The Kingscliff Dolphins first ever girls teams headed up the highway to play the Lions. Both the under 9s and 11s were going in fully fit.
Under 11s had Prepared well with a practice game and some quality training during the week. The girls were nervous but pumped to be starting their journey as a team.
Everyone was on time which ensured a very good warm up and game plan structure. The Lions known for their quality footy and bigger bodies meant we had to work hard all game.
The girls worked continuously all over the ground and kept running and tackling hard . Led by Chance and Lily in the middle we kicked clear approaching half time.
In the third quarter, A freakish goal from the Lions and another whilst our girls were off the field injured saw the Lions hit the lead.
We had to dig deep in the final quarter with both Lily and Trinity returning to the field and although we had all the play we were unable to kick the goals we needed. All players improved immensely since our practice game and should be proud of their round 1 performance.
Congratulations to players of the week CHANCE and LILY.
In a tightly contested match, the Kingcliff Dolphins U11 Blues faced off against the Ballina Bombers in what turned out to be an exciting game of footy. Despite a slow start by the Dolphins, with the Bombers scoring 2 quick goals in the first quarter, the boys showed a lot of heart and determination to stay in the fight.
The second quarter saw both teams scoring 1 goal apiece. The Bombers were able to extend their lead with another goal in the third quarter, but the Dolphins refused to give up and came out strong in the final quarter.
With 2 goals in the fourth quarter, the Dolphins made a late push to close the gap, but the Bombers were able to hold on for the win. The final score was 26-20 in favour of Ballina.
The focus today was strength in numbers and marking up in defence. As the game progressed the team really started to show their intent in these areas and it was displayed on the pitch.
Despite the loss, the Dolphins can take pride in their effort, with all the boys putting in a great performance. Player of the match, Jack Sinclair, stood out with his 2 goals and a great determination to win the ball in the attacking quarter. Orlando C and Max C were also strong in the midfield all game contributing to a great team effort.
Overall, it was an exciting game of footy and the team will take a lot of encouragement away from their first game of the year.
BK, Dave & Mark
Sunday the 30th April saw the Kingscliff Dolphins Under 9.5 Red’s play their first game against the Lismore Swans in front of a parochial home crowd at Kingscliff. The boys loved being able to use the home ground change rooms, and were super excited to run out in front of their friends and family.
With a few new faces in the line up, and the step up to contact football, the boys understandably started with some trepidation. Archie played a super first quarter for the Dolphins, and Jobe was tackling anything that moved!! Unfortunately for us, Jobe was filling in for the Swans at this point in time haha. The pressure around the footy was great to see from Zac and Sol.
In the second quarter, the coaches challenged the boys to be first to the footy and use some run and carry, Noah was as speedy as always, launching us into attach, and Benji laid some great tackles. Ox was on to every lose ball, like a dog with a bone! We were really proud of the pressure that the kids were applying on the ball carrier, and our intent to be first to the ball was very pleasing.
The third quarter was much the same, with the pressure building again. Oscar was everywhere, playing a fantastic first game. Jimmy and Matty started to find some space on the wings, Max was wining plenty of clearances and Liam was marking everything that came his way.
Although we were getting plenty of the footy, we challenged the boys to give the crowd what they came to see, put some sausage rolls through the big sticks. The last quarter started with a bang! Joey was getting clearances from the middle and sending it into our forwards, who piled on the goals - and had plenty of opportunities to kick more! Sully and Noah showed their fancy footwork, Nate slotted a beauty, and Ox showed some silky skills hitting team mates with precision passing! Archie didn’t let anything past him, and Jobe again showed that pressure and effort really pays off, getting plenty of the footy.
Congratulations to Archie and Jobe for taking out our players of the match.
A special thank you to all of you that helped with various roles on the day, all pitching in to help is what keeps community sport going and is what makes this club so special. Also, thank you to Ben and Bec for their player of the match votes! Although he was injured and couldn’t play, it was also great to see Sonny down there supporting his team, it’s his first year and first game. It shows great team spirit!
Round 1 in the bag! A fantastic effort from the boys for the first game of the season. We travelled to Byron and slogged it out in very steamy conditions on a fairly muddy and soft deck.
As a coaching group we were really thrilled with the way the boys have been applying the techniques we've been practicing at training. We still have plenty of room to improve but super excited with what we saw today.
The physicality has increased noticeably and we're really proud of how the boys cracked in all game. We received some really positive comments during and after the game about how well we play, so a game to be proud of for sure.
Our player of the week this week was Jack Brown... aka the Flash! His speed has always been an asset but we rewarded Jack for his improvement in marking and quality of disposal. He also slotted some very nice goals and had a super game.
Next week we're at home playing against Ballina. Looking forward to it.
Go the Mighty Reds!
Jono, Mick and Ben.
