With a Grand Final berth up for grabs the large vocal crowd saw another terrific contest between these two great cross town rivals. In atrocious conditions the Bulldogs took advantage of the early dry ball to apply scoreboard pressure. Paddy Dwyer in a powerhouse display played with tremendous desperation.  As the rain teemed down and with the ground resembling a swamp, Hepburn fought back to grind out a slender lead at the half time break. The Bulldogs Zac Tisdale continued to put his big frame on the line creating opportunities. The third quarter was another tight affair with desperate defence from both sides keeping scoring opportunities to a minimum. Hayden Cowan adapted well to the conditions driving the ball forward through the mud from across half back into the forward fifty. As the rain abated during the final quarter Daylesford were able to at last establish a break on the scoreboard assisted by goals to Aidan Mill following a brilliant mark off an absolute worm burner and a clever check-side from tight on the boundary by Lewis Ingham. Darcy Shewell fought his way back from a heavy knock early to have real impact in defence as the game progressed. Hepburn fought it out to the last but at the final siren Daylesford showing plenty of heart in a tremendous team effort to run out winners and move straight into the Grand Final playoff. 

 Score:  Daylesford   9.  4.  58 def   Hepburn   6.  5.  35

Best: P Dwyer, Z Tisdale, H Cowan, D Shewell, S Walsh, E Eyles, M Bolton, T Powell

 Goals: A Mill 3, P Murray 2, P Dwyer 1, M Bolton 1, S Walsh, L Ingham 1.

Under 15’s

 The Daylesford Bulldogs U/15s travelled to a wind swepted Learmonth on Saturday for their final game of a very challenging season 2009 and to their credit performed admirably against the top team. The first quarter we kept Learmonth to only 2 goals kicking with the wind and we were confident of getting into the game with the assistance of the wind but Learmonth showed why they are on top by dictating terms in the second and third quarters. What was extremely pleasing for the team was our finish in that we outscored our opponent in the last quarter and this was just reward for a team that never gave up. Good performances were put in by Alex Stein who was superb all day in his new role as a midfielder picking up many possessions. He was well supported by our other two midfielders in Josh Clough and Xavier Walsh who ran themselves ragged but also combined brilliantly to thwart many forward attacks and they were both instrumental in plenty of our own forward thrusts. The team was well supported by Nathan Cummings down back who was absolutely superb with his strong marking and prodigious kicks and little Jack Green was an absolute terrier across half back. It has been a tough year for the kids but not once have they dropped their heads and they have listened and responded where they could to our very caring and understanding coach in Wayne Casey who has been superb all year remaining positive and giving the kids some hope, so on behalf of the team a very big thank you Wayne and to all others who have helped the team all year, thank you.

Scores  Daylesford  2  0  12  Learmonth  9  13  67

Goals  Liam Oliver, Xavier Walsh

Best, A.Stein, Josh Clough, X. Walsh N. Cummings J. Green, S. Marshall

Presentation Night will be held in conjunction with Junior Demons @ Daylesford Town Hall Sunday 20^th September from 5.00pm onwards, for further information please contact Steve Walsh

Under 18’s

 The U/18 Bulldogs traveled to Learmonth and recorded a good win to finish minor premiers for season 2009. In the gusty conditions Daylesford took a handy lead into the first break with the wind behind them. Paddy McGrath-Lester continued his good form of recent weeks. Zac Tisdale put in an excellent performance up forward and in the ruck. An indifferent second quarter by the team had coach Steve Cowan demanding more at half time. The Bulldogs responded by picking up the tempo particularly in the midfield and ran away convincing winners capped off by a long bomb by super boot S Alexander. Andrew Cummings toiled hard creating space for his fellow forwards with his strong leads and Galen Sartori put in a good performance across the back line.  

 Score:  Daylesford   15. 15. 105 def   Learmonth 2. 2. 14

Best: P McGrath-Lester, P Dwyer, Z Tisdale, M Bolton, T Powell,  

Goals: A Mill 4, P Dwyer 3, Z Tisdale 2, M Bolton 2, P Murray 1, H Cowan 1, S Alexander 1, A Armstrong 1.

Daylesford Football Netball Club junior netballers took to the court for the final time this year on Saturday. Heading across to Learmonth the girls were keen to end the season on a high.

The under 13’s started the day fabulously. Pulling together everything they had been working on this year to come away with a win. The girls showed off some very impressive skills, showing they will certainly be a strong force in years to come. Elizabeth Courtney played a strong game in defence as did Abbey Cooper in attack. Ally Pyers was unstoppable in goals, working hard to get the ball and encourage her teammates.

The under 15’s played a great team game, making some fantastic leads and working strong in defence. Laura Fishman played her best game for the season, taking some great intercepts, Kara Cooper and Kelsey Mobbs both worked hard in the centre court making fantastic leads and opening up play. Unfortunately Learmonth were too strong in the end.

All the girls should be congratulated on a fantastic season and we look forward to season 2010! All supporters are encouraged to attend our junior presentation night this Friday, 6pm at the club rooms.

Round 16 of the Central Highlands League was to be our last home game for the season. The Daylesford Junior Netballers welcomed Bungaree to Victoria Park and for the first time in weeks the sky was clear and the sun was shining.

The under 13’s, fighting for Daylesford’s first ever finals birth in the netball took to the court determined to play well, however Bungaree, with only one loss for the season showed why they will be a force this finals series. Jenny Bossinger fought hard in defence, whilst Lily-Rain Kilborne ran hard all game.

The under 15’s were looking for their 5th win of the season but Bungaree made sure the girls would have to wait till the final round to find it. All the girls were thrown into different positions and they all showed their netball knowledge and skill playing some great team netball. Kara Cooper played very well in defence, whilst once again Kelsey Mobbs ran hard for four great quarters of netball.

Both teams were beaten on the score-board, but not beaten in team spirit and look forward to taking on Learmonth in the last round for the season.

UNDER 15’S

The Bulldogs U/15s played host to Bungaree on Saturday on a beautiful morning following a huge frost that covered the entire ground. With help of our Junior Demons U/13 boys we were able to field a full team for only the third game for the year and this was evident in the first quarter where the whole team were superb in restricting Bungaree to only one goal and with the relentless running of Xavier Walsh and Joel Cowan and superb ruck work from Aaron Faulkhead we restricted a very dangerous midfield into a defensive pattern. Bungaree was always going to work their way into the game and with better use of the ball gaps started to appear and like all good sides they took advantage of that, but our kids were superb in their endeavor and never gave up and with a couple of decisions going against us we were very unfortunate to not score. Nathan Cummings was like a rock down back all day and he was well supported by Alex Stein at both ends of the ground, Nic Evagora played extremely tight and never gave his opponent a sniff and our hard working midfield ran themselves ragged. Even though we did not score this was a ten goal turn around from the first time that we played Bungaree and as stated before we are building a good base for next year and beyond and with support of our loyal Demons Juniors we are optimistic as to what the future holds for us. Next week is our last game for the season v Learmonth at Learmonth, and on Wednesday night we will be having a pie night with all our Junior Demons mates coming over and our Presentation Night will be held at the Town Hall Sunday 20^th September @ 5.00pm onwards in conjunction with our Junior Demons, whom hopefully will be playing in the CDJFL Grand Final that day.

Scores,  Daylesford  0  0  0  l  Bungaree  9  5   54

Best, N. Cummings, X. Walsh, A. Faulkhead, J. Cowan, A. Stein, N. Evagora

UNDER 18’S

In fine conditions on Saturday the U 18 Bulldogs opened the game against Bungaree with a dominant first quarter from which  the Bungaree team where never able to recover.  The game degenerated and goals came harder to come by as Bungaree  loaded up their backline to avoid any collateral damage to their percentage as they  desperately cling onto the final spot in the six. Paddy Dwyer  and Hayden Cowan ensured the Bulldogs got first touch out of the centre and Paddy McGrath-Lester chipped in with some sublime touches. Patrick Helper was in good form standing strong in the last line of defence  and sending the ball out to the likes of Pat Murray  whose  raking kicks into the forward line created problems for the Bungaree defence. At ground level Jesse Browne consistently put his body on the line and Tom Cooper  ran himself to a standstill in a strong game

 Score:  Daylesford   17. 13.  115  def   Bungaree   5.  6.  36

 Best: P Dwyer, H Cowan, M Bolton, P Murray, P Helper, T Cooper,

Goals: P Dwyer   4, S Walsh 3, Z Tisdale 2, A Cummings 2, P Murray 1, H Cowan 1,    M Bolton 1, A Armstrong 1, J Clough 1, T Cooper 1,

Round 15 of the Central Highlands saw the Daylesford junior netballers follow the wind turbines all the way to Waubra. Both teams were keen to repeat the results of Round Two and come away with the wins.

The Under 13¹s took to the court first and were very under sized, this proved to be the difference in the first quarter with Waubra pulling ahead by 5 goals. Vice Captain Lydia Edwards stepped up and played on an opponent significantly taller than her, Lydia showed height isn¹t everything an shut her opponent out of the game, Maddy Johns stepped up in the centre court and played tremendously. The girls put in a great team effort in the end to come home with a win 12 to 11.

The under 15¹s had a full team for the first time in weeks, this showed in their performance, the girls started strongly and never looked back. Maddie Nettleton, fresh from a holiday played a great game in goals sinking many long bombs, whilst Eve Vanzetta and Sophie Shewell combined well in defence. The girls went on to win 19 to 11. Both teams should be proud of the way they played.

Round 15 vs. Waubra            

 The U/18 Bulldogs came up against a committed Waubra side on Saturday in a physical contest.  After an even first quarter Daylesford were able to push on and open up a two goal margin at half time. Daylesfords back half led by Zac Waters were tenacious in defense with Pat Helper and Darcey Shewell again putting in a four quarter effort. In the final quarter Waubra mounted some good pressure up forward but were unable to convert their chances.  Paddy Dwyer had a strong game showing good leadership. Late in the final quarter the Bulldogs regained the upper hand to finally put away the opposition as Hayden Cowan came into the game with some hard running. Tim Courtney used his big frame well in the goal square and picked up two while Aidan Mill made a welcome return to snare three crucial goals.  

Score:  Daylesford   9. 5.  59 def   Waubra   5.  6.  36

Best: P Helper, Z Waters, P Dwyer, H. Cowan, D Shewell, P Murray

Goals: A Mill 3, T Courtney 2, P Murray 1, H Cowan 1, Z Tisdale 1, M Bolton 1

This Tuesday night, the 4th of August, the DFNC will have two of Australia’s highest quality professionals in the sporting field take training. John Pryor and David Bick will be conducting a special training session at Victoria Park. John is a specialist in the areas of fitness training, nutrition, biomechanics and injury management and over the past several years has worked extensively with the NSW Waratahs, the ACT Brumbies, the Brisbane Broncos and the Qantas Wallabies. John completed a masters degree researching muscle mechanics and has international publications in sports medicine, biomechanics and strength training journals.

An award-winning Sports Physiotherapist, David has committed his career to inspiring Australians from early development up to elite athlete level. He is a recognised specialist in tendonopathy, running clinics and lectures educating other physiotherapists from around the country. For the past seven years, David has been travelling the world as Team Physiotherapist to our great Australian Rugby Union Team – the Wallabies, and still treats many of his Wallaby mates when they’re here at home. David is also soccer star Harry Kewell’s physiotherapist when in Australia, working closely with him after ankle and hip surgery in 2006 to get him back to peak performance. And as a former Australian Under 21 representative himself, David’s private clients read like a who’s who of Australian Champions – George Gregan (Rugby), Ian Thorpe (Swimming), Matt Shirvington (Track and Field), Jamie Dwyer (Hockey), Alyson Annan (Hockey) and Melanie Roche (Softball) just to name a few. He has also worked for two years as Team Physiotherapist for NSW rugby team The Waratahs, twelve years with the Olympic men’s and women’s Track and Field, Softball, Gymnastics, and Hockey Teams, and another eight years as Team Physiotherapist at the NSW Institute of Sport for Softball, Gymnastics and Track and Field. In 2000 David caught the eye of royalty, being awarded the Australian Sports Medal for service to Sport by Her Majesty the Queen.

Today the two men, along with Michael Lawrance, the father of Footballer Nick and Netballer Ruth, have formed  JointAction, which specialises in Occupational Health & Safety.

A big thank you to Michael for organising the session and for more information on the men check the following links.

http://footballfit.com/     

http://fit3k.com/      

http://jointaction.com.au/    

http://jointaction.com.au/