MURRINDINDI: Alexandra Football Club report
On Saturday (Apr. 26). Rebel Park hosted the first game of the season, with all five netball grades and three football teams taking on the Pakenham Lions in a big day of action.
Our Under 17 Netballers kicked off the netball, with a couple of fill-ins helping to make up the numbers. The girls were eager to get started and showed great enthusiasm from the first whistle.
Pakenham came out firing and brought their A-game, proving to be a strong and well-drilled outfit. Despite the scoreboard, our girls never dropped their heads and battled right to the final whistle.
Full credit to the seven players on court and to Coach Sarah for guiding the team with great spirit. There’s no doubt we’ve got some future A-Grade stars in the making!
Under 17’s – Alexandra 10 Def by Pakenham 53 – Koala Cherries Award – Asher Kaiser & AFNC Club Voucher – Chelsea Webb.
The D and C Grade teams come up against very well drilled Pakenham teams but to both teams credit they continued to play hard until the final whistle and there was certainly some positives to take away from the games to work on for next week.
D Grade – Alexandra 9 def by Pakenham 50 – Alexandra Hotel Award – Himali Collins, AFNC Club Voucher – Katelyn Prendeville, Corner Hotel Award – Asher Kaiser
C Grade – Alexandra 34 def by Pakenham 60 – Simpson Fuel Card – Lauren Benson, Alexandra Hotel – Ava Krijt, Corner Hotel Award – Caeley Palmer
B Grade – Alexandra 16 def by Pakenham 75 – Incentive Award – Maddy Northmore, Alexandra Hotel – Sarah Mooney, Corner Hotel Award – Jayde Cairns.
Before the commencement of the A Grade game due to timing issues the two A Grade teams and supporters lined up on the netball court where Major Sarah Mooney delivered The Ode and a minutes silence to remember the fallen.
Our Under 18’s went into the game with a couple of changes from the Seville match and were keen for their second match of the season. The boys fought hard and should be very proud of their efforts but Pakenham proved too strong. The team has a great vibe around them and the club is extremely proud of these young men.
Under 18’s – Alexandra 0-0-0 defeated by Pakenham 25-20-170 – Awards – Bowens – Josh Crane, Shepparton Volkswagon – Thomas Kendall – AFNC Club Voucher – George Sotiropoulos, Coaches Award – Max Young.
The Reserves side saw several changes from the previous week, with the inclusions of Brandon Kapakoulakis, Conor Heaslip, Scott Hill, Jake Keath, and Jake Steyger among others.
The Rebels got off to a solid start, with Kapa slotting the first goal of the game. They stayed in touch early, trailing by just two goals at quarter time.
Pakenham stepped up in the second quarter, kicking four goals to Alexandra’s one, stretching their lead to 32 points by halftime.
The third term saw an improved effort from the Rebels, but in the final quarter, Pakenham pulled away to secure a comfortable 59-point win.
Reserve Awards – NP on the Run – Brandon Kapakoulakis, Future Fit Finance – Brodie Humphries, AFNC Club Voucher – Daniel Roper, Simpson Fuel Card – Michael Coombs
Prior to the start of the Seniors match both the clubs united with local RSL Members to line up either side of the Anzac logo which had been painted on the ground for the Anzac commemoration. We thank the local RSL for their continued support of the club and assistance in acknowledging the importance of Anzac Day to all.
Our Senior side made just two changes this week, with Will Goyder and Luke Spence coming in for Steve Steiner and Luke Wal.
Pakenham came out strong in the first quarter, taking an early lead with 4 goals 3 points to the Rebels’ 2 points.
The second quarter saw a much-improved effort from the Rebels, who kicked 3 goals 3 points to Pakenham’s 1 goal 1 point, narrowing the margin to just 11 points at halftime.
Despite having five scoring shots in the third quarter to Pakenham’s seven, inaccurate kicking hurt the Rebels, allowing Pakenham to stretch their lead to 33 points heading into the final term.
The last quarter was more competitive, but Pakenham proved too strong on the day, running out 44-point winners.
Final Score: Alexandra 6.11.47 defeated by Pakenham 14.8.92.
Senior Awards – Kervale Incentive – Riley Frankcombe, O’Briens Real Estate – Harry Prendergast, Simpson Fuel Card – Mitch Parker & Buxton Hotel Award – Kellan Percy.
We’re incredibly grateful to all our supporters and members — the crowd was one of the biggest we’ve seen at home in some time, creating a fantastic atmosphere around the club.
Our major raffle on the day was the Big Wheelbarrow, packed with a variety of great items. The draw took place in the clubrooms after the match, and congratulations to our lucky winners — Ben Jack and Riley Frankcombe!
We look forward to our upcoming matches this weekend with our Senior teams travelling to Powelltown for five games of netball and two games of football as our Under 18’s have the bye.
Juniors – Sunda
Our Juniors began their season campaign on Sunday, with three games of netball and our Under 9, 10, 12, and 14 football teams all taking on the Seymour Lions at home. Meanwhile, our Under 16 footballers hit the road to Euroa to face Shepparton United.
It was fantastic to see so many new players and families around the club, and even better to see the excitement and smiles on the kids’ faces as they stepped onto the court and field for their first games of the season.
A big congratulations to our Under 11 and Under 13 netballers on their Round 1 wins! A huge thank you and well done to all our players, coaches, volunteers, and supporters for helping make it such a positive and enjoyable start to the year.
Let’s keep the momentum going!
Awards for the day…
Under 9’s – Noah Dyson, Patrick Gilligan, Corbyn Hayes-Moynihan & Jude Nardella-Morcom
Under 10’s – Nate Broadway, Kaiydn King, Logan Heard & Benji Cavill
Under 12 – AFNC Canteen Voucher – Kayden Andrews, Reddrops Foodworks – Lucas Creed, Alex Bakery & Cafe – Hudson Brooks, Coaches Award – Ben Strochnetter.
Under 14 – AFNC Canteen Voucher – Mia Heard, Reddrops Foodworks – Mav Burchall, Coaches Award – Eli Van Lierop
Under 16 – AFNC Canteen Voucher – Toby Lucas, Reddrops Foodworks – Ryder Brady, Alex Bakery & Cafe – Fletcher Van Lierop, Coaches Award – Connor Keampkes
Under 11 Dev Netball – Alex Bakery & Cafe – Izabella Kroepsch, AFNC Canteen Award – Tilly Blakeney, Alex Sportspower Award – Reegan Martin
Under 11 Netball – AFNC Canteen Voucher – Kaliya Stewart, Alex Bakery & Cafe – Annie Barker, Alex Sportspower Award – Delilah Van Lierop.
Under 13 Red Netball – AFNC Canteen Voucher – Bella Lamaro, Alex Bakery & Cafe Award – Charli Stephens, Alex Sportspower Award – Mia Bruce.
Under 15 Red Netball – AFNC Canteen Voucher – Leah Cole, Alex Bakery & Cafe Award – Cassie Kidd, Alex Sportspower Award – Megan Kendall.
We’re still on the lookout for volunteers to help run the canteen during our Sunday home games.
Please remember, the canteen can’t operate without the support of our amazing families and community. Even a small contribution of your time makes a big difference.
If you’re able to lend a hand, we’d love to have you involved — every little bit helps.
We would like to acknowledge our weekly sponsors and thank them for their continued support of both our junior and senior teams.
Our Juniors on the Sunday we see our 9’s, 10’s, 12’s and 16’s travelling to Wandong to take on the Warriors, the Under 14’s take on Broadford at home. Our Netball teams Alex Black will play Alex Red on the Friday night along with our Under 11 Development teams who will once again play an intra club match.
Michelle Jack
Pictured: Will Stewart. Photo: Michelle Jack