U12 Blue goes in tough battle against Wonthaggi

Phillip Island Blue U12s faced their toughest challenge yet this week, taking on Wonthaggi Power at our home ground as winter well and truly set in.

The playing conditions were extremely hard with the cold, wet weather pushing all the kids to their limits and setting up for a very even contest in the first quarter.

Phillip Island were looking the goods when Ryder Van Steensel kicked the first goal of the match, but Wonthaggi applied pressure everywhere and answered back with a goal of their own very quickly.

Bodhi Cooper took a tremendous mark in front of goals, Liam Cleary tried his hardest against a strong opposition in the ruck and Sam Koole showed his strength in the backline, but Wonthaggi were full of determination and managed a 14-point lead at half time.

Not happy about the situation, Harvey Paterson got a bit angry on the field, impressing the coach with his fearless attempts and Brax Scheibel busted his guts to keep the scores within reach in the third quarter.

Kane Patton lifted his team’s spirits in the fourth quarter with a beautiful snap goal but sadly Wonthaggi were not going to let their hard work go without reward and secured themselves a nine-point victory over the young Bulldogs.

While we may have been defeated on the scoreboard, the captaincy and leadership shown by Dexter Goodall was nothing but admirable and in turn his team mates never gave up and fought it out until the very end.

Best: Harvey Paterson, Brax Scheibel, Max Mills, Liam Cleary and Brady Van Steensel.

Goals: Ryder Van Steensel and Kane Patton.