Sport
14 August, 2024
Tigers fight for fifth
SIMPSON’S senior footballers are still within reach of a finals berth with two rounds of the home and away season remaining.
Despite a 53-point loss to South Colac last weekend, the Tigers currently sit sixth on the Colac District ladder, just a game behind the fifth-placed Colac Imperials.
And with two rounds remaining, the Tigers will face the eighth-placed Apollo Bay this weekend before rounding out the season with a clash against Birregurra (ninth).
Should the Tigers win both games, they will be relying on the Imperials to drop a game to sneak into the five.
According to senior coach Daniel Beard, the side had been aiming for 10 wins for the season “because generally 10 wins will get you into the top five, unless you’re really unlucky”.
“We’ve got eight wins on the board and will be looking to win the next two and hopefully, if things fall our way, we’ll have a crack at finals,” he said.
“We always take things one game at a time and don’t get ahead of ourselves. We’ve got two steps to take and that’s what we’re working towards.
“If we don’t win a game, we learn from it. Reflecting on last Saturday, we simply ran out of tickets. We had two blokes off in the first quarter with game-ending injuries and by midway through the third we had four players on the bench iced-up.”
Beard was full of praise for the side, saying they battled hard throughout the game but having no interchange made the task even more difficult.
Final scores last weekend were South Colac 15.11.101 to Simpson 7.6.48.
Jonathon Jennings and Jordan Riches each kicked two goals while Jarrod Garth, Nicholas Harding and Ryleigh McVilly contributed a goal each.
Among the best players were Beau Clarke, Jack Finn, Brock Neal, Mitch Reed, Lachlan Gass and Jennings.
Simpson’s reserves are holding strong on top of the ladder, with just two losses for the season.
The fifth-placed South Colac got off to a strong start on Saturday in what was a low-scoring affair.
By half-time South Colac held a nine-point lead, however a strong third term by the Tigers saw them take control and go into the final term with a handy 17-point lead.
Final scores Simpson 6.6.42 to South Colac 2.10.22.
Kyle Clemmens, Jaryd Duynhoven, Harry Fleming, Brayden Hawkes, Rohan Johns and David Weel kicked a goal each for the side.
Best players were Cody Mason, Jamie Barry, Brayden Hakes, Darcy Thorburn, Luke Ranno and Gus Hawkes.
Other results from the netball courts:
A grade: South Colac defeated Simpson 56-38. Best players – Paige Salmon, Chloe Woods and Holly Duynhoven.
B grade: Simpson defeated South Colac 43-40. Best – Harriett O’Brien, Claudia Richardson and Brianna Gass.
C grade: South Colac defeated Simpson 44-36. Best – Georgia Arndell, Rachael Duynhoven and Hannah Woods.
D grade – South Colac defeated Simpson 35-24. Best: Brianna Ferrari, Milah Crole and Bernadette Bellman.
17 and under – South Colac defeated Simpson 58-45. Best: Shelby Cameron, Tyra Sambell and Kaylee Jansen.
15 and under – South Colac defeated Simpson 49-19. Best: Esha Crole, Anna Robb and Lucy Ferrari.
13 and under – South Colac defeated Simpson 47-31. Best: Milah Crole, Mia Arndell and Keisha McVilly.