Giants win again

29 Aug 2016 by Glen Davis

Under 14
In the first semifinal this week the local derby would mean the end for one of the Benalla sides. After being beaten twice this year the Bulldogs went in favorites but with prime mover Chelton Orchard missing from the Bulldogs, the Giants liked their chances.
The Bulldogs started well winning the bulk of the clearances out of the middle with Bode Stevens and Reagan Williams looking like they would take the game to the Giants however it was the Giants who responded kicking three goals to take a small lead at quarter time. Both Luke Dunne and Tom levy were looking really dangerous late in the quarter both giving the Bulldogs defenders some headaches.

A change to the midfield setup for the Giants stopped the dominance of the Bulldogs from the middle and the Giants were looking much better. David Button was right on top and the Bulldogs had no answers for his dominance. The Giants defense was holding strong in the second quarter led by Josh Milner and Tyson Ryan. Josh had the difficult job of holding the Bulldogs big men Williams and Davies as they rested at Centre Half Forward while Tyson was absolutely fantastic reading the play in the last line. The Giants increased the lead to 21 points at half time.

A dominant third term by the Giants effectively ended the Bulldogs finals campaign kicking 5 goals to nil. Jesse Walker for the Giants was simply sensational taking plenty of strong marks and giving the Giants plenty of run. The Bulldogs had moved danger man Bode Steven to half back in the second quarter and he was proving impassable but in the third quarter Bailey Davis moved to him and took Bode out of the game while creating plenty of chances for the Giants forward line.

The final term saw the Bulldogs show plenty of fight to win the quarter but the Giants held sway to come away with a 42 point win.

One of the highlights of the game was the big tackle laid by Samantha Pritchard on the Bulldogs Panda Williams which epitomised the pressure the Giants brought to the game.

Luke Dunne finished with three goals and was simply sensational while Jesse Walker was dominant on the wing. Ben Wheeler, David Button and Rory Wapling once again put in cracking games in the middle while Josh Milner was fantastic in the backline creating plenty of attack as well as keeping the Bulldogs forwards quiet. Likewise Tyson Ryan was fantastic at full back controlling the last line while Tom Levy was just too good for the Bulldogs defenders. Bailey Davis was also pretty solid for the Giants providing plenty of run and keeping the dangerous Bode Stevens under control.

There wasn’t one passenger in this game and hopefully we can continue the momentum as we take on Mansfield in the Preliminary final.

Giants 12-14-86 def. Bulldogs 6-8-44

Goal Kickers: Luke Dunne 3, Ben Wheeler 2, Josh Hyland 2, Deakyn Kohler 2, Tom Levy 2, Will O’Donoghue 1

Best: Jesse Walker, Luke Dunne, David Button, Bailey Davis, Josh Milner, Rory Wapling, Ben Wheeler

Under 16
Benalla Giants took on College in perfect football conditions with an opportunity to progress straight into the Grand Final on the line. The opening term was all College with many Giants players spectating whilst College kept the scoreboard ticking over. At quarter time College were 33 points up with Giants failing to register a score for the quarter.

Following some gentle encouragement by the coaching staff at the first break, the second term saw the Giants really start to attack the contest and apply pressure around the ground. The Giants forward line was making the most of the hard work further up the ground with 13 scoring shots for the term. Just before half time the Giants were out running their opponents, with College starting to make mistakes under pressure. At half time Giants had reduced the margin to just 8 points.

In the third quarter the Giants consolidated all of the hard work from the second term. With the pressure coming onto College they became undisciplined with the Giants being awarded a number of 50 metre penalties. The Giants made the most of every opportunity taking a 12 point lead into the final term, with 20 minutes of focused football required for a Grand Final berth.

Early in the final term College got the margin back to 4 points with 15 minutes to go but to the credit of the entire Giants side they remained focused and started to score freely. At the final siren the Giants had booked a spot in the Grand Final with a 23 point win,

Giants now have a week off while College take on Tigers in the Preliminary Final.

Benalla Giants 13.12.90 def. College 10.7.67

Goal Kickers: Rhys Goodley 3, James Davies 2, Tom Moloney 2, Paddy Warner 2, Henry O’Halloran 2, Mitch Gander 2

Best Players: Riley Johnson, Campbell McCoy, Nathan Holmes, Jack Kioses, Paddy Warner, Henry O’Halloran, Mitch Gander



Location

Norm Minns Oval Wangaratta

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