After successfully making it through to the preliminary finals the final Rutherglen Cats teams have bowed out of the TDFNL premiership race. The Under 14s, Under 12s and C Grade teams did the club proud in their valiant efforts to make the grand final.
Under 14s
Rutherglen Cats 5.3.33 defeated by Wodonga Saints 9.4.58
The Rutherglen Cats Under 14 team headed back to Sandy Creek on Preliminary Final day to face the Wodonga Saints for a place in the Grand Final. The winner set to face the Yackandandah Kangaroos next week.
Rutherglen were keen to continue their strong form and build on their home and away season. It was a closely fought first quarter with the finals pressure on show, and clean play hard to find. Aiden Sibraa converted two goals in the opening term and got the team off to a strong start.
At quarter time Wodonga held a slim four-point margin. In the second term Rutherglen started to find form and win the ball from the centre with strong ruck work from Jax Ramsey.
Arthur Morris was relentless all day, linking up with Noah Cracknell across the centre of the ground. With goals from Noah and Bryce Maloney, and assisted by Max Chandler, at half time Rutherglen had a seven-point lead, and entered the long break with the momentum.
Wodonga hit back hard in the third quarter and despite brilliance from Jaylen Cracknell, Wodonga kicked three goals and Rutherglen were unable to convert.
Elijah McFarlane, Liam Colvin and Jayke O’Malley all worked hard in the back line, but the forward pressure from Wodonga was immense.
Wodonga took the momentum into the last term and although Rutherglen fought hard and Bryce Maloney kicked another goal, Wodonga were too strong and finished with a 25-point win.
Congratulations on a wonderful season to Max, Seth, Lucas, Arthur, Jaylen, Hugo, Callum, Jax, Erik, Elijah, Jayke, Dustin, Brayden, Kane, Aaron, Liam, Noah, Ben, Ryan, Kaden, Nash, Bryce, Aiden, Zavier and Zac.
We are so proud of the season you have put together, and the teamwork, commitment and passion you have shown.
Thank you to our coaches Ben and Tommy who have guided the team throughout the season and have done a superb job with our Cats stars. We appreciate the time and effort you have devoted to nurturing our young players.
Under 12s
This week we travelled to the MCG of the bush to play Barnawartha in our last game for the season in what would be a low scoring high pressure finals game.
We were in front for the whole game right up until the last two minutes where Barnawartha kicked a goal and unfortunately would run out eventual winners by 4 points.
It would have been nice to finish the season with a win, but it wasn’t to be.
All in all, it was a great season from the young cats, well done, a huge thankyou to everyone who helped throughout the year and hope to see you all again next season.
C Grade
Rutherglen Cats 41 defeated by Kiewa Sandy Creek Hawks 46
Our C-Grade team really gave it their all in the Preliminary final.
They pushed hard all game, especially in the final quarter, with a big comeback effort, but unfortunately, they just couldn't get over the line.
They have had an incredible first season together, and everyone should feel really proud of their efforts.
Well done to Coach Shae and her team on their season in 2024.