Today is Rovers A Grade playing coach Janice Hilton’s birthday and so this special edition of Rovers Talk celebrates that fact.

Deniliquin has had the privilege of seeing Janice in sporting action for many years, she’s played against the best the region can offer and has also ran against the best the region has offered too with humble success.

Since taking over as A Grade coach of the Rovers in 2015, Janice has had great success with the side taking them to last year’s Grand Final where the Rovers were narrowly deprived of being premiers for that season and this year the Rovers are doing well with a 4-2-1 record despite the season being as much stop and start in terms of game action as a traffic jam in a major city as you’ll see below.

Round 7 – Bye
General Bye
Round 8 – Tocumwal
Round 9 – Bye
Round 10  – Yarroweyah (This Weekend)
Round 11 – Bye (Next Weekend)

Rovers Talk would like to wish Janice a Happy Birthday, may the A Grade side have a win on Saturday and may there be a party of all parties on the weekend for herself, family and friends preserved in history by the goodness of social media.

Rovers Talk will be back on Thursday as we preview all of this Saturday’s games against Yarroweyah.

Round 9 of Football and Netball competitions got underway today with the Rovers on the road to take on Berrigan on their home turf.

Netball

A Grade had a bye this week so there was no A Grade action this weekend much to their disappointment as they only played one game since having 21 days off competition due to a Round 7 bye and a general bye in a row.

B Grade went into the match against their Berrigan opponents with a perfect 7-0 record and they prevailed in today’s match to win their eight straight game by 17 goals, the final score read Rovers 41 to Berrigan 24.

C Grade were aiming to improve their record to 7-1 for the season so far but were outplayed by their Berrigan opponents, the scores at the end of the game read Berrigan 41 to Rovers 33.

C Reserve aimed to win their sixth straight game today and they succeeded with a narrow two goal win over their Berrigan opponents, the scores at the end of the game read Rovers 20 to Berrigan 18.

The Junior sides played very well against their Tocumwal opponents and below is the results of their games.

The Under 17’s score was not available at this time of writing but will be edited when the scores come to hand.

The Under 15’s Rovers were aiming to chalk up their third win of the season and done so in the narrowest of fashion by defeating Berrigan by one goal, the scores at the end of the game were Rovers 10 to Berrigan 9.

The Under 13’s have made it eight from eight with a comfortable 28 goal win against their Berrigan opponents, the scores at the end of the game read Rovers 40 to Berrigan 12.

Football

Rovers Football sides were in action against their Berrigan opponents and overall the teams had a very good day.

The Seniors were out to win five in a row and they got it in style with a 22 point win over their Berrigan opponents.

The Seniors had a terrific start kicking 4.0 to 1.5 in the first quarter before Berrigan issued a challenge kicking 4.0 to 2.2 to cut the Rovers lead to three points at half time before the Rovers kicked 2.2 to 0.3 in the third quarter to lead by 14 points.

The Seniors sealed the win with a 3.0 to 1.4 final quarter to win the match despite Berrigan scoring 18 times to 15 which shown the Rovers made their shots at goal count.

T. Draffin and 200 gamer Terry Lumbar kicked 4 goals apiece whilst M. Robinson, D. May and  B. Jones all kicked a goal in the win.

The Reserves entered their match against Berrigan with a seven match winning streak and at the end of the match the winning streak was extended to eight matches after a great performance from the side today.

It was a 2.1 to 0.1 opening term for the Rovers before they added another 1.4 to 0.0 to take a 22 point lead at half time, the Rovers then kicked 4.2 to 0.1 in the third to put the game beyond doubt before finishing up with 2.1 to 1.1 to win by 53 points.

The scores at the end of the game were Rovers 9.8 – 63 to Berrigan 1.3 – 9.

Darren Kirby and M. Atley both kicked two goals apiece whilst L. Hay, K. Shephard, G. Trewhitt, M. Johnson and Daniel Kirby kicked one goal apiece in the win.

The U/17’s went into the game looking to add make it eight in a row and they done it after a great third quarter against their Berrigan opponents.

The Rovers kicked 6.5 – 41 to 5.3 – 33 with Daniel Kirby kicking 2 goals whilst B. McCalman, J. Flight, R. Norris and B. Sartore all kicked one goal apiece in the win.

U/14’s went into todays game aiming to get back on the winners list at Berrigan’s expense and done so in convincing fashion by defeating Berrigan by 109 points.

Unlike last weeks game where goals were hard to come by in the mud of Memorial Park, the Rovers had no problem scoring with the side kicking 16.13 – 109 to Berrigan’s 0.0 – 0.

B. Redden was top goal kicker for the Rovers with 3 with H. Gardiner, B. Townsend, K. Joss and T. McDonnell all kicking two goals apiece whilst P. Westcott, B. East, L. Hillier, J. Woodcock and J. Ezard all kicked a goal apiece in the win.

Thoughts

Solid results for the Rovers in Netball with five wins and one loss from the matches played by the Rovers today in Berrigan.

All Netball sides played well regardless of the result and should be really happy with their results at this point of their seasons.

Rovers Footballers will be very happy with their results as all four sides won their matches today and todays results does make the Rovers sides finals contenders as they have shown they are can mix it with any team for a finals position.

Combined the Rovers teams played ten matches for nine wins and a loss today which makes it a very good day for the Rovers and their fans.

A Grade has a bye this week, no joke readers they have to put their feet up for the third time in the last four weeks and this exposes the problem A Grade competition has because they’ve got eight teams compared to the rest with nine yet they have the bye in place just like all the other competitions plus another bye for some reason.

So one team gets the round bye like all the other competitions do and another gets a bye because they got nobody to play which can get really confusing to people.

A Grade has had or will have byes on Rounds 7, 9, 11, 16 (all Rovers teams for R16) and 18 which is not ideal for the team because the team has already had a month of stop and starts and will have to wait until Rounds 12 to 16 to get back into a rhythm of consecutive games.

B Grade who is sitting on top of the ladder with a 7-0 record is taking on Berrigan’s B Grade side who is sixth on the ladder with 3-4 record from their seven games this season, Berrigan needs a win to keep up with Tocumwal who have the bye this weekend.

C Grade are sitting on top of the C Grade ladder with a 6-1 record and their opponents are sitting in fourth position with an also impressive 5-2 record, C Grade has a crowded top part of the ladder with three sides just a win off top spot.

C Reserve are sitting second on the C Reserve ladder with a 6-1 record and they’re opponents are sitting fourth with a 4-2-1 record which is not a bad record at this part of the season so this match should be interesting.

Under 17’s are sitting on top of their ladder with a 7-0 record and they take on a Berrigan side that is sitting on the bottom of the ladder with a 0-7 record but don’t count Berrigan out as bottom sides are always desperate and determined to land their first win.

Under 15’s are sitting in sixth spot on the competition ladder and they take on a Berrigan side that are sitting in eighth spot with a  1-6 record, a win will keep the Rovers no further than two games out of the top 5.

Under 13’s are sitting first on their competition ladder with a 7-0 record and they take on a Berrigan side that is sitting seventh with a 2-5 record.

Football

Rovers Seniors are 5-2 and are sitting in third spot on the ladder thanks to their thrilling /nerve racking comeback win last week against Tocumwal at Memorial Park.

Berrigan are sitting in second spot with a 6-1 record making this a great clash, a win to the Rovers will make them level with Berrigan on points and a 7% gain will give them second spot.

Rovers Reserves are 7-0, on top of the ladder and are a win ahead of Picola United whilst Berrigan are sitting in 7th spot with a 2-5 record and desperately seeking a win so the Reserves must be wary of that.

Under 17’s will be in a clash of the seasons titans so far with both the Rovers and Berrigan sides undefeated with 7-0 records, Rovers have scored more, Berrigan have been scored on less and the Rovers are on top of the ladder due to a higher percentage.

Under 14’s are sitting in fourth spot ahead of Blighty on percentage and are taking on a Berrigan side that is on the bottom of the ladder with no wins from seven games but don’t count Berrigan out because bottom sides will always get their all against finals contending sides.

Thoughts

It’s going to be an interesting round of matches in both Football and Netball as in some competitions the sides are right beside each other on the ladder.

Don’t forget after the game is the Mustaches & Mascara Masquerade Ball which starts at 7pm.
Smokoshak has tickets available and they are also available at Rovers training (Today) for $40 or turn up on the night and pay $50 for entry at the door, dress code is dress to impress so make sure you turn up in your finest of clothes.

Further details on the ball can be found on the event page.

Go Rovers!

Round 8 of Football and Netball competitions got underway today with the Rovers hosting Tocumwal at Memorial Park.

Rovers teams and fans were eager to get to today since it had been 21 days since their Round 6 matches against Mathoura.

A Grade went into their game against competition leaders Tocumwal who had a 6-1 record after seven matches and were looking to make it 7-1, it was a high scoring match between the two sides and both sides came away with two points after a thrilling 53 all draw.

Whilst A Grade would of wished for the win, the draw shows that they can match it with the best the competition has to offer.

B Grade went into the match against their Tocumwal opponents with a perfect 6-0 record and they prevailed to win their seventh straight game in a high scoring match, the Rovers won by 7 with the scores reading Rover 56 to Tocumwal 49.

C Grade have improved their 5-1 record for the season to 6-1 today with a comfortable 9 goal win over their Tocumwal opponents, the scores at the end of the game read Rovers 38 to Tocumwal 29.

C Reserve aimed to win their fifth straight game today and they succeeded with a five goal win over their Tocumwal opponents, the scores at the end of the game read Rovers 26 to Tocumwal 21

The Junior sides played very well against their Tocumwal opponents and below is the results of their games.

The Under 17’s have now made it seven wins from seven matches with a comfortable 59 to 18 win, the 41 goal win is the perfect result going in to next weeks bye.

The Under 15’s Rovers side were aiming to win their second match in a row after their Round 6 win but went down to Tocumwal by 8 goals, the scores at the end read Rovers 24 to Tocumwal 32.

The Under 13’s have made it seven wins from seven matches with a nicely done 34 goal win against their Tocumwal opponents, the scores at the end of the game read Rovers 42 to Tocumwal 8.

Football

Rovers Football sides were in action against their Tocumwal opponents and overall the teams had a good day.

The Seniors were out to win four in a row and they secured it by staging a last quarter comeback to defeat Tocumwal by 2 points.

Scores were level at Quarter Time with both sides kicking in the first quarter before Tocumwal kicked 4.1 to 2.4 to lead by 9 points at Half Time.
Tocumwal  kicked 2.1 to 0.1 in the third quarter to lead by a seemingly handy 21 points at Three Quarter Time before the Rovers found something special to kick 4.1 to 0.2 to snatch the game at Full Time reading Rovers 8.8 – 56 to Tocumwal 8.6 – 54.

B. Jones kicked two goals whilst S. Cuffe, A. Bond, A. Hogan, A. May, N. Hay and D. May all kicked one goal apiece in the win.

The Reserves entered their match against Tocumwal undefeated after their six games before the byes and at the end of todays match the Rovers are still undefeated after defeating Tocumwal by 12 points

It was a 2.0 to 0.2 opening term for the Rovers before Tocumwal outscored the Rovers 2.0 to 0.3 to trail by just one point at Half Time, the Rovers then kicked 2.1 to 0.0 in the third to be 14 points in front with Tocumwal scoring the only two behinds in the last quarter to cut the final margin to 12 points.

L. Fleming, D. Kirby, C. Thomas and B. Ezard all kicked a goal each in the match for the Rovers.

The U/17’s went into the game looking to add another win to their 6-0 record and they ended the game with the record now reading 7-0 after comfortably beating Tocumwal by 68 points.

The Rovers kicked 11.10 – 76 to 1.2 – 8 with R. Norris, J. Caniglia and R. Murray kicking two goals apiece whilst J. Allitt, N. Hay, J. Weir, J. Campbell and J. Edwards all kicked one goal apiece in the win.

U/14’s went into todays game aiming to make it two wins in a row but were pipped by Tocumwal by just five points in a low scoring game.

It was a game where goals were hard to come by with just 3.5 kicked by both sides with Tocumwal kicking two of the three goals of the match, their second goal was the sealer in the last quarter.

B. East was the only goal scorer for the Rovers with J. Thomson, H. Gardiner, T. Blake, L. Bassett, B. Townsend and D. Bassett considered the best of the Rovers in the game.

Thoughts

Solid results for the Rovers in Netball with five wins, one loss and a draw from the matches played by the Rovers today.

All Netball teams should be happy with their results as they played their games with determination and skill in cold conditions and after getting through 21 days of non competition Netball.

Rovers Footballers played well on a surface that had just over 30mm of rain on it since the middle of the week but played competitive football in all matches throughout the day.

Combined the Rovers teams played eleven matches for eight wins, two losses and a draw which is pretty good day for the Rovers and their fans.

Rovers Talk readers can rejoice as both the Football and Netball seasons are back underway and the Rovers host Tocumwal at Memorial Park.

Netball

Before the byes, A Grade won two games in a row for the first time this season and so their game against Tocumwal is an opportunity to win three in a row but it won’t easy as Tocumwal is top of the ladder with a 5-1 record compared to the Rovers 4-2.

B Grade probably wished there was no byes because the side won all six of their matches and when a team is that hot you wouldn’t want the season to stop, their opponents have had a mixed bag of results with three wins, two losses and two draws from their seven matches.

C Grade have five from six matches and they are coming up against a Tocumwal side that has a 6-0-1 record from their seven matches so this match is a first vs second encounter with the Rovers having the opportunity to jump up to top spot on the ladder, a Rovers loss could mean Strathmerton passes them on percentage should Strathmerton beat Yarroweyah in their match and picks up a ten percent boost in their percentage.

C Reserve just like C Grade have a 5-1 record and are sitting second on the ladder with Tocumwal right behind them in third spot with a 5-2 record from their seven games, the winner of this match can jump to the top of the ladder providing that ladder leader Blighty loses to Jerilderie in their match.

The Under 17’s have a 6-0 record and they are looking to make it 7-0 at Tocumwal’s expense, Tocumwal is sitting in sixth spot with a 3-4 record but are just .10% off Mathoura who is holding the last of the finals spots at this time.

The Under 15’s won their last game to improve their record to 2-4, Tocumwal is sitting third with a 6-1 record but it should be remembered that the Rovers side has played competitively this season and so the four win gulf between the sides should not discourage the side from achieving a win in this game.

The Under 13’s have won all six of their matches this season and are taking on a Tocumwal side that is 4-3 after their seven matches of the season, a Rovers win will keep them two games ahead of the competition whilst a loss will put them still comfortably in front.

Football

Rovers Seniors are sitting in third spot on the ladder with the side 4-2 for the season, their Tocumwal opponents are running fifth with a three wins, three losses and a draw record but there is only two points between the sides due to Tocumwal not yet having their bye.

Rovers Reserves are sitting second on the ladder after notching up six wins from six matches before the byes and can pass Picola United due to them having the bye this week, Tocumwal is sitting in six position with a 3-4 record from their seven matches.

Rovers Under 17’s were undefeated in their six matches before their byes and they come up against a Tocumwal side that is running seventh with a 2-5 record which is a massive gap between the sides not even halfway through the season.

Rovers Under 14’s are sitting fourth on the ladder with a 4-2 record and will have to work hard as Tocumwal are just ahead of the Rovers with a 5-2 record making this a very interesting match as the Rovers can pass Tocumwal if they defeat them on Saturday thanks to the Rovers having a higher percentage.

Thoughts

It’s going to be an interesting day of matches as ladder positions can change hands throughout both the Football and Netball competitions and that is always interesting to see especially if it is in the Rovers favour.

The weather will be colder than what all sides are used to thanks to the approach of Winter and/or rain before the games but there is no doubt all Rovers sides will be well prepared for the cooler conditions.

Rovers Talk will be back on Saturday Afternoon/Night will all the results and thoughts on all the action.