Masters storm home over Geelong

Florsy in action

By Woodsy

The Gisborne Masters Football Club 35s played at home against Geelong on Sunday. Inclement weather conditions made the ground look more like Skilled Stadium than Gardiner Oval, with lights required from the first bounce. Slow starts have been the story of the year thus far, so it was pleasing to get the jump early. The forward line of Darren 'Snake' Taylor, Danny 'the silverback' Klaaysen and Ryan 'fireman Sam' O'Meara were dominant from the outset. Each of the aforementioned bagged a couple of majors in the first quarter. This ensured the Dogs took a handy lead into quarter-time. The second quarter featured a more competitive Geelong team emerge from their huddle. Strong defence however, led by Cameron 'Duke' Ducas, Dave 'Martian' Kraljic, Michael 'where's the bottle shop' Woodier and Gisborne's very own leprechaun (we think his name is Dave, very hard to understand), made it difficult for Geelong to make the most of their forward attacks. At the long break, coach Brett 'election speech' Taylor made a few changes; Shannon 'Nollsy' Nolls (yep, the famous dude) up forward was having an immediate impact. Mike 'I have my own golf course' was carving up the flanks and wings and hitting the scoreboard with some majors. The other Penny (Dean) was at his best in the ruck, constantly putting the ball on the chest of the onballers. What write up would be complete without a mention of Mr Irresistible himself, Rossy Johns, another top game. Thank you for the gift you left us in the sheds, the memory will linger in our nostrils for many a moon. The final quarter had the Dogs get off the leash with numerous goal scorers blowing the margin out at game's end. The better players for the Dogs were Johnsy, Dean Penny, Snake, Richard 'Dickie' McKibbin and BT. The last quarter also produced two of the best Falcons you are ever likely to see in football. Firstly to Ant 'Florsy' Flores, who did well to still be standing after the incident (he also is quietly blaming Dave Griff for the deflection). The second, to Snake, whose lip now has its own postcode. Well done boys, much laughter was had at our own expense. Once again to all the people who helped out, Tony and Nicko, our trainer Kelly, Sticks and Luca who braved the weather in goals, your efforts are much appreciated. Next game is at Ballarat on Saturday the 15th. Go Doggies!
Gisborne 25.18 (168) defeated Geelong 3.0 (18)

Girls battle hard in wet

Jessica Larsen

The first Sunday of winter brought with it freezing temperatures and light rain which eventually soaked through to the bone. Despite the wintry conditions, Gisborne Soccer Club still managed to put on a good show for those who braved the chill. The State Four women's team started the day off hosting the league's ladder topper, Lara FC. The game was always going to be hard one, especially with the knowledge that the opposition had planned on an easy thrashing. Those plans however were stunted as the home side only trailed by five goals at half-time. This improvement from the previous time the two teams met continued through to the second half as Gisborne only conceded one goal. The game ended in a 0-6 loss, with Lara sitting comfortably on the top of the ladder, two points clear from second. 
The State Three team experienced a little more success this week against Melbourne University, also at Dixon Field. Gisborne hit the lead early as goals went to both Gill McDermott and Helen Smith. Melbourne University fought back and scored a first goal before Gill McDermott secured another. By half-time the scoreboard read 3-1 Gisborne's way and the home team was keen to extend the lead. Kat Karatsoris scored an incredibly skilful goal from her own corner kick that left everyone watching on in awe. The next corner provided another goal opportunity for Gisborne and defender Kim Hutt scored from another corner kick. As the game continued, Melbourne found spark and soon added another two goals to its tally, these however were won back as Gisborne steadied and Jessica Larsen and Gill McDermott both found the back of the net. The game ended as a fruitful 7-3 win for Gisborne, with Gill McDermott earning a hat-trick. The State Three team sits fourth on the ladder. Both women's teams have a bye this week and games will resume the following weekend, as both teams play at Dixon Field.

Tennis club thrives

B2 Redbacks - James Byrne, Josh Kennett, Ross Cautley, Bradley Bruce and Samuel Ellen.

Meg Somers


Gisborne Junior Tennis Club had a great end to the summer season with two teams winning their grand finals. Congratulations to the B2 Redbacks and the D2 Bullets who won their grand finals in the Juniors' 2012/2013 Summer Season. We hope you had an exciting and memorable experience winning the grand final. 
Gisborne Tennis Club would like to thank all the team managers for organising their teams throughout the season and guiding them through the finals. 
Gisborne played off in the Section Two and Three adults in the Saturday afternoon summer grand finals. Both matches were close with Gisborne Black winning against Macedon in Section Two and Gisborne Blue was runner-up to Mt Carmel in Section Three. 
Gisborne Tennis Club's Open Day was held on March 24. The day included coaching, serve speed testing, lots of giveaways and cardio tennis. Congratulations to the raffle winners - first prize was Dorothy Ellen, second prize was Jenny Riding and third prize was Jo Campbell. Thank you to Curnow Tennis Mega Store East Keilor for the prizes and those who bought tickets to raise funds for the court resurfacing at the club. 
Gisborne is currently participating in the Macedon Ranges Tennis Associations winter competition with eight junior teams from sections A1 to C3 and one hot shots team. In the Saturday afternoon Winter Mixed Open Gisborne has five teams. We wish players and team managers the best of luck for the winter season.