to do their usual tactics.
Benalla had a late comeback during the game against the opposition, turning the final score into 4-3.
They narrowly lost, and many players and spectators said with a few more minutes the score could have have been even.
The ultimate scoring duo linked up this week, both Liz Hayes and Katrina Brown worked well together on all three goals.
This week, Liz scored all the goals for Benalla with the assistance of Katrina along the outside of the field.
They worked together to bounce the ball between themselves to bypass the strong defence of the Strikers.
Across the whole field, the women worked together and presented a mighty fight against the hard-working Strikers.
Goals: Liz Hayes (3)
Votes: Liz Hayes (3), Mel Gillies (2), Ebony Jennings (1)
B Men vs Echuca:
The Benalla men’s team played Echuca on Saturday afternoon.
Benalla dominated the first half, scoring four goals to two, with fantastic teamwork all the way from half-back and into the forward line.
Half-backs Ollie Gillies, James Black and Marty Gillies were able to get the ball forward with ease to waiting inners and wings Noah Gillies, Tim Halligan, Angus Woodward, Shaun Findlow and Zander Gillies.
Dave McIntyre played a crucial role in the centre forward position, helping set up goals.
In the second half, a determined Echuca started to claw back, winning a lot of the ball and putting full-backs Charlie Grimwade, Latham Carroll and fill-in goalie Dave Chittick under increasing pressure.
A tightly contested second half saw both teams score two goals apiece, with the final score 6-4 in favour of Benalla.
Goals: James Black (2), Noah Gillies (1), Timothy Halligan (1), David McIntyre (1), Martin Gillies (1)
Votes: Shaun Findlow (3), James Black (2), Oliver Gillies (1)
Round 11 fixtures — Saturday, July 27
8.30am: Under-10 vs SCC Lions
9.30am: Under-12 vs Strikers
11.30am: Under-16A vs GVGS
12.30am: Under-16B Black vs Echuca
10.30am: Under-16B Orange vs SCC Lions
2pm: Women vs Echuca
3.30pm: Men vs SYC
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