THE Hamilton Kangaroos have once again fallen well short of the reigning premiers, going down to South Warrnambool by 66 points at Friendly Societies Park on Saturday.

The Roos travelled south for the Hampden Football Netball League round 12 clash hoping to improve on the round three 61-point loss, but a disappointing second half saw the Roosters notch up a 12th win of the season.

Hamilton’s opening quarter was its best, matching the red and white across the field, scoring three goals to four, to trail by five points at the first break.

From then on, it was tough going, with the lead stretching out to 18 points by half time, as the Roos eventually lost, 6.7 (43) to 16.13 (109).

Roos coach, Brad Thomas said it was a strong performance from the team, with one quarter proving costly.

“We were really good for three quarters, but the third quarter got away from us,” he said.

“There was a pretty heavy collision between two South players and the game stopped for 10 minutes or so, and that swung the momentum a bit.”

A seven goals to one third quarter made up over half the final margin, with the Roos working hard defensively for much of the game.

“I felt like we were taking away their uncontested marks, our defensive shape left some holes though and they were able to get some goals through handball release.

“But as soon as we took the pace off them, we got back into the contest and got the game on our terms.

“They have an exceptional midfield, but I think we won the clearances by four in the end.

“Jake Donehue won the ruck contests for the day as well, I think we were up by 20 in the hitouts as well, so he was able to give us first use.”

Ethan Knight collected 30 touches on his way to being named the Roos’ best on ground, while Hamish Cook kicked two majors.

“Hamish worked really hard, his running patterns was really good and Will Povey defended really well as well,” Thomas said.

The Roos finished the game down a few rotations, with Harry McGinley sitting out the second half with a broken hand, while Luke Barnes was also on the bench for much of the latter part of the game.

Other games

IT was a one-sided reserves contest between the two teams, with South Warrnambool winning, 21.11 (137) to 2.3 (15).

The Roosters piled on 11 goals to one in the first half, with the dominance continuing after half time to collect the four points.

Mick McMeel was the Roos’ best, along with Oscar Linke and Jordy Anthony, with the latter kicking a goal along with Jack Hickey.

THE Under-18 clash was a much tighter contest, with the Kangaroos and Roosters locked on 38 points at the final siren, splitting the points after the round 12 clash.

The top three clash lived up to expectations, with a defensive encounter limiting scoring at both ends.

The Roos led by five points at the main break, before South Warrnambool rallied in the second half, and if not for better accuracy, would have got the win.

South Warrnambool kicked 5.8 while the visitors finished with 6.2, as Archie Porter and Hunter Van Someren guided the Roos to a draw.

Matthew Calvert was the standout up forward with three majors, while Zac Elliott slotted two goals in support.

Netball

THE Hamilton Kangaroos faced off their toughest test of the season, travelling to Friendly Societies Park to face the reigning premiers on Saturday, with the visitors going down by 54 goals.

A 20-goal second term saw the home side move well clear after Hamilton went into quarter time trailing by just six goals.

The second half saw the visitors struggle to maintain their output, with South Warrnambool extending the margin out to 36 goals by the last change of ends, before going on to win, 79-25.

Saskia Gould, Kyra McKinnis and Grace Cleaver were named the Roos’ best players, with Gould putting up 19 goals for the game.

Senior games

THE Division 1 Kangaroos continued their strong season with a dominant 20-53 win against the Roosters.

A 12-goal opening term gave the visitors plenty of confidence and pushed the margin out to 13 by the main break, as South Warrnambool managed just three goals in the third quarter.

Strong defence anchored the visitors’ effort, with Hamilton conceding no more than six goals in each of the quarters, to win by 33 at the final whistle.

Rhianne Lewis, Gail Hiatt and Kelsey Lewis were the Roos’ best, with Kelsey netting 38 goals in the win.

The Division 2 clash wasn’t as positive for the blue and white, as the Roosters claimed a 29-goal win to see the Kangaroos drop out of the top five.

The visitors kept in touch on the scoreboard early on, trailing by three at the first break, before the red and white side got rolling.

A 16-goal second term saw South Warrnambool move well clear on the scoreboard, eventually claiming a 52-23 victory.

Caitlin Urquhart, Kyra McKinnis and Ruby Cleaver were the Roos’ standouts, with Tahlia Ross netting a team-high 12 goals.

Hamilton’s Division 3 side maintained their unbeaten season, accounting for South Warrnambool by nine goals.

It was a competitive opening, with the Roos leading, 10-8, at the first change of ends, before pushing the margin out to seven by half time.

South Warrnambool fought hard and kept the margin from blowing out too far, reeling in a 12-goal deficit at three-quarter time to lose, 23-32.

Joe McKew, Skye Kissel and Karen Spong impressed for Hamilton, as did Lily Raymond who put up 30 goals.

Junior games

THE 17-and-Under Kangaroos had a tough outing, going down by 30 goals to the Roosters.

A seven-goal quarter time margin set the tone for the day, as the Roosters dominated across the court and were efficient in attack, adding 10 goals in the second term while restricting Hamilton to just three.

A 20 goals to four second half sealed the result for South Warrnambool, despite the best efforts of Grace Cleaver, Phoebe Dunn (nine goals) and Skye Kissel for the visitors.

The 15-and-Under contest saw the Kangaroos fall short of victory, 21-38, against the Roosters.

South Warrnambool led from the outset, with the visitors unable to reel in the scoreboard deficit, trailing by six at half time, before eventually losing by 17.

Saskia Gould, Maddox Ryan and Lucy Jennings were named the Roos’ best, with Gould putting up 11 goals.

Hamilton’s 15-and-Under Reserves fell just short of South Warrnambool, losing by five goals.

Despite South Warrnambool leading at each of the breaks, Hamilton made the Roosters work hard, with the margins sitting at two, one, three and five at the end of each quarter.

Eloise Millard, Evie Grinham and Olivia Munro impressed for Hamilton, with Lily Raymond putting up 18 goals.

The 13-and-Under clash saw Hamilton fall to South Warrnambool by six goals, in a competitive battle on court.

One goal separated the teams at quarter time, before the Roosters pushed the margin out at each break to eventually win, 23-17.

Pippa Richards, Elsie Brown and Taya Sherlock stood out for the visitors, with Ava Kinnealy putting up 11 goals for the Kangaroos.

The 13-and-Under Reserves saw Hamilton get the points against the red and white, winning by five goals.

The Roos led by one goal at the first change of ends before the home side went into the main break leading by the same margin.

The visitors rallied in the second half to win, 17-12.

Chloe Stewart, Hannah Carroll and Evie Templeton were named Hamilton’s best, while Willow Colliton netted 11 goals.