Monbulk met Warburton-Millgrove for the first time since 2019, the last time that the Burras had been in the same division. After a few days of rain, the Saturday morning fog lifted to reveal a perfect autumn afternoon at Warburton. Statistically the Hawks came away with their best ever visit to Mac Sparke Oval, winning in 7 of the 8 games there, although most were tight struggles.

Football

Seniors

Warburton-Millgrove have always been a tough nut to crack for Monbulk, particularly on their own ground, which happened to be in superb condition. It was Warburton who did most of the attacking early but they missed some opportunities in the first term. The Burras’ backline was proving hard to penetrate and it was just a couple of late goals by the Hawks that managed to reduce the gap to two points at the main break.

More missed opportunities by Warby in the third allowed Monbulk to edge ahead by three quarter time. The Burra’s started the last term better and established a ten point lead before a strong fightback by Monbulk yielded five late goals as the Hawks surged to their second successive win. It had been a hard fought and physical encounter played in good spirits throughout.

Monbulk 12.6.78 def Warburton-Millgrove 9.9.63

Best: Lachlan Sheppard, Ryan Burleigh, Kai Linde, Joshua Spencer, Will Henderson, Caleb Quirk

Goals: Josh Wentworth 2, Ryan Burleigh 2, Joel Wensley 2, Nicholas Wall 1, Taylor Joyce 1, Ziggy Hatherley 1, Will Henderson 1, Caleb Quirk 1, Joshua Dawson 1

Reserves

Monbulk fielded their strongest line up for the year so far, which included a number of players who had been squeezed out of the seniors. The Hawks controlled the game from quarter time, showing too much ability for their opponents and running out winners by 67 points.

Monbulk 13.14.92 def Warburton-Millgrove 4.1.25

Best: Hamish Emmett, Lachlan Smith, Adam Banks, Daniel Cleary, Thomas Berman, Finn Horsfall

Goals: Thomas Berman 3, Lachlan Smith 3, Nicholas Heron 2, Adam Banks 1, Finn Horsfall 1, Jacob Defina 1, Daniel Cleary 1, Steven Shankly 1

Under 18s

These two teams began the day’s proceedings with an early start at 9am. Monbulk began strongly but squandered shots at goal, at one stage having a return of 1.7. The match was tight throughout and a Warburton lead of 8 points midway through the last quarter looked to be a match winning buffer in the low scoring clash. The Hawks then had a barrage of three quick goals to finish the game as they snatched a thriller by seven points.

Monbulk 8.11.59 def Warburton-Millgrove 8.4.52

Best: Finley Ede, Arley Gray, Isaac Mullinder, Ryder Koelewyn, Thomas Hill, Ben Pratt

Goals: Finley Ede 3, Arley Gray 2, Jonah Van Seters 2, Lucas Ibarra 1

Netball

A Grade

In a danger game, Monbulk was missing Jorga and Nicole although Asha and Dayna, who stepped up from B Grade, played great matches against a Warburton side that had been a strong combination for the last decade. It was to be goal for goal exchanges for the first three quarters until the Hawks unleashed a 15-8 last quarter to finally clinch the match. This week they face the other unbeaten side, Mt. Evelyn, at home.

Monbulk 46 def Warburton-Millgrove 38

Best: Grace Scott-Thomas, Georgia Himmelreich, Asha Jones

Goals: Peri Reid 35, Dayna Walsham 6, Sophie Stubbs 5

B Grade

The Hawks had a great first quarter where they established a seven goal lead. From there they were able to hold their opponents at bay as they claimed a solid win against a team that had started the day level on points with them.

Monbulk 51 def Warburton-Millgrove 39

Best: Chloe Baker, Georgia Wilson, Clementine Nicholas

Goals: Chloe Baker 43, Dayna Walsham 5, Chloe Carmichael 3

C Grade

For the third time this year the C Grade team played a great game but just came up short. If they continue with this intensity then a win won’t be far off.

Monbulk 35 def by Warburton-Millgrove 41

Best: Grace Sands, Candice Freeling, Maddy Buckland

Goals: Maddy Buckland 16, Grace Sands 13, Macy Giling 6

D Grade

This team keeps delivering when the chips are down and the pressure is on. For the third time in four matches they have won a game by less than four goals in another thriller.

Monbulk 22 def Warburton-Millgrove 20

Best: Bronte Passingham, Caitlin Utting, Chelsea Borkowski

Goals: Jamie Sands 16, Ella Flynn 6

Under 17s

The Monbulk Gold team was the only junior side to venture to Warburton on the weekend. They controlled the match throughout and scored a solid win over the Burras. The Maroon team travelled to Mount Evelyn to play ROC. We trailed after the first half and levelled the scorebard in the second half to show they can match it with the top sides.

Monbulk Gold 36 def Warburton-Millgrove 22

Best: Amelia Magarry, Kaitlyn Summers, Stevie Mullinder

Goals: Amelia Magarry 15, Kaia Stewart 13, Summer Kuppers 8

Monbulk Maroon 14 def by ROC White 29

Best: Layla Murray, Shiloh Koole, Chelsea Ferguson

Goals: Isla Stubbs 7, Ahliya Wragg 5, Layla Murray 2

Under 15s

The ladder leading Gold team had a bye while the Maroon team played at Wandin against the third placed Wandin Red. After conceding 10 goals to 2 in the opening term the Maroon girls fought back strongly to hit the front in the second half and hang on by a goal to be just percentage out of the Top Five.

Monbulk Maroon 28 def Wandin Red 27

Best: Jessica Verheyen, Isabelle Kos, Hayden Brady

Goals: Isabelle Kos 15, Jessica Verheyen 11, Grace Gaunt 2