The Lakes Entrance Football Netball Club’s junior teams travelled to the magnificent Bairnsdale City Oval for round 10 of the East Gippsland Junior Football Association, giving the young Seagulls a valuable chance to acclimatise to the venue ahead of this year’s finals series.
The second-ranked under 15 side put on a clinic, playing impressive football to secure a comfortable 50-point victory over the Redlegs. The highlight of the match was the Seagulls’ clinical conversion rate, finishing with a sharp 17.4 scorecard.
Numerous avenues to goal kept the scorers busy, led by Lochie Yates with four majors, while Reide Ymer, Jack Hayllar, and Jeremy Rotheram all chipped in with three apiece. Strong four-quarter performers for Lakes Entrance included Yates, Rotheram, Cohen Kleinitz, Hayllar, Patrick McGinty and Oliver Jenkins.
It was a different story in the under 13 clash, where an upset of sorts saw the third-placed Seagulls succumb to the fourth-ranked Redlegs by five goals. Bairnsdale caught the visitors off guard early, keeping Lakes Entrance scoreless in the opening term to establish a 23-point lead at the first change.
From there, the Seagulls were forced into a game of catch-up. While they managed to claw their way back within a couple of goals on several occasions, they couldn’t get close enough to put sustained scoreboard pressure on the home side. Max Friend, Sunny Eiseman (three goals), Jude Campisi, John Sowden, Kobi Caldwell and Michael Sowden all battled hard for the Seagulls.
Following the loss, Lakes Entrance now looks likely to miss out on the vital double chance, meaning they will likely need to find a way to reverse this result against the Redlegs if they are to progress past the preliminary final later this season.
The Seagulls will look to bounce back this Sunday when they take on Lindenow at the Lindenow Recreation Reserve, with the under 11s kickstarting the day at 10.30am.
