Sport
6 May, 2026
Limited playing list hampers young Cats
ON A cool breezy morning at Island Park number one oval, our Under 17.5 boys took to the ground full of enthusiasm after witnessing a great effort from our younger brigade the Under 14.5 getting up to score their first win of the season, a huge effort to topple West Gambier.
Well done players and the hard-working coaching and support staff.
The Under 17.5s had the job in front of them, with a small list of starters they welcomed with great enthusiasm Aiden Bruce to the fold, a likely looking prospect for us donning the red, white and blue for the first time and I should say at this point he did not let us down, his ball skills and footy knowledge stood out on the ground.
There was no doubt the job was in front of us but the endeavour was not lacking, our boys threw everything at West in the first quarter, with good contributions from Rankin Cleary at fullback attacking the ball with vigour and repelling many forward thrusts from West.
He got good support from Reagan Parsons and Archie Lane while he was on the ground and by the first break we only trailed by five points.
We got our chance with the breeze and things looked promising; constant pressure on West ball carriers saw a spillage that TK Makore took advantage of and kicked us a timely goal on the run.
Around the packs, Jett Lykke was having an influence getting back into the groove of footy with his speed and looked strong, while down back Cleary was very tough to get past.
When the siren rang for the long break, we were still only five points down, a measurable improvement from previous weeks.
With West’s turn with the breeze it was going to be difficult.
In the first we had Archie Lane combing the backline, but not this time as he was subbed out for senior duties.
Mind you, that did not deter Riley Winters burrowing under the packs trying to get the ball out to his team’s advantage, while Nate Longhurst played his usual steady controlling game across half back.
Great assistance from Lucas Thompson thwarted many of West’s attacking moves, but it was just too relentless from the Roos, who managed seven goals to our one for the quarter.
We never gave up and held West to two goals in the last, but could not get the scoreboard ticking in our favour, managing only one point for this term.
Special mention to Riley Hutchins who has found himself in an unfamiliar role this season and doing a great job for the team and to Rankin Cleary, a standout performance at full back held the backline together on the day
Final score - West Gambier 13.10 (88) to Casterton Sandford 3.8 (26).
Just a footnote for those interested an update on our ball magnet’s injury - after visiting the specialist in Warrnambool last week, Billy Rhook has broken bone in left shoulder will see him sidelined for at least another eight weeks.
Read More: Casterton