THE Bombala and District Football Club did not let a little rain and cold weather stop players from putting on a very entertaining afternoon of football in the last round of the Group 16 competition on Saturday.
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The Blue Heelers took the field for their last game of the season, determined to end their first year back in the competition on a high.
The boys played a gutsy game of football against the Merimbula/Pambula Bulldogs, but it was the bite of the bulldog that stung the most over the heeler.
The eventual scoreline saw the home team defeated 30-6.
For most of the first half the scores remained fairly even with the Bombala lads muscling up in defence and proving a handful for the Bulldogs.
Chris Anderson was instrumental in both defence and attack, his enthusiasm and ability to lead by example was uplifting for the boys.
His brother Andrew was also an incredible asset to the team, directing the play in at the halves and able to hold strong and solid in defence.
Murray Jackson, playing at lock, saw him run the ball with great determination and force.
Joel Cherry was a breath of fresh air from the bench, injecting great passion in attack and hard hitting in defence, so too were the efforts of Slade Newton.
Clay Stewart continued to be hard to handle for the coastal team and so too was the solid efforts of Joe Bobbin.
Brett Hodak ended up muscling his way over the line to score the only try of the day for the Heelers and Stewart’s conversion got the extra two for the Heelers.
Jackson Standen’s work rate was outstanding on the day. He was involved in many plays and muscled up well in defence.
Three points for the game were awarded the Chris Anderson (sponsored by Foodworks), two points to Andrew Anderson (sponsored by Platypus Crash Repairs) and one point to Jackson (sponsored by Tiger Bobbin Rustic Creations).
Players player by unanimous vote went to Cherry (sponsored by 3R supplements) whose commitment and passion out on the paddock is second to none.
The Blue Heelers thank each and every person who has supported, contributed, barracked, donated and followed the boys throughout the season.
While not the most successful season on the ladder, the boys have worked extremely well to build a solid football foundation among the local lads in town.
They look forward to continuing to build as a club and team and are confident they can restore the Bombala first grade team to the top of the ladder in the future.
They are extremely excited to see the ladies league-tag side performing so well and will continue to follow and support the High Heelers who carry on the Bombala flag to represent the town into the finals.
The club also thanked its sponsors Bombala RSL Club, Caldwell Building and Contracting, Ron Milliner Earthmoving, RAW Strength Bombala, Dongwah, Bob Stewart, Our Local IGA, Pat Lomas and Imperial Hotel Bombala.
Ladies league-tag
THE Bombala High Heelers had a tough task, having to play two games in a row in testing conditions.
However, to the girls' credit, they toughed it out and came away with two convincing wins, holding them in good stead for finals footy.
The first game saw the High Heelers take on the Merimbula/Pambula Hotdoggies.
Dominating runs from Maree Coates and Keiarna Rodwell were too much for the Hotdoggies to handle and points started to rack up on the scoreboard.
The Heelers played smart football often spreading the ball wide with great precision and finding the line on numerous occasions.
Line breaks from Tash Stewart and Sam Ingram saw more points and the addition of good field possession.
The tagging efforts of Lucy Sellers, Chloe Hodak and Jane Peadon were second to none shutting down any attacking efforts the Hotdoggies looked to execute.
The movement across the middle of the field from Hodak, Amy Stone, Trina Brownlie and Sue Morgan was a credit to the girls, being sure to take additional care when handling the ball in the slippery conditions.
The final scoreline 44-0 was a credit to the girls' structure and steadfast tagging in defence.
Three points awarded for this game went to Maree Coates (sponsored by Dommo's Shearing) whose ability to play anywhere on the field and dominate is a credit to her.
Two points went to Keiarna Rodwell (sponsored by Rodwell Haulage and Plant Hire) whose line running and ability to take tags was outstanding and one point went to Emma Sullivan (sponsored by DF&D Stewart) who wreaked havoc with her ball handling skills and try assists.
After a short 10-minute break the girls were keen to get back out on to the paddock, wary of getting cold.
They took the field against the eager Bemboka/Candelo Pink Panthers - a more physical side, making the weary legs of the Heelers work extra hard.
Again Coates’s hard line running and precision ball from Sullivan saw early points put on the board.
From here though the girls had pressure put on them, forcing them to defend back-to-back sets on their own line.
The girls held strong and did not miss a tag, eventually gaining the ball back.
Janine Jamieson had a great game often taking on the line evading defenders and gaining good metres for the Heelers.
Monique Ingram was instrumental in organising play, often breaking the line and offloading to support players to put points on the board.
Kaylee Keavey held a strong line in defence and helped to cart the ball up for the Heelers in attack, unlucky not to bag her own four pointer with a solid effort in taking the ball out of the air from a kick over the line.
May Peck had a great game taking the ball to the line and often utilising a great inside ball to a flying Coates who once in space was unstoppable.
Keiarna Rodwell played another solid game, bagging two tries of her own.
Tash Stewart proved she has pace that leaves others out-on-their-feet scoring her second length of the field try for the day.
The reliable hands of Stone saw her bag two tries on the day also.
The High Heelers only conceded one try for the day, finishing this game 36-4.
Three points for this game went to Sellers (sponsored by Bendoc Parkpoll Hereford Stud) whose evasive line running and ability to manipulate herself to get the most difficult of tags was inspirational, two points went to Peadon (sponsored by Bibbenluke Stockhorse Stud) whose runs destroyed the defence and lightning tags were plentiful and one point went to Monique Ingram (sponsored by Fortitude Physiotherapy) for her line breaks and try assists.
Players Player for both games was a unanimous decision awarded to Lucy Sellers.
The High Heelers are excited to move into the preliminary finals on Sunday, July 26, against the Bega Chicks at Bega.
The club encourages as many supporters as possible to take the trip down the hill on Sunday to cheer on the local girls to get them across the line.