Round 4: U12 Youth Girls

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Canada Bay Cannons U12 Youth Girls v Glebe Greyhounds

Round Four, Friday 29 April
Five Dock park

Weeks of rain, closed grounds, cancelled training and a first game of the season held in school holidays were quickly forgiven when the footy Gods shone for the Canada Bay Cannons Youth u/12 Girls team last Friday evening.

The team was greeted with a beautifully still and balmy Autumn evening for their maiden night match under the big lights at Five Dock Park.

It was great to see an almost full contingent available to play with only Audrey, Leah, Willow & Harper unfortunately missing through illness or travel.

Glebe Greyhounds presented as a formidable opposition with most their players having played several seasons together. Despite our home ground advantage the Greyhounds quickly asserted dominance in the 1st quarter. The Cannons, however, were relentless in defence and showed true grit and determination. As a result the game yo-yoed up and down the ground and subsequently the Cannons were able to stymy the opposition, restricting them to one goal and two behinds for the quarter, keeping the game alive.

The 2nd quarter was a similarly scrappy affair spent largely in defence. While the scoreboard started to run away from the Cannons there were some great passages of play late in the quarter. Notable moments included strong effective tackling by Leni, some clean marking, determined ball following and tackling by Sofia, Hayley and Summer.

The tail end of the 2nd quarter was highlighted by an excellent kick out from Ivy at fullback, cleanly marked by Ruth who linked with Moana and then passing onto Leni, quickly getting the Cannons up the ground. It was a promising sign of the potential bubbling just below the surface and which is sure to be realised with more game time.

With legs wearied and heart rates elevated, the game opened up in the 3rd quarter. Charlotte was strong in the ruck and was ably assisted up and down the ground by indefatigable ball followers Ruth, Jasmine and Moana. Liz showed natural flare for ruck work with several deft knockdowns in post scrimmage ball ups around the centre half back line to help keep Cannons out of trouble. Likewise Darcy chipped in with a well placed kick from full back to Sienna who cleanly marked at half back flank to keep the Greyhounds attack at bay.

The team was duly rewarded for their stubborn efforts when Ruth, seemingly out of nowhere, swooped on a bouncing ball, ran three steps and snapped cleanly and accurately for a very pretty major.

The 4th quarter saw our forwards starved for ball as the Greyhounds shifted up a gear and moved into full swing. Ruth and Hayley continued to run and work hard with Liz in the centres and in support of Ivy, Charlotte and Sophia in the back line. A standout in stemming the flow of opposition points was Leni who was rewarded with several free kicks for her persistent hard tackling and fight for the ball in the breakdown of play.

While the final scoreboard was not kind numerically, it did not detract from the team spirit, persistence, courage and resilience of the girls on the night. An entertaining night for all, a great way to start a weekend and a Sunday of relaxation well earned!

Match report by Pete C.

U12 Youth Girls v Cronulla Sharks

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Final Home & Away for the U12 Youth Girls

The ladder was tight going into the game against the Cronulla Sharks. A win early in the season gave the girls some confidence but it seemed likely four teams would end up level 4th after the round was completed. It was going to end up a percentage game.
The first quarter was a slow start highlighted by a booming goal from Amy and a nice goal for Hailey.
The second quarter was ‘the Hailey show’ with three majors. The girls in the middle led by nice tap work were starting to really gel. Christina, the rock in defence, repelled any forays from the Sharks. Ivy E was full of run and Audrey as usual showed blistering pace. Like Steve Irwin, Clara completely fearlessly tackled the biggest shark on the park.
A nice lead at the half break didn’t slow the Cannons down and Eady and Ivy P-B were relentless in the middle. Hailey has another great quarter with a further three goals. With Eady and Espy also joining the scorers.
Marley had another great game supported by Ivy T and great running from Zara.  Nine goals to 3/4 time was the best effort for the year.
If someone told the girls what they needed to score to make a finals berth with percentage, I’m sure they would have nearly fainted. We all thought Round Nine would be the season end. But they exceeded all we could have asked of them.
Ivy P-B pulled out her best 1/4 for the year with four goals with another to Espy and Ivy E. All the girls finished the game full of zest and attack on the ball.
It turns out that the massive improvement over the season has been rewarded by a spot in the semi-finals. No matter how that turns out we will all be super proud of the last game at St Lukes for the year.
Great effort girls & coaches.
– Rob

U12 Youth Girls v Ramsgate

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Round 8 – The Girls Did Us Proud

A match against the top of the table Ramsgate RSL provided the girls with an opportunity to show how far they’ve come since their Round 3 match up, and the team delivered.

In a match that gave the defence a chance to show what they were made of, every player stood up and contributed to the improved performance and they all deserve recognition!

Clara – Never gave up in defence with desperation tackles and worked really hard to clear the ball out at every opportunity.

Espy – Didn’t get many chances at full forward, but was ready every time she was given a chance.

Marlie – A player of the match performance, taking marks, tackling, running and showing absolutely no fear against their big forwards.

Ivy E – Was working hard in the middle of the field with some great tackles and plenty of hard runs in traffic.

Edie – A tireless work ethic, fearless smothering of opposition kicks and a constant option in attack, another solid game.

Audrey – Everyone knows the quality of Audrey’s runs and her multiple big runs led to almost all of our attacking opportunities in this match!

Amy – Leading the way for our girls in a rough and tumble match while covering the whole field, she managed to smother multiple free kicks in the second half as well as score our only point of the match.

Cristina – The team’s rock in defence was taking marks on the goal line, tipping the ball out to save behinds, making strong runs, clearance kicks and tackling all day.

Shannon – Smart positioning out wide helped our attack to spread out and create better opportunities with her disposals.

Haylee – Did plenty of work providing leading runs and options for clearances out of defence and putting her big boot to work but also managed to take a goal line mark to save a goal in the third quarter.

Bella – Got given an opportunity in the middle of the park in the 4th quarter and gave it her all with strong runs and fought through an injury late never giving up.

Ivy P.B. – Had flawless awareness and positioning in defence to save three certain goals on the line but also managed to chase down and tackle countless players through the while match.

Sofia – Played the best game I’ve seen from her, set off by a fantastic mark in the first quarter that lead to confident play for the rest of the game.

Ivy T – Never stopped chasing and was always looking to close the gap between the forwards and midfield to help our attack.

The scoreline may not indicate it, but this tough game was the best our defence has ever been and if we get another change against these girls in the finals, we will be even better again!

  • Match report by Adam

 

Round Seven: U12 Youth Girls

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Canada Bay Cannons v Miranda Bombers, St Luke’s Oval

Quarter one began with Amy getting a successful shot at goal. Audrey demonstrated great running through the centre. Marlie and Cristina also demonstrated great running with the ball and some clever kicks in the mix. Zara provided a quick kick and set up a great goal for Edie. Superb team work.

Second quarter saw Ivy P have a great pick up and a selfless handball to Esperanza led to a goal for the Cannons. Amy and Cristina dominated with their kicks from defence through to the midfield into the forward line. Eperanza put on a burst of speed and after quite a lengthy run scored a goal.

Quarter three saw Cristina score the mark of the day while facing a now blazing sun and this was most special given the ball impacted her face first. Very brave. Ivy E had a fabulous pick up, ran with this and scored a delightful goal. The Cannons really started to demonstrate good skills with Amy having two amazing runs with two bounces between. Marlie showed her fantastic sheparding skills and Cristina was outstanding with her pickups and kicking throughout defence. Amy scored an awesome goal 50m out. Cristina and Amy spotted each other well and transitioned play from the backline into the forwards.

The final quarter saw Edie beautifully tackle and steal the ball on the wing and handball into the forward line for great field position. Ivy P had some lovely runs throughout midfield and Hayley had a lovely goal out of the pack. This team has improved throughout the season and it was great to see happy faces after the match.

  • Craig

U12 YG v Maroubra Saints

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Round 6, Hefron Park: An amazing victory on an incredibly windy day

What a match – here are the highlights: Goals across the park from five players. Edie kicking an incredible four goals, two each from Amy & Esperanza and one to Zara (first goal in AFL) and one to Audrey. With the final score an impressive win to the Cannons.

The game was evenly matched through to half time with both teams gaining the advantage down wind. The Cannons worked hard on the defensive end with strong work from Audrey, Christina, Bella and Amy. This combined with great work from Marlie all day chasing hard, tying up the ball and ripping it clear of the pack to help feed the forward line who proved extremely accurate in the windy conditions. Late in the half, after great work from Clara in defence and in combination with Amy,  Zara burst clear and kicked straight for a well celebrated goal.

The game was turned on its head in a dominant third quarter working into the wind. Amy dominated the centre hit outs, feeding the forward line with three goals straight, two to Edie and one to Audrey as she burst into the goal square to kick her goal. Two late goals from the Saints evened things up but by this stage the game had swung the Cannons’ way.

The final quarter was all one way traffic with goal umpire Hamish  (great rookie outing) kept busy with the flags as Amy dominated in attach with two goals and three behinds, plus goals to Edie and Esperanza (one of the highlights rolling through from 50 metres out) plus a behind to Bella sealing the deal. The forwards were again supported by strong centre work from Ivy PB, Marlie and Audrey and in defence with the Saints being kept scoreless.

Well done to all the girls on a fantastic team effort all round the ground making it very difficult for a one eyed, rugby loving AFL convert to pick the best and fairest.

– Dan

U12YG Round 3 v Ramsgate

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Little girls with big hearts showed the way for the Cannons last week.

Even though they were up against a much bigger team, the gutsy Cannons weren’t daunted by the task and never gave up, getting better as the game wore on.  

Audrey and Marlie put their head over the ball and went in hard no matter how big the opponent facing them.

Audrey repeatedly used her pace and courage to attack the footy, while Marlie’s second and third efforts in defence in the fourth quarter especially were matched only by her brilliant smother to save a certain goal.

While their efforts at ground level were impressive, Cristina and Amy were taking strong marks all day and clearing the footy from defence as the entire backline regularly held out Ramsgate attacks in the second half.

They were well supported by Haylee who showed great composure as she regularly mopped up the loose ball and followed up her kicks with strong tackles.

Edie is quickly taking to the game and took a strong overhead mark on the wing and also picked up plenty of contested possessions in and under, while Ivy E was also prominent.

The girls showed plenty of character on a tough day which shows they’ll have many more great days as the season continues.

 

Round One – U12 Youth Girls

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Round 6: U12 Youth Girls

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U15 Youth Girls Preliminary Final

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The Canada Bay Cannons U15YG booked a spot in the Grand Final after a bone-crunching, gutsy slog against the Glebe Greyhounds on Sunday afternoon at Wagener Oval.

The Cannons made the best of the conditions in the first quarter and were able to establish a two goal lead at quarter time after some nervous but outstanding team play.

The second and third quarters were a slog and while the Cannons defended and defended, the Greyhounds stood tall, mounting attack after attack and threatened to steal the lead. While the Cannons were scoreless during the middle part of the match, the Greyhounds were held to a single goal in each quarter and at three quarter time the Cannons held a slim, but important 3 point lead.

The Cannons rallied around each other during the final break – lead by Captain Sasha in her best game of the season – committed to maintain their outstanding pressure and do everything they could to hold off the Greyhounds. In the final quarter, the Cannons ran hard to win the footy, tackled with ferocity and were able to repel the Greyhounds every time they mounted an attack. The game remained neck and neck until right at the death, much the same as last week against the Panthers, until the Cannons were able to take the ball end to end and muscle two match winning team goals!

There were emotional scenes all over the ground once again as the final siren sounded and the Cannons emerged victorious (in front of another large and very vocal crowd).

Another rousing rendition of “See the Cannons Fire Up” was lead by Molly and echoed around the ground as the Cannons celebrated a wonderful win against a high quality opponent played in a fantastic spirit!

The Cannons now look forward to a Fathers’ Day showdown in the Grand Final against the Maroubra Saints!! If you are a Cannons supporter and have nowhere to be on Sunday, do yourself a favour and get down to Olds Park to support your girls!!

Round 14: U12 Youth Girls

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Canada Bay Cannons U12 Youth Girls v Moore Park Tigers

Round 14, Bat and Ball Oval

A sun drenched Bat and Ball Oval was the venue for a nail biting come from behind win for the Cannons U12YG team against the Moore Park Tigers.
The Tigers were hungry and came out strong in the first quarter, peppering the goals with several shots. Fortunately for the Cannons, none of them were on target and by the end of the first, although the Cannons had remained scoreless, the gap was not too great.
The second quarter saw the Cannons dig deeper. The flow of the game began to change when India’s kick found Molly in the forward line. Molly’s kick was touched on the line, but it saw the Cannons get that all important first score on the board. The Tigers fought back and scored three quick strong goals, and really looked like they were running away from the Cannons. The Cannons, however, didn’t let it get to them and a beautiful mark and goal from Hannah put them in good spirits. By half time, the Tigers had control, but the Cannons were far from giving it away.
The third quarter was characterised by the Cannons pulling together and showing their ability to work as a team with good results. Smooth hand passing between India and Ruby brought the ball into attack, and found Molly, who booted the ball toward the posts where India was able to finish off the goal under great pressure from the Tiger’s defence. Our girls displayed good aggression in the pack, showing that they would not give this away without a fight. They managed to keep the Tigers scoreless for the quarter and had clawed their way to within a goal.
At three quarter time, coach Gabi delivered a motivational speech fit for professionals. She asked for 100% effort from everyone and demanded that everyone be on a player and running hard for the full 12 minute quarter.
Out from the bounce, the girls were fired up. A huge kick from near the centre by Molly, miraculously bounced over the line for a goal, putting the Cannons in the lead. There was no time to relax, however, as the Tigers came back with another goal to even the score. Intense footy indeed!! India shone with a heroic run the entire length of the field, fending off defenders as she went, but was just unable to convert at the end. Thankfully Molly came to the rescue by pulling a goal from the scraps and put the Cannons in front again, with just one minute to go. Now the girls just had to hold onto their lead, which they valiantly did, with great celebration at the final siren.
True grit and determination payed off  for the Cannons. Thanks to all the heart and effort put in by Coach Gabi, Manager Kate and Cannons supporters.
Cannons 4.6-30 def Tigers 3.7-25