Cats 19 23 137 def Wahgunyah 3 1 19
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Awards: Complete Body Craft – Brendan Morris, Poachers Paradise Hotel – Michael Cooper, Rutherglen Convent Brewery – Ben Pleming, Club Corowa – Martin Brennan, Corowa Sportspower – Rory Beattie, Rutherglen Pizza – Brad Andison.
Rutherglen Football Club delivered a commanding performance on Good Friday, claiming a 118-point win over Wahgunyah in Round 3 of the Tallangatta and District Football League.
Played in perfect football conditions, clear skies and a warm 26 degrees, the 2:00pm clash drew a healthy crowd keen to see the annual Wayne 'Porky' Milthorpe Shield contested.
The match had extra significance for three new senior players—Jett Peters, Joel Costarella and Rory Beattie who all made their senior debuts for Rutherglen.
The trio were presented with their jumpers in a special pre-game moment, surrounded by family, friends, and teammates.
The day belonged to Rutherglen from the outset, and despite a brief lapse in execution when delivering the ball into the forward line late in the second quarter, the Cats quickly corrected their course after halftime to cruise to a dominant victory.
Brendan Morris was named Best on Ground, earning the prestigious Jones-Voss Medal. Playing across the half back line, Morris was a wall in defence, reading the play superbly, repelling countless Wahgunyah attacks and setting up attacking plays with composure and class - his ball use was the highlight.
Rutherglen’s forward line came alive in the second half, spearheaded by Michael Cooper, who kicked seven goals from full forward.
Cooper’s strong marking and sharp goal sense proved too much for the Wahgunyah defence to handle.
Co-coach Dylan Van Berlo was outstanding across halfback, taking multiple intercept marks and setting up forward entries with precision.
Captain Ben Pleming led the midfield with poise and work rate, helping to generate consistent forward momentum throughout the match.
The win sees Rutherglen with a 2-1 win-loss record from the first three rounds of the season and hold onto the coveted Wayne-Porky Milthorpe Shield.
Rutherglen now turn their attention to Round 4 with a game against ladder leaders Kiewa Sandy Creek.
Reserves
Cats 10.13 73 def Wahgunyah 3.4 22
Awards: Club Corowa – Lachie Webb, Howlong Shearing Services – Tory Oats, Baker Seed Co – Charlie James, Rutherglen Pizza – Chris Menzies, Corowa Sportspower – Mitch Huggins.
Going into the rivalry game with plenty of unknown with both sides coming off solid wins.
The first quarter was very scrappy with both sides struggling to get clean ball forward - Cats 1.5 to 0.1 at the break.
In the second quarter the Cats started to play the way they did the first two rounds, Huggins on the wing found some open space setting up his forwards who kicked four straight goals to three points.
At the half time break the Cats were 5.5 to the Lions’ 0.4.
Cats started the third quarter on fire but were a little wayward in front of goal kicking 2.5 before Wahgunyah caught fire in the last five minutes of the quarter to kick three goals to make it an interesting last quarter. The score at three quarter time was 7.10.52 to 3.4.22
Some big centre clearances from Lenny Hill early in the last put the Cats on the front foot, setting up early goals to put the game to bed.
The Cats back six were enormous all day and Webb in the midfield worked hard both ways all day.
Under 17s
Cats 21 13 139 def Wahgunyah 4 3 27
Goals: Aidan Berriman (6), Daniel Ryland (3), Harry Chandler (3), Oliver Nash-Webster (2), Logan Poole (2), Noah McSweeney (2), Flynn Verhulst (1), William Waite (1), Brody Upton (1).
Best: Mitch Francis, Dusty Fisher, Harry Chandler, Jax Ramsey, Aidan Berriman, Oliver Nash-Webster.
Awards: Rutherglen Pizza – Oliver Nash- Webster, Silver Key Café – Noah McSweeney, Corowa Sportspower – Lukas Moore, Coaches Award – Phoenix Wight, Coaches Award – Logan Poole.
Rutherglen U17s Impress in front of Good Friday Crowd
The boys put in a strong four-quarter performance to comfortably defeat Wahgunyah, taking control early and maintaining dominance right through to the final siren.
With a solid lead established, the team had the opportunity to rotate some of our backline players into forward and midfield positions, giving them valuable experience across the ground.
In warm, sunny conditions and in front of a large Good Friday crowd, the boys stuck to the game plan. Even when shifted into unfamiliar roles, their communication and teamwork continued to improve throughout the match.
Highlights: Logan Poole celebrated his 50th club game with two final-quarter goals. Daniel Ryland found his form, contributing three majors. Lukas Moore, Dusty Fisher, and Sonny Enever-Cooper were instrumental in applying pressure and guiding our younger players in the backline. Noah McSweeney and Jax Ramsey shared ruck duties, giving our midfield first use of the ball and controlling many contests around the ground. Aidan Berriman was impressive up forward, marking strongly and kicking six straight goals. Harry Chandler played his usual consistent role and added three goals to the tally.
Next week, the cats take on Kiewa–Sandy Creek at Tangambalanga – a great test to see where we’re at early in the 2025 season.
Under 14s
Cats 5 4 34 def by Wahgunyah 8 3 51
Awards: Rutherglen Pizza – Ben Pagan-Saunders, Silver Key Café – Noah Cracknell, Corowa Sportspower – Jai Richey, Chandler Cash – Nate Kuschert, Coaches Award – Logan Hurley.
The Under 14 Cats took on Wahgunyah hunting for their first win of the season.
The first quarter was an even contest, with Captain Brayden McInnes working hard in the ruck and leading from the front.
Codie Johnson slotted a goal to get some momentum going.
The second quarter saw Ben Pagan-Saunders hit the scoreboard with Noah Cracknell, and Nate Kuschert working hard through the midfield.
At half time the scores were still close on a warm day for football.
Despite the best efforts of the backline with Jai Richey and Logan Hurley, Wahgunyah got away from Rutherglen in the third quarter and Rutherglen were held scoreless.
The final quarter saw Rutherglen come out fighting with two more goals for Ben Pagan-Saunders and a goal from Max Chandler.
At the final siren, the margin was only 17 points, and the players can take many positives going forward.
Despite going down in a close contest, the Under 14s can hold their heads high knowing they are working hard at training and improving each week.
Coaches Ben and Josh are doing a fantastic job building on the players' skills and keeping the team unified. Please come and get around our young Cats as they travel to Kiewa next week, looking for their first win of the season.
Under 12s
Cats 6.5 41 def Wahgunyah 0.2 2
Awards: McFarlane Family – Nicholas, Silver Key Café – Vinny Johnson, Rutherglen Lolly Shop –Nash Johnson, Danny Johnson Most Courageous – Lenny Ledger, The River Fish & Chips – Mike Reid
J & M Steel Erection – Brax Jennings, North East Marine – Patrick Coleman.
The first quarter was a hard-fought but at times scrappy affair with the young Cats managing to kick two goals including a great captain’s goal from Patrick Coleman.
As the game progressed the Cats found more space and started to move the ball better throughout the ground resulting in a solid win.
Netball
A Grade
Cats 21 def by Wahgunyah 50
The inaugural Davie-Renshaw medal for Best on Ground was awarded to Wahgunyah’s Morgan McRae for a brilliant performance in defence.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t the Cats’ day at all, they took too long to get into the match and by then Wahgunyah had a stranglehold on the result.
The team have lots to work on, keep the belief there, and heads up for training this week.
Awards: Best On Court (Club) – Kealy House, The Victoria Hotel – Bronwyn McCormack, Rutherglen Convent Brewery – Ally Halton, Club Corowa – Jessica Oats.
B Grade
Cats 33 def by Wahgunyah 43
In the hot conditions this week the girls did well with the changes that we had to make. It was a tough game. The team had some great passages of play and have lots to work on at training.
Awards: Best On Court - Club – Tenaya McGill, The Victoria Hotel – Emily Gillard, Boorhaman Hotel – Bylee Allison, Club Corowa - Rachel Clarkson, Corowa Sportspower – Mel Griffin.
C Grade
Cats 17 def by Wahgunyah 48
The girls played a great match, they fought hard and had some fantastic passages of play throughout. Our defenders played well against Wahgunyah’s strong shooters, and the mid-court ran the ball well into our shooters who shot well.
Awards: Best On Court (Club) – Lucy Brown, The Victoria Hotel – Charli Williams, Movere Pilates – Charlotte Meyer.
17 & Under
Cats 20 def by Wahgunyah 47
A great game on Good Friday. The girls had a strong attack end with Lucy, Faith and Kara attempting every shot. Their defence played one-on-one trying to keep Wahgunyah’s shooters out, but unfortunately, they were far too accurate.
Awards: Best On Court - Club – Tahlia Morley, Movere Pilates – Lucy Jacka, Silken Skin Spa Studio – Kara Lowen-Webb, Corowa Sportspower – Imigine Newson.
15 & Under
Cats 8 def by Wahgunyah 50
Our Under 15 Cats had a tough match on Good Friday, Wahgunyah were a really strong side, and the team knew that going into the game. The team is trying to work on their give and goes and not hesitating, which by the fourth quarter they finally had their heads in the game and fought hard for the ball.
Awards: Best On Court (Club) – Leah Ellis, Movere Pilates – Zara Meyer, Silken Skin Spa Studio – Tayla Meyer.
13 & Under
Cats 11 drew with Wahgunyah 11
The girls played a great match on Good Friday, in which they were able to match Wahgunyah’s score after being behind early. The team continues to improve each week and put in a huge amount of effort, the coaches are beyond proud and excited to see what the rest of the season will bring, hopefully more wins.
Award Winners: Best On Court (Club) – Leah Ellis, The Wax Trade – Isla Verhulst, Corowa Sportspower – Taylor Francis.
12 & Under
Cats 8 def Wahgunyah 0
The little Cats were amazing this week and gave it their all.
Emme was dropping long bombs, Heidi ran hard all game, Polly giving her all, and Alyssa fed the shooters like a pro.
The coaches couldn’t be any prouder of the effort the girls have put in, they have all come such a long way since the start and finished with a great win.
Awards: Daisy Cow Soap – Emme Potter, The Wax Trade – Alyssa Lowen-Webb, McFarlane Family – Polly Simpson, Sarah Watkins Amazing Award – Heidi Macumber.
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