Our senior women have had a tougher run over the last few weeks. Strong opponents and some unavailabilities among our players have seen our side drop their games since our last bye. With only 2 games and another bye left before the completion of the home and away season, we are now playing for pride. We wish them well for the rest of the season and hope they can finish well to encourage the side across the off season until 2026.
Our senior men’s squad continue to show improvement despite losing key players to injury. Our most recent match saw us visit Grovedale for what always seems to be a tough assignment regardless of where the teams sit respectively. When the sides last met in round 2, Grovedale took the chocolates by 120 points in the seniors and 86 points in the reserves. This time around our senior boys pushed hard all the way before eventually finishing down by 68 points, while our seconds battled well to go down by 85. Our younger players stood up exceptionally well and the signs look bright for all of them as they gain experience. The first 5 of the next 6 rounds will be tough, facing the reigning premier and the 4 top sides on the senior ladder, with games against St. Mary’s (away), Colac (home), St. Joseph’s (home), Leopold (away) and Newtown and Chilwell (home) before finishing with an away game to North Shore.
Our boys U18 side along with our junior boys and girls are going very well overall, with several sides figuring strongly in their respective age groups and divisions. The U18s sit fifth in Division 2. Our U16 boys Division 2 and U14 boys Division 5 (North) sides are both top of their respective ladders and undefeated. Our U14 boys Division 2 side, U16 girls Division 2 side and U14 girls Division 2 side are all currently in finals contention if they can keep winning, sitting in third, fifth and fifth respectively, while our U16 boys Division 5 side is mid-table and showing very good levels of competitiveness.
Our standalone game against St. Albans to celebrate the Peter Kelly Cup on 12 July at Bisinella Oval went exceptionally well off-field with the luncheon well attended by past players and old acquaintances of Peter’s from both clubs. Well done to the organisers for their planning and execution on the day. Unfortunately, despite Lara winning both Netball games, St. Albans won both football games with a higher scoring aggregate and snatched the Cup away. We will have our work cut out to win it back from them at their ground next year, but look forward to the opportunity.
A reminder that LFNC Mega Raffle tickets are available for $30 at the can bar on home games or by contacting a footy or netball committee rep. This is a major fundraiser for the club each year and we hope to see plenty of tickets sold.
The Non Playing Captains is the official coterie group for the club. We encourage all past members of Top Cats and/or the 250 Club to join this group and continue to support the Football Section as we strive to increase competitiveness across all grades and genders. If you’d like to join, look for Chambo, Pyney, Dane or Scott at our next senior game or ask our volunteers at the Can Bar for help.
Until next time, go Cats!
