Bairnsdale is through to the Gippsland League reserves grand final to be played at the Morwell Recreation Reserve this Saturday.
The Redlegs will tackle their qualifying final nemesis, the unbeaten Leongatha, after overcoming arch rival Maffra in wet and wintery conditions last Saturday at the Traralgon Recreation Reserve.
The Redlegs, with a mix of experience and youth, controlled the contest for much of the afternoon and were only really challenged for a 10-minute period in the third term when veteran Eagle Winston Gieschen goaled to narrow the margin to just eight points.
That spurred the Redlegs into action and after several behinds Matt Hamilton kicked a goal of the year from the ‘can bar’ forward pocket, lengthening the three quarter time lead to 14 points.
Goals to Jason Waddell and Tom Selleck’s second put the game beyond doubt for the Redlegs, a late goal for the Eagles narrowing the final margin to 19 points.
For the second straight week ruckman Liam Bleyswyk was best on field while youngsters Max Neate, Ryan Cullinan, Damon O’Connor, Tom Selleck continue to impress.
Jason Waddell created plenty of run while Logan Dunkley was relentless in his attack on the footy in conditions not ideal for a marking forward.
Coach Paul Capes was both delighted with his team effort and to be headed to the big dance.
“It was another great team effort, we dominated play and executed our game plan, it was as good a win as I’ve been associated in,” Capes said.
The Redlegs got through the match unscathed and are ready for another tilt at the Parrots.
“We pushed them last time on their home deck and we are capable of beating them on neutral territory, bring on next Saturday,” Capes said.
Unfortunately the Bairnsdale under 17 netballers bowed out in the preliminary final, going down to Leongatha 40-29.
The Parrots had all the answers, winning all four quarters, but the Redlegs were gallant and never gave up trying.
Joining the reserves in the grand final are the all conquering Redlegs under 15s, who are unbeaten in season 2024.
They will take on Traralgon who they have easily accounted for by 15 and 13 goals in their two meetings this season.
AWARDS
Bairnsdale Football Netball Club was among the awards on Monday at the Gippsland League awards day.
Les Knight took out the Joe Hutchison Memorial award in recognition of service of his outstanding service.
Along with engaging with more than 130 sponsors and timekeeping each week, Les takes enormous pride in the presentation of the club and facilities.
As well as cleaning, rubbish, maintenance and an extensive list of things that needed doing, the diligent hours he spent on ground preparation during a soggy June/July were enormous.
Brayden McCarrey and Will Mitchell were selected in the football team of the year, while Alison Dwyer and Paris Dunkley were picked in the netball side. McCarrey was the competition’s leading goalkicker.
Olivia Pearson won the best and fairest in the under 15 netball, while Ava Langley took out the goal shooting award.
