Deniliquin Rams face tough defeat against Mulwala in muddy clash

The Rams led by one point after the first quarter, with some brilliant defence by Mick Barnett.

The second term was a little tougher, with Mulwala adding four goals to our one.

The boys headed in at half-time, with co-coach John Anstee encouraging them to give it everything they had.

The third quarter saw the backline defence - held up by Barnett, Anstee and Luke Todd - keep Mulwala goalless, adding only two points for the quarter while rams added eight points.

The Rams came out strong in the final term, getting within two points after two quick goals by Todd Gallagher nine minutes in.

But momentum swung back to the Lions, with Liam Pitts adding a late goal in the term.

Charlie Hillier and Will Henderson fought tirelessly all game through the midfield.

Miller Fitzpatrick showed again why he’s playing seniors this year, with another great game.

Billy Michael also joined the seniors this week for his first game, and contributed support in the backline.

It was a great team effort by all players, who are looking forward to what should be a great battle against Barooga on home ground this weekend.

Final score: Mulwala 9.10 (64) def Deniliquin 7.4 (46).

Best players: Mick Barnett, Charlie Hillier, Todd Gallagher, John Anstee, Miller Fitzpatrick, William Henderson.

Goals: Todd Gallagher 4, Charlie Hillier, Liam Pitts, Luke Todd.

Reserves

It was another tough challenge for the boys, coming up against Mulwala, but they kept their heads high with another positive effort and still had a crack.

Kevin Greaves decided to hang up his runner’s gear for the day and join the boys for his first game of the year.

Four of the thirds players stepped up again this week to help.

Tom Murray, Rory Smith, Ryder Perrin and Josh Todd showed that they can play well in and contribute to the team.

Final score: Mulwala 23.13 (151) def Deniliquin 1.3 (9).

Best players: Brett Macdonald, Stephen Todd, Ben Nisbet, Rory Smith, Charlie Paton.

Goals: Kobi Baxter.

Thirds

We hit the road again to take on another contender in Mulwala.

The boys brought great energy to the match, and we could tell from the first bounce that they were up for the fight.

We lost a couple to injury early, but to the Rams’ credit, they didn’t take the foot off the pedal. We even managed to wrestle the lead in the last quarter.

We take a loss from the game, but the boys will be full of confidence for the rest of the season.

Final score: Mulwala 6.11 (47) def Deniliquin 5.4 (33).

Best players: Charlie Bull, Luke Moorse, Sam Crossley, Charlie McCallum, Rory Smith, Chanze Egan.

Goals: Andrew Smith 2, Henry Robinson, Dexter Hardman, Tom Murray.

Fourths

This clash was one to watch, and certainly delivered a spectacle to all watching.

In an intense first half, Mulwala applied early pressure, and there were big tackles and easy handballs out of the middle resulting in their first two goals.

The Rams held strong in defence, led by Ari Strongman and Oliver Christian, who repelled numerous entries with a strong presence in the air and on ground level.

Ari and Oli provided connection from defence to attack, with Ari kicking the Rams’ first goal with a classy finish from the boundary.

The second half saw a defining switch of game play where the Rams started to link up, hit short kicks and use each other.

Max Burge was electric up forward, giving a strong presence in the air, clunking some big marks and finishing with three goals.

Max provided some big moments for the young Rams to stay in the game.

Rocky Sztejman was ever reliant on the wing, being a link between halfback and forward. His work in close with pressure was fantastic.

The Rams kicked three goals in the last quarter to get over the line by 25 points.

Final score: Deniliquin 7.7 (49) def Mulwala 3.6 (24).

Best Players: Ari Strongman, Max Burge, Rocky Sztejman, Oliver Christian, Jonathon Moorse, Ollie Murray.

Goals: Max Burge 3, Logan Elphick 2, Lachlan Tritton, Ari Strongman.