Bellingen Bulldogs played in Grafton for the Junior AFL Round 15 games, the last of the season before finals start.
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Youth Girls, who were coached by Marc Bowd and Elaine Thornycroft, finished third on the ladder in their inaugural season, behind the two most experienced youth girls sides in the region and in front of Sawtell, the other inaugural youth girls side and the Macleay Valley Eagles.
Youth Girls
Relishing the challenge of taking on the undefeated Grafton team, the girls hit the ground running and kept the Tigers scoreless in the first term. Bonnie Malt was tasked with tagging their best player. She took this on with eager enthusiasm, shutting down plenty of Tigers opportunities whilst maintaining possession. Rani Shiell and Emily Sutherland ran hard all day, both playing outstanding games. At half time we were down by two points. Katelyn Whyman managed to bag herself a couple of goals in a tight encounter. Going into the fourth quarter there was only one point in it. Our backline had been relentless all day and had repelled attack after attack. Their continued pressure provided Grafton with twelve behinds. In the end it was 30-20 with Grafton pulling away in the last quarter. Overall the girls displayed great tenacity and it was an awesome team effort. Let's take this momentum into the finals!
Under 13s
The 13s made the trip north to Grafton for the last home and away game before the finals. They had a very sluggish first quarter and it appeared the commute was taking its toll. In the second quarter they made themselves known on the scoreboard with six unanswered goals. They never looked back from there with Max, Jai and Reke dominating the play and Leon and Zy fighting hard in the contest. Mercy rule was applied in the 3rd quarter. This win ensures us the minor premiership and they look strong heading into the finals.
- Coach Marc Bowd
Under 15s
The game started with the Tigers getting a couple of goals but the Bulldogs never dropped their heads, having a few opportunities but only scoring one goal. The second quarter the Dogs pushed hard but Grafton showed why they are the best in the competition. After a talk at half time, the Dogs came out firing in the third quarter with leaders from the team stepping up and showing true Bulldogs spirit, bringing the whole team with them, and we ended up winning the quarter. The last quarter both teams gave their all and left nothing out there. Players that stepped up and lead from the front were Kyan, Harrison and Cameron who all put in 100 per cent for the ball and played that leading role lifting their teammates when needed. Overall I am really proud of the whole team for bouncing back after last week and showing we are ready to play finals footy.
- Coach Jim Schreenan
Under 11s
The Under 11s finished up their season last weekend (they had a bye this week) and enjoyed a parents vs kids game last Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the end of their season. The Under 11s may not have won many games this year, but they showed incredible fun and enjoyment and incredible skill development during every game with a huge percentage of first time footy players involved.