Central Highlands grand final day 2018

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the 2018 Central Highlands league football and netball grand finals.

Here we will be your one-stop-shop for Ballarat’s best coverage of today’s grand final at Mars Stadium.

FOOTBALL WRAP

Beaufort barely gave Buninyong a sniff of victory as it charged to premiership glory for the first time since 1996 on Saturday afternoon.

The Crows jumped the Bombers early and never handed over the lead on their way to a drought-breaking 38-point success.

Beaufort used the ball well going into attack and pressured hard all day, barely allowing the Bombers to build any sort of momentum.

The Crows opened up a 19-point advantage by quarter time and had extended it to 32 by half time. Three goals to two in the third term had the margin out to 37 points before a lacklustre finale saw the game peter out to finish 15.9 (99) to 9.7 (61) at the siren.

Jack Duke won the best on ground medal for his five-goal haul, but there were a large number of other standouts for the Crows. Captain Michael Foster had a huge game in the middle alongside Daniel Venditti, Brendan Howard was awfully hard to pass in the heart of defence, Josh McDermott rucked well, Rupert Sangster was his lively self and Jacob Garvey and Adrian Beer had solid performances.

There were plenty of players down for the Bombers, but Ned Gilbert can hold his head high after a commanding effort in the middle. Isaac Baker was the best of the forwards with three goals, Jack Romeril found plenty of ball and was dangerous off a wing and moving forward, Jacob Coxall tried hard and Sam Russell was also named among the best.

Saturday’s defeat at Mars Stadium follows recent grand final losses in 2012, 2013 and 2016 for the Bombers, which have not won a Central Highlands Football League senior flag since 2002.

Earlier in the day, Buninyong captured back-to-back reserves flags, Springbank won the under-18s and Skipton became the first former Lexton Plains league club to win a football premiership after prevailing in the under-15s.

SENIORS

Beaufort 4.2 9.5 12.7 15.9 (99) d Buninyong 1.1 4.3 6.6 9.7 (61)

GOALS – Beaufort: J. Duke 5, T. Stapleton 2, T. Haase 2, R. Sangster, D. Venditti, L. Murray, J. McCorkell, N. Sullivan, B. Hayes. Buninyong: I. Baker 3, J. Romeril 2, D. Micallef, J. Robertson, J. Dunne, F. Russell.

BEST – Beaufort: J. Duke, B. Howard, M. Foster, R. Sangster, J. McDermott, D. Venditti. Buninyong: S. Russell, N. Gilbert, I. Baker, L. Baker, J. Coxall, J. Romeril.

RESERVES

Buninyong 2.0 6.1 11.3 12.4 (76) d Beaufort 2.3 3.6 4.9 5.10 (40)

GOALS – Buninyong: C. Wills 4, H. Givvens 2, J. Renga 2, A. Scott 2, M. Phelps, J. Mann. Beaufort: J. Slater 3, S. Howard, J. Chester.

BEST – Buninyong: J. Finley, D. Kelly, M. Phelps, D. Donelly, J. Renga, J. Mann. Beaufort: A. Coleman, J. Chester, J. Slater, J. Mason, D. Sangster, S. Howard.

UNDER-18

Springbank 1.1 6.3 9.7 14.11 (95) d Buninyong 1.3 2.5 4.6 5.9 (39)

GOALS – Springbank: J. Spicer 4, J. McHenry 3, A. Stewart 2, S. Baldwin 2, N. Kennedy, M. Doll, K. Maher. Buninyong: F. Hunt 2, L. Stewart, Z. Jelencic, A. Trevisan.

BEST – Springbank: K. Maher, W. McGannon, M. Abraham, A. Wethling, D. Baldwin, J. Spicer. Buninyong: L. Stewart, J. Atkinson, R. Buchanan, J. Matthews, H. O''Keane, H. Donald.

UNDER-15

Skipton 4.3 7.5 13.10 16.14 (110) d Gordon 0.2 1.2 1.2 2.2 (14)

GOALS – Skipton: H. Wills 7, J. Sheehan 2, J. Kennedy 2, M. Boyer 2, B. Scott 2, M. Caton. Gordon: J. Johnston, C. Winter.

BEST – Skipton: B. Scott, B. Nash, H. Wills, L. Wills, J. Sheehan, J. Liston. Gordon: D. Pascoe, L. Reynolds, L. Edmonds, D. Anderson, J. Cardona, C. Reynolds.

NETBALL WRAP

Learmonth has celebrated a long-awaited A-grade premiership after defeating Springbank by nine goals in the Central Highlands Netball League grand final.

While the teams were a repeat of last year, it was a very different game at Mars Stadium on Saturday with Learmonth taking the lead in the first quarter and not looking back.

Defender Nicole O’Brien was awarded most valuable player on court, but coach Jordan O’Keefe was grateful for the efforts of the entire team.

“They’ve just played a beautiful game today and have had a fantastic season, so I couldn’t have asked for anything more from them, any more heart, I’m really proud,” he said.

For the Lakies, it capped off a dominant day with Learmonth defeating Springbank by a single goal in B grade, and defeating Hepburn by a single goal in C grade competitions.

In 17/under, Hepburn managed to get the better of Learmonth late in the game to claim the premiership by two goals, in 15/under, Buninyong put together a stunning come-from-behind one-goal victory over Bungaree and in 13/under Buninyong defeated Springbank by nine goals.