Goorambat on the board in round one

King Valley 4.2, 4.5, 5.6, 6.7 43

Goorambat seniors knew it was going to be a tough opening game against King Valley on their home ground, with a couple of key players out of the side and the first hit out for a number of new players.

Both sides took a while to settle with both turning the ball over in the first two quarters, with the boys going in at half-time determined not to dwell on their missed opportunities in front of goals.

After the long break, to the boys credit, they took control of the game shutting King Valley down while putting scores on the board. The stand-out was Alex Moloney stepping up in the ruck with one of his best games thus far.

The other pleasing thing on the day was the games the new players Shannon Emmett, Matt Ryan and Jack Costigan.

They gave the side confidence as they all settle into the coming weeks.

Best Players- Alex Moloney (Peter Davis Rural), Shannon Emmett (Goorambat Railway Hotel), Travers Nolan (Gladstone’s Ampol Fuel), Jack Costigan (Hollywood’s Pizza) Matt Ryan (Royal Hotel Award) Brush Haebich (Club Meal Award).

Goals – Brush Haebich 7, Rhys Goodley 4, Aaron Blackburn 2, Jamie Dunne 2, Brady Purcell.

A-grade

Goorambat 40 def King Valley 20

The girls are quite a new team this year, and it all came together really nicely for round one.

King Valley came out strong with Goorambat only having a two goal lead at quarter time.

The consistency and accuracy from goalie Kylie Relf, winning the Riverbank $100 cash award, was superb along with two of the defenders also standing out.

Chelsea Bamford won the Goorambat Railway Hotel award and Ally Ellis played a very strong defensive game down back, winning the Hume Solar drink award.

The girls showed their fitness, coming away with a 20 goal win.

It was a great team effort by all.

Best on: Kylie Relf – Riverbank Award cash award

2nd: Chelsea Bamford – Goorambat Railway hotel

3rd: Ally Ellis – Hume Solar drink award

Reserves

G Bat 1.4, 6.4, 6.4, 10.4 64

King Valley 2.2, 5.3, 7.7, 8.8 56

Goorambat reserves came up against King Valley on Saturday for their first game of the year, with a new-look team, with Charles Hunter as coach and Dan Bryant as assistant.

The game was played at a good standard from the start with nothing between the two sides, making for a good contest with both Robert Wilson and Andy Ellis showing their experience around the ground.

As the game went on it was the young players, Charlie Briggs and Jonty Priest, who were the stand-outs for the boys, with great support from both Jeremy Hill and Matt Priest.

Hopefully, the boys have a lot more success this year.

Best Players - Charlie Briggs (Bouwmeesters Bakery), Robert Wilson (Hollywood’s Pizza), Jeremy Hill (Royal Hotel), Jonty Priest (Sports Power), Andy Ellis (Quality Wool Voucher), Matt Priest (Early Bird Coffee).

Goals- Bailey Ward 2, Robert Wilson 2, Jonty Priest 2, Dan Bryant 2, Gary Priest 1, Mitch Dansy 1.

B-grade

Goorambat 39 def King Valley 17

Best on: Fiona Doig - G & S Gall cash award

2nd: Grace Handley - Club Dinner Award

3rd: Sophie Hammond - Club Voucher

B Reserve

Goorambat 42 def King Valley 19

The weather gods let up, and the Bats kicked off season 2025 hard and strong.

A new look Goorambat took the first five goals from Valley with goalies Kate Nolan and Erin Hernan taking all the opportunities provided from defenders Kirby Davis and Brooke Haddrell’s turnovers.

The second quarter saw the legs still running in Goorambat’s mid-counters Abby Hammond and Alyssa Priest.

Their feeding and transitions down the court give King Valley no space for mistakes.

Bats consistency and court flow continued with each quarter and they finished the game in control, taking their first four points for the season.

Best on: Brooke Haddrell - Muscle Mend cash award

2nd: Abby Hammond - Club Dinner Award

3rd: Alyssa Priest - Club Voucher

C-Grade

Goorambat 11 def by King Valley 76

A nervous start to the season for the under-17 girls, with a lot of new faces making their netball debut.

With the seasoned support of Poppy Broomhall in the attacking end guiding plays and Charli Button in the defensive end turning play around often, the girls began to show understanding and teamwork, keeping a positive attitude on court despite going down 76 to 11 at the final siren.

Best on: Poppy Broomhall - Hume Solar canteen voucher

2nd: Charli Button- Terry White Chemist

3rd: Imogen Allen- Spot for Icecream

U15's

Goorambat 5 def by King Valley 53

Goorambat under 15s had a big challenge on their hand for the first round of the year.

The girls have never played together before and most of the girls are relatively young.

They held their own on game day, and even though they went down to King Valley, the girls played hard all game.

Chloe Culhane worked both end and shot well but was also very strong in defence rebounding. Meika Smith made a massive impact in the ring shooting well and also running all game.

Emma Hall endlessly attacked the ball, defended well and worked well in the ring as well.

McKenzie Roberts was the glue for the team running three-quarters in centre and her voice and talking on the court held the girls together.

Estelle Doig drove hard and passed well throughout the game and never gave up.

Bonnie O’Callaghan started strong but ended even stronger, never dropped her head and came out firing in the last quarter attacking the ball hard.

Pippa Martin used her height in the defensive end and rebounded well. Her knowledge on the court was great which helped her teammates.

Evie Ellis went out blazing also doing everything she was asked and played a great part in the team’s communication. Alarna Button, even though she was out with a broken wrist, was very encouraging from the side lines.

The girls have proven they are ready to learn and have shown a lot of promising development. Keep it up girls.

Best on: Mackenzie Roberts - Hume Solar canteen voucher

2nd: Estelle Doig - Terry White Chemist

3rd: Bonnie O’Callaghan - Spot for Icecream