CDJFL Under-10DEMON under-10s played West End Rovers in a very spirited and entertaining game.
Shane Butler Black played his best game for the year with some great efforts from James Miller and Bill Giacometti, who continually drove the ball forward where Tom Hetherington and Cameron Lovig attacked the goals.
Nat Schembri, Lochie Barry, Mitch Steen and Trent Eccles played great games, displaying great marking and kicking skills. Dane Miller, John Ragatz and Ryan Holmes tackled the opposition to win possession of the ball alone with Tom Lowe and Mick Evans.
Under-13s
AT THE Mill Markets Oval, Daylesford Demon under-13s played for a spot in the finals against West End Rovers.
The boys rose to the challenge and played one of their best games.
It was a battle of the backlines in the first half, with the ball rebounding from end to end, with good defensive play by Ted Cooper and Darcy Thornycroft.
The second half saw play open up with hard running by Finn Anscombe on a wing along with Liam Murray, Jacob Paddon and Joel Cowan.
The final quarter saw Will Austinking and Kaleb Lipplegoes play a great game, and Alex Evagora's goal kicking saw the Demons run out winners by seven goals. Special mention to the backline players who stood firm through all of the match.
Score: Daylesford 9-4 def West End 2-4
Goals: K Lipplegoes 3, A Evagora, D Thornycroft, L Murray, F Anscombe, J Paddon, N Evagora
Best: W Austinking, D Thornycroft, T Cooper, J Cowan, F Anscombe, L Murray
Hepburn Under-18
A HEPBURN side much weakened by injury and illness took on Daylesford in slushy conditions.
The game was soon reduced to a hard slog and mud scramble with neither side able to gain an advantage. The mud and determined resistance from Daylesford stopped Hepburn's flowing game.
Kieran Frost thrived in the conditions, keeping his feet and forcing his way through packs and, with the support of Alec Cimera, kept Hepburn in the game.
Sam Conroy was again a power house around the ground, marking strongly, using his strength and kicking valuable goals.
With winning ruckmen feeding the ball down, Hepburn started getting the ball out of the centre. Brett Knight was strong in the packs and Jim Rodgers, filling in from the under-15s, kicked a couple of clever goals.
As the scoreboard pressure mounted and both umpires did a great job in controlling the game.
Hepburn finally got a decent lead on the board and, with the backline on top, was able to hold that lead through to the final siren.
Having come under pressure early in the game the team responded well and ran out easy winners.
Next week sees the start of a hard finals campaign. This tough work out should only strengthen the team for the weeks ahead.
Scores: Hepburn 8-8-56 def Daylesford 3-3-21
Goals: J Rodgers, S Conroy 2, A Cimera, B Knight, K Frost, A Griffis 1
Best: K Frost, A Cimera, D Simmons, B Knight, S Conroy, M Johns
Daylesford Under-15
DAYLESFORD turned the tables on Hepburn from its encounter earlier in the year to record a 23-point win in a very entertaining game.
Leading all day Daylesford handled the ball better in the muddy conditions with Sebastian Walsh providing great drive for the home team.
The visitors made many changes in the second half with Rodgers and Malone trying valiantly to lift their team, however, Daylesford was able to withstand the challenge and moved to second on the ladder with the victory.
Next week sees a return meeting between the two teams in the qualifying final.
Best: S Walsh, Behrens, Ingham, J Clough, Courtney, X Walsh
Goals: Courtney, S.Walsh 2, Alexander, Behrens
Creswick Under-18
ON PAPER the under-18 game looked a mismatch with the Wickers in the final five playing the cellar dweller with just a draw to their name. The game was, however, packed with interest until early in the final term.
Creswick had kicked just a single goal with the first quarter breeze and with two goals each in the second term, a close tussle ensued.
Caleb Hepworth was a general across the centre line while Shannon Curtis sured up the defence in his unique, bullocking style.
Wyatt Peters was a great player in attack for the wickers but, again, his kicking was astray.
Three-quarter time saw Creswick 5.11 to Clunes 2.5 but, with the wind, Clunes was still a chance. Perhaps sensing that this was a final 15 minutes to gain momentum for the finals, Creswick had its best quarter for the match - with just 17 players - and piled on five goals to one to run
out convincing winners.
It was the old hands that steadied the ship with Brad Murray, Mick Lockyer and Justin Ellis all digging deep to round out fine four-quarter performances.
Contributions from Aaron Gregg, the much improved Siraj Abiye and Steve Vlahek in his best game so far made the overall result a team effort. Clunes best were Ben Fogas and Nick Thomas
The season bore 13 wins and four losses - each to teams above them. A decisive win against Learmonth in round 11 gave the Wickers the vital breathing space required and victory in six of the last seven rounds is a fine effort.
Good luck to each team for their finals campaigns.
Remembering that neither team saw finals action in 2007, it is a credit to players, coaches, administration and community to have talented, committed and good spirited junior footy teams in the town.
Under-15
IN THE final home-and-away round it was off to Clunes for a first versus eighth clash in the under-15s.
The boys were keen to bounce back after their first loss last week and the response was immediate.
Three goals in three minutes and five for the quarter saw the game decided by quarter time.
Sammy Gibson led the way early and found good support from Ash James back from injury while Rhys Antonio was best of the smalls and Liam Hepworth best of the talls.
The game evened out over the next three quarters with goals hard to come by on the heavy ground. Jack New was dashing in defence and with Adam Morris Flynn in fine form, the backline held firm.
Josh Dummelow played brilliantly in the first and last quarters to finish with five goals, while Josh Zsabo was prominent after half time.
Generators Daniel Hucker and Joel Antonio were again the team's best for their persistency and consistency. Clunes were well served by Matt Taylor, Cody Dawson, Tylan Humm and Dom Stinchcombe.
Final score: 9.5.59 to 1.5.11 The final ladder position of first came from 16 wins and one loss and a percentage of 750.
Under-12
THE under-12 team kicked off the morning with a tussle against the even younger Clunes outfit. The enjoyment on field was matched off field with an appreciative crowd.
Each team managed goals with Creswick having its nose in front at game's end.
Dom Flynn, Mitch Gervasoni, Tom Dummelow, Alex Lovel and Rhys Antonio are some of the many youngsters who will sure up Creswick teams in years to come.
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