Some good skills and ball movement saw the Cats hit the first break with a three-point lead.
However, after the first break, the Rams came out hungrier and, due to this increased pressure, saw the Cats make poor decisions and unforgiving skill errors. It led to a four-goal deficit at the half.
The third quarter saw much of the same with a few good passages of play, but ultimately, Deniliquin was too good on the day, running out 35-point winners.
Shaun Kable presented well all day and kicked a couple of goals, while James Mccaw, James Kennedy and Noah Iddles battled hard all day.
Final score: Deniliquin 12.10 (82) def Finley 7.5 (47).
Best Players: Noah Iddles, Shaun Kable, James McCaw, Jacob Armer, Matt Jackson, Eli Sutton.
Goals: Shaun Kable 2, Bailey Burke, Matt Jackson, James Kennedy, Callum Robertson, Jacob Armer.
Thirds:
The Finley Thirds started their season on Good Friday with a close, hard-fought defeat against the Deni Rams.
The boys started the first quarter with great intensity and vigour by kicking the first two goals of the match.
The second and third quarters, while playing well, let our opposition slowly extend their lead on the young Cats.
At three-quarter time, the coaching staff asked the boys to run out the game, and they didn’t disappoint but ultimately came up seven points short.
The boys were best served by newly appointed captains Issac Lunn and Jordan Sykes, vice captains Harvey Sneddon and Tyrelle Taylor as well as Sam Hurlston and Tyler Hall.
Final score: Deniliquin 7.9 (51) def Finley 6.8 (44).
Best Players: Isaac Lunn, Harvey Sneddon, Jordan Sykes, Samuel Hurlston, Tyler Hall, Tyrelle Taylor.
Goals: Harvey Sneddon 2, Reece Simmons 2, Jonty King 2.
Awards: Finley RSC - Harvey Sneddon; Ross & Sarah - Jordan Sykes; Finley Bakery - Sam Hurlston; Three Rivers Excavations - Tyler Hall; Kalangadoo Nursery - Tyrelle Taylor; Coach’s Award - Isaac Lunn.
Fourths:
The boys travelled over to face strong opposition in a Good Friday battle against our arch-rivals.
The game started off closely fought and physical, with Blake Vidler, Campbell Reynolds, and Darcy Sutton hitting Deni with hard tackles from the first bounce.
Everyone went above and beyond to fight for the contested ball, from our small emergencies in Lachy Urquhart and Flynn Rourke to big bodies like Rider Loomes and Tom Marshall crashing in.
There were a few hard knocks, starting with Lincoln Cicolini’s courageous chase down the west wing, which saw both sides coming away sore, and the game started to open up.
Despite some great defensive efforts by Adam Chellew and swift breakaway ball-carrying by Logan Paesley and Noah Brindley, the sure skills and fundamentals of Deni started to show, and they doubled their lead in the third.
Redoubling their efforts in the final quarter, the boys dominated out of the centre as young Sutton and Reynolds returned to the field from injury.
Judd Clarke eased the burden on an exhausted midfield by adding his footy smarts to the equation, while Ryder Loomes and Orlando Orsida went forward to get Finley on the board.
Final score: Deniliquin 16.11 (107) def Finley 1.1 (7).
Best Players: Darcy Sutton, Adam Chellew, Noah Brindley, Campbell Reynolds, Blake Vidler, Orlando Orsida.
Goals: Ryder Loomes 1.
Awards: Finley RSC - Darcy Sutton; Finley Bakery - Adam Chellew; Kalangadoo Nursery - Noah Brindley; Bauer Family - Campbell Reynolds; Sutto’s Mini Excavations Coach’s Award - Blake Vidler; Lucas McCaw - Orlando Orsida.
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