Central Highlands
Midcourt depth key for Beaufort
A SCINTILLATING finish to the home-and-away season has given Beaufort A-Grade coach Alice Laidlaw plenty of selection “headaches” ahead of Saturday’s Elimination Final. Despite only losing four matches this season, Beaufort ended one of the most competitive Central Highlands netball campaigns in fifth position and opens its finals series in a cut-throat tie against Dunnstown […]
Central Highlands Finals Preview
THE embargo for use of the ‘f-word’ was lifted with the sound of the final siren across the Central Highlands last Saturday. Clubs no longer need to tread carefully and hope to not tempt fate by mentioning the upcoming finals series, which has landed on the doorstep of eight teams across both sports for the […]
Learmonth ready to make some noise
LEARMONTH coach Nick Willox hopes his side will use its return to the finals this season as a springboard for prolonged success. The Lakies will play off in their first final since 2015 when they meet Buninyong in an Elimination Final on Sunday afternoon. Learmonth has been this season’s big improvers; finishing seventh after strengthening […]
Redemption on Skipton’s radar
THE third of Konrad Marshall’s trilogy of books explores the psyche and process of Richmond completing its dynasty of premierships in 2020 – the hard way. In a year defined by the pandemic and its protocols, the Tigers’ road to a 13th premiership was filled with the off-field drama and on-field detour, after losing their […]
Plenty to Crow about: Beaufort announces 2023 coaches
DANIEL Jones will coach Beaufort’s senior football team alongside Mitch Jenkins in 2023, with Brendan Howard stepping down from the role. A best-and-fairest winner with North Ballarat in the Ballarat Football League, Jones will step into senior coaching for the first time in his career; having played an important role in Beaufort’s rejuvenation since joining […]
Finals on the line in local derby
THE equation is simple for Waubra on Saturday. Win and you’re in. The Kangaroos head into the final round of the Central Highlands season in control of their own destiny, as well as the finals hopes of both Bungaree and Rokewood. Waubra currently sits a game inside the top eight and will be unable to […]
‘Damo’s Day’ a celebration of a Beaufort favourite son
“DAMO don’t even think about bringing your wallet on Saturday, mate,” Beaufort co-coach Mitch Jenkins said ahead of Beaufort’s main training session last Thursday. Dominating a whiteboard usually filled with strategies and a review of the game before is ‘Damo’s 300th…FINALLY’ printed in bright red marker and a list of the celebrations planned to accompany […]
The Art of rucking
AT the centre bounce stands a footballer and a ruckman by his trade. And he carries the reminders of the hit-outs to advantage and subsequent goals his team scores with every knee, bump and block each time he competes at a stoppage. To the untrained eye, a ruck duel is nothing more than a behemoth […]
Stopping the ‘run on’
IT is the match-winning question. ‘How can teams nullify their opposition’s momentum?’ A question keeping (at least one) AFL premiership winning coaches awake, after seeing their side succumbing to the same defeat; feeling like they are part of some Groundhogs Day simulation rather than competing for the premiership. The type of momentum which sees teams […]
From fill-in to captain, Jane Douglass celebrates 150
JANE Douglass’ introduction to netball is unlike that of her teammates’. Asked to fill-in by her friends who were playing netball at Waubra at the time, Douglass, who was playing basketball at the time, never looked back; discovering a passion for both the club and the game, which has seen her quickly become a key […]