Mixed bag for Monbulk juniors

MONBULK had four sides playing week 2 of the finals and finished with two wins and two losses.
The Under 13s team is through to the grand final, while the Under 11s and Under 16s are through to the preliminary final.
Under 11s faced the top side Mount Evelyn in a first versus second battle.
Mount Evelyn got the jump and kicked the first two goals in the first half.
Monbulk were contesting well, while Mount Evelyn were a little cleaner in possession and spread the ball much better than Monbulk.
Monbulk fought hard in the second half, outscoring Mount Evelyn and holding them goalless.
A late goal to Charlie Barge saw the Hawks go down by nine points.
They have another chance next week to make it to the grand final in the preliminary final against Upwey Tecoma.
Under 13s faced off against Emerald and played their way into the grand final with a commanding performance to win by 40 points.
Coach Dave Sands was thrilled with the even spread across the ground and the team has earned its right to play for the premiership in two weeks.
Great games by Grimes, Spencer and Beecroft, while some clever goals from Dennison and Woolridge highlighted the win.
Under 14s went into the game against Gembrook-Cockatoo with full confidence.
An even first quarter before Gembrook dominated the second quarter with a match-winning 3 goals 1 to 2 points.
Monbulk then had to fight hard to get back in the second half.
Desperate efforts from the Monbulk players failed to win the day and Gembrook held on to a deserved 9-point win.
A great learning season for the boys and girls under the tutelage of Peter Green.
This marks the end of the junior football careers of the two Lauras, Laura Gillard and Laura McClelland.
The coaches and their team members wished them all the best.
Under 16s came into week 2 of the finals after a nail-biting win the previous week.
A real dour struggle for both teams in the first half saw Monbulk lead by two points against Wesburn.
Monbulk then put in a great second half to kick 3 goals to 1 to win by 18 points.
Travis Wills continued his stellar ‘hard at ball’ form and led the team to victory.
A solid backline working well together and an even spread across the ground saw the Hawks through to the preliminary final.
After the game, coach Chris Hughson implored the boys to maintain the work ethic and believe in the game plan and structures and be optimistic saying, who knows what may happen over the next two weeks.
U11s v Mount Evelyn
Score: Monbulk 1.1 (7) v Mount Evelyn 2.4 (15)
Goals: Barge
U13s v Emerald
Score: Monbulk 7.9 (51) v Emerald 1.5 (11)
Goals: Dennison 2, B. Woolridge 2, D. Goldberg, B. Howell-Harvie, J. Spencer
U14s v Gembrook-Cockatoo
Score: Monbulk 5.7 (37) v Gembrook-Cockatoo 7.4 (46)
Goals: H. Finlay 2, B. te Boekhorst 2, M. Hill
U16s v Wesburn
Score: Monbulk 7.13 (55) v Wesburn 5.7 (37)
Goals: Badgery 2, Hill, Hawker, Barge, Cleary