The Exhibition Ground looked perfect, with a touch of purple in the air for the ‘Women in League’ afternoon, with plenty of cakes and slices for the High Tea supplied by the High Heelers to go round.  

Both games had a later start time, resulting in more fans to cheer on both sides.

The High Heelers had another fantastic win to add to their collection, but unfortunately the Blue Heelers could not get enough points on the board.

Ladies League Tag

As the ladies ran out onto the field they were escorted but the future generation of High Heelers, all decked out in ‘mini me’ jerseys, excited to be a part of the day.  

Moruya joined them on the field and the whistle blew shortly afterwards.

Before either of the teams had much time to get into momentum, Maree Coates (sponsored by Dommo’s Shearing) found the gap and ran away with the ball for a try on the right-side wing. Moruya could not chase her down; this was the beginning of an exciting game to come.

Tash Stewart picked up the ball off the restart and never looked back, attacking well on the Moruya line. The ball was passed to Sam Ingram (sponsored by Foodworks), who opened up a gap in the Moruya defence to score. With a successful conversion by Maree Coates the score board sat at 10-0.

Chloe Hodak, Keiarna Rodwell and Kayley Keavey attacked well through the first half and also tagged well when it was the High Heelers’ turn for defence.

The Sharkettes defended their half of the field well until a gap was found by Bombala; the ball was on the ground rolling towards the Bombala try line. With a quick soccer style kick from Maree the ball kept rolling on its way until it popped up into the air and Maree Coates (sponsored by Dommo’s Shearing) was there to catch it and put it over the line for her second try of the day. Converting her own try, Maree added more points to the board 16-0

The High Heeler ladies continued to put pressure on themselves during the first half, turning over possession with what seemed like unsteady hands. Jane Peadon, Sue Morgan and Tash Stewart defended their try line well, tagging fast when the pressure was on, however eventually the Moruya ladies capitalised on ball possession and were able to cross for a try of their own.

The Heelers seemed to then regather and not let their heads drop, the lethal combination of Monique Ingram and Tash Stewart down the left hand side of the field saw Tash away for a 60m run gaining much needed field possession, confidence was back.

The play was soon set for Jane Peadon (sponsored by Bibbenluke Stockhorse Stud) to score under the posts. Maree with her golden boot converted this try, the score board showed 22-4.

Katrina Brownlie (sponsored by Alfie) took a beautiful intercept ball just short of half time and was extremely unlucky not to bag her own four pointer, being tagged millimetres before the line.

Half time didn’t seem to slow down the momentum for the High Heelers, determined to play cleaner footy and not concede any further points. The girls did themselves proud.

Kayla Jamieson, Janine Jamieson and Rebecca Richardson showed the fans why they are assets, impact players hitting the ball up for the girls when most needed. The direction from Emma Sullivan helped give structure to the girls second half with Monique Ingram was able to break the line on numerous occasions.

Keiarna Rodwell (sponsored by Rodwell Haulage and Plant Hire) made it over the line twice in the game after running beautiful lines and lightning pace, and Sam Ingram (sponsored by Foodworks) worked extremely hard to produce a hat trick of tries, bringing the final score to 42-4.

The Players Player awarded from the players and three points awarded from crowd went to the try scoring machine Sam Ingram, 2 points went to Kiearna Rodwell for her barnstorming runs leading to points, and 1 point to Monique Ingram who was able to break the defensive line on numerous occasions.

First Grade

The Moruya Sharks faced a cold evening under lights. Joe Bobbin, Charlie Lomas and Matt Stone attacked the Sharks’ line hard after the hooter went, however after 10 minutes Moruya were in.

Daniel Douch (sponsored by Optus Bega) continued to put his body on the line as always for the Bombala boys.  

At 18-0 to the Moruya boys, the Blue Heelers found some momentum through Jackson Standen (Sponsored by J & A Murdoch) who scored, crashing over the line; an impressive conversion out wide by Paul Perkins (sponsored by MCH Welding) added fuel to Bombala’s fire.

The dominating performance from Captain Coach Joe Bobbin (Sponsored by G. Moore Concreting) brought the scores even closer before half time at 18-14.

The second half saw Moruya gain momentum back their way again but not before Chris Anderson was able to muscle his way through the line. Solid efforts in attack by Paul Perkins and Toby Morgan helped the go forward for Bombala and the reliable efforts of Matthew Stone, Murray Jackson and Charlie Lomas did not go unnoticed.

The Bombala boys could hold their heads high after the game, going down to the top of the table side 34-18 in what was a hotly contested game.

Players players and 3 points went to Matthew Stone for his ever reliable running and support play, 2 points went to Murray Jackson whose presence back on the field after injury was greatly noticed, and 1 point to the consistent Paul Perkins never failing to help direct the boys and ruck the ball up.

The Bombala & District Rugby League Football would like to everyone that came to support the High Heelers and Blue Heelers and thank those who supported The Women in League Round. Proceeds made from the High Tea the High Heelers put on will go towards their chosen charity ‘The Relay for Life’. The generosity of the Bombala community is truly a credit to the town and makes hosting the footy a successful and positive experience.

Bombala District Rugby League Football Club again would like to thank their sponsors; Bombala RSL Club, Peter Caldwell Building & Contracting Pty Ltd, Ron Milliner Earthmoving, RAW Strength Bombala, Dongwah, Bob Stewart, Our Local IGA, Pat Lomas and Imperial Hotel Bombala.