Tuesday, August 25, 2015

2015 Rugby World Cup preview

At the beginning of 2015, I commenced a Certificate in Freelance Sportswriting and Photography course with Open Colleges as part of my goal of becoming a sports journalist.

The tutors were evidently impressed with my work, and in July I received an email from a staff member asking if I would contribute to their blog. The task was to write a short preview for the 2015 Rugby Union World Cup.

Now, my family has lived in Victoria for 160 years. My sports are cricket, basketball and Australian football; Rugby Union has never even featured on my radar. Nevertheless, I thought I'd give it a go. I put it off for three weeks, sat down the day before it was due, did some research and put the article together.

This is the final product:

http://blog.opencolleges.edu.au/2015/08/21/cby-2015-rugby-world-cup-get-the-low-down-on-all-the-action/

Saturday, August 8, 2015

Werribee Devils Youth League One Women - 2015 Season Review

I'm not sure about anyone else who was following the progress of the Werribee Devils Youth League One women this season, but I'm exhausted! So many ups and downs, and finishing with disappointment.

The girls started with four wins from their first five games, then lost six in a row, then won six of their last ten, including giving Hume City their only loss for the regular season. They spent the last seven weeks of the season in fifth position and unfortunately it is where they ended up.

Ultimately, when you lose six in a row it is tough to recover, but the Devils very nearly pulled it off. It came down to their Round 18 match against Corio Bay and the equation was simple: Win, and you're in finals. Lose, and you're out. It wasn't to be their day.

Thanks for the season, Devils.


Round 1, Sunday March 15
Werribee 65 defeated Altona 61 (Altona Sports Centre)
1st 10-23 (L13)
2nd 12-15 (L3)
3rd 18-9 (W9)
4th 25-14 (W11)
If you’re a Werribee Devils player, wins don’t come much sweeter than if they’re against Altona. Even better if you come from 16 points behind. That’s exactly how the Youth League Women Devils opened their 2015 season. They were a little slow out of the blocks, giving the Gators a head start but started their comeback first at the defensive end by keeping the Gators to nine points in the third quarter, then finished with a 25 point final quarter to snatch the win!
* Charlotte Vincent-Lord (15 points, 4 rebounds)

* Britney Epperson (12 points, 11 rebounds)
* Kennedy Taylor (12 points, 6 rebounds)

Round 2, Sunday March 22
Werribee (3rd) 72 defeated McKinnon (5th) 60 (WSFC)

1st 15-16 (L1)
2nd 17-10 (W7)
3rd 17-18 (L1)
4th 23-16 (W7)
The Devils played their first home game for the season against McKinnon. The first three quarters were low scoring and it was a close contest but the Devils once again scooted away in the last quarter to claim a 12 point win.
* Charlotte Vincent-Lord (16 points, 5 rebounds)
* Kennedy Taylor (13 points, 8 rebounds)
* Tegan Hindle (10 points, 3 rebounds, 4 steals)

Round 3, Saturday March 28
Werribee (2nd) 63 lost to Hume City (1st) 78 (Broadmeadows Basketball Stadium)

1st 15-21 (L6)
2nd 18-16 (W2)
3rd 18-24 (L6)
4th 12-17 (L5)
The Devils suffered their first loss of the season to the Hume City Broncos. They were within 10 points at the final break but couldn’t reproduce their good fourth-quarter form of the first two weeks, only managing 12 points and going down by 15.

* Teaghan Doyle (18 points)
* Tegan Hindle (16 points, 6 rebounds)
* Charlotte Vincent-Lord (11 points, 6 rebounds)

Sunday March 29
Werribee (2nd) 75 defeated Warrandyte (3rd) 51 (WSFC)

1st 13-15 (L2)
2nd 20-8 (W12)
3rd 22-15 (W7)
4th 20-13 (W7)
In their first double-header weekend of the season, the Devils bounced back from their loss at the hands of the Broncos to record a comfortable win over the Warrandyte Venom. The Venom came to play and led narrowly at quarter time, but from then on it was the Devils day as they combined three quarters of 20+ points with excellent defence to triumph by 24 points.
* Teaghan Doyle, (16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists)
* Charlotte Vincent-Lord, (10 points, 8 rebounds)
* Hayley Jones, (9 points, 2 rebounds)
* Britney Epperson, (9 points, 7 rebounds)

Round 4, Sunday April 12
Werribee (2nd) 59 defeated Coburg (4th) 56 (WSFC)

1st 12-14 (L2)
2nd 16-12 (W4)
3rd 16-17 (L1)
4th 15-13 (W2)
The Devils survived a challenge from the Coburg Giants to hold on for a three-point win in their Round 4 clash. In a low scoring encounter there was basically nothing in it all day and the Devils outlasted their opposition in the last quarter and came away with the points. The win saw the Devils sitting pretty in second position with four wins from their first five games.
* Kennedy Taylor (11 points, 4 rebounds)
* Charlotte Vincent-Lord (10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals)
* Teaghan Doyle (10 points, 3 rebounds)
* Hayley Jones (9 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals)

Round 5, Sunday April 19
Werribee (2nd) 47 lost to Craigieburn (7th) 68 (WSFC)

1st 11-12 (L1)
2nd 12-14 (L2)
3rd 5-25 (L20)
4th 19-17 (W2)
In their first major slip-up of the season, the Devils lost to 7th-placed Craigieburn by 21 points. It was one of those games where one bad quarter was the difference between winning and losing and in this game it was the third quarter. The Devils went into half time trailing by three, then came out and scored five points for the quarter while the Eagles ran hot, sinking 25 of their own which resulted in a match-winning lead. The Devils won the last quarter but were unable to bridge the gap.
* Kennedy Taylor (11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists)
* Britney Epperson (10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals)
* Teaghan Doyle (6 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists)

Round 6, Saturday April 25
Werribee (3rd) 45 lost to McKinnon (4th) 73 (Bentleigh Secondary College)

1st 15-16 (L1)
2nd 9-15 (L6)
3rd 8-24 (L16)
4th 13-18 (L5)
The Devils shooting form deserted them as they crashed to their second big loss in a row, this time against the McKinnon Cougars. It was the second meeting between the two teams this season and the Cougars were determined to make up for the 12 point loss they suffered at The Furnace in Round 2. The Devils could only manage 17 points during the middle two quarters and for the second week in a row their third quarter was particularly ordinary, scoring eight points while the Cougars poured in 24.  

* Charlotte Vincent-Lord (13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals)
* Tegan Hindle (8 points, 3 rebounds)
* Britney Epperson (7 points, 4 rebounds)

Round 7, Sunday May 3
Werribee (4th) 41 lost to Corio Bay (5th) 61 (Viatek Geelong Basketball Netball Centre)

1st 8-11 (L3)
2nd 13-11 (W2)
3rd 12-16 (L4)
4th 8-23 (L15)
For the third week in a row the Devils struggled up the offensive end, failing to score 50 points. They started and finished the game with eight-point quarters but weren’t all that far behind until the fourth, when Corio Bay scored 23 to run away with a 20 point win.

* Kennedy Taylor (15 points, 8 rebounds)
* Tegan Hindle (5 points, 7 rebounds)
* Hayley Jones (4 points, 3 rebounds)
* Britney Epperson (4 points, 10 rebounds)

Round 8, Saturday May 9
Werribee (5th) 40 lost to Hume City (1st) 70 (Broadmeadows Basketball Stadium)

1st 9-19 (L10)
2nd 8-13 (L5)
3rd 9-17 (L8)
4th 14-21 (L7)

More woes for the Devils, this time against top side Hume City who were undefeated and in excellent form. The Devils were suffocated by the Bronco defence and only managed to break double figures in the last quarter.
* Britney Epperson (11 points, 7 rebounds)
* Charlotte Vincent-Lord (8 points, 2 rebounds)
* Tegan Hindle (7 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists)

Sunday May 10
Werribee (5th) 60 lost to Altona (8th) 62 (WSFC)

1st 16-13 (W3)
2nd 14-11 (W3)
3rd 14-17 (L3)
4th 16-21 (L5)
When teams are in the middle of a losing streak, it is often said that they “forget how to win.” This concept was clearly apparent when the Devils took on the Altona Gators, who were sitting on the bottom of the ladder with one win to their name. Having not got within 20 points of their opposition during the last four matches, the Devils led for much of this contest and were clearly in unfamiliar territory. Despite leading at three quarter time, the Devils were overrun in the last quarter by their rivals from down the road, continuing The Streak.  

*
Kennedy Taylor (12 points, 4 rebounds)
*
Olivia Klaman (12 points, 5 rebounds)
* Charlotte Vincent-Lord (11 points, 7 rebounds)
* Teaghan Doyle (10 points, 6 rebounds)

Round 9, Sunday May 17
Werribee (5th) 55 lost to Warrandyte (2nd) 68 (Warrandyte Sports Complex)

1st 16-20 (L4)
2nd 14-11 (W3)
3rd 11-14 (L3)
4th14-23 (L9)
The Devils winless streak continued to six, thanks to another last-quarter fadeout against Warrandyte. The visitors were within four points at the last break, but a 23-14 last quarter in favour of the Venom allowed them to go away with the win.  
* Charlotte Vincent-Lord (18 points, 6 rebounds)
* Olivia Klaman (16 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists)
* Teaghan Doyle (8 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists)

Round 10, Saturday May 23
Werribee (6th) 61 defeated McKinnon (5th) 58 (WSFC)
1st 18-14 (W4)
2nd 14-19 (L5)
3rd 13-11 (W2)
4th 16-14 (W2)
The Streak Is Broken! The Devils finally broke their six game winless streak with a hard-fought victory at home over McKinnon. The season series was tied at 1-1, with the Devils getting a 12 point home victory in Round 2 then the Cougars striking back with a 28 point win in Round 6. This match was close all the way, with the Devils just getting their noses in front at the end. It wasn’t pretty, but when you’ve endured six weeks without success you’ll take a win any way you can get it.
*
Teaghan Doyle (12 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals)
* Olivia Klaman (9 points, 1 rebound)
* Britney Epperson (8 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks)

Round 11, Sunday May 31
Werribee (4th) 63 lost to Craigieburn (5th) 74 (Craigieburn Leisure Centre)
1st 18-13 (W5)
2nd 14-16 (L2)
3rd 16-24 (L8)
4th 15-21 (L6)
The Devils were unable to back up their much-needed victory when they travelled to take on the Craigieburn Eagles. They made a bright start, taking an early lead, but were worn down as the match progressed, eventually going down by 11.
* Britney Epperson (17 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals)
* Charlotte Vincent-Lord (9 points, 4 rebounds)
* Taylah Lea (9 points, 3 assists)

Round 12, Sunday June 14
Werribee (5th) 54 defeated Altona (7th) 52 (WSFC)
1st 4-8 (L4)
2nd 17-12 (W5)
3rd 23-12 (W11)
4th10-20 (L10)
The Devils season series against Altona was EPIC! The first chapter was a four point victory to the Devils in the opening round; Altona got up by two points in Round 8, and this was the decider. After a very low scoring opening quarter in which both teams combined for 12 points, the Devils got going in the middle stages, outscoring the Gators 40-24 and setting up a 12-point lead going into the final term. The Gators fought back and won the quarter but the Devils managed to hold on and win by two points.  
*
Charlotte Vincent-Lord (16 points, 5 rebounds)
* Teaghan Doyle (15 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists)
* Taylah Lea (5 points, 9 rebounds)

Round 13, Sunday June 21
Werribee (5th) 76 defeated Coburg (6th) 68 (WSFC)
1st 22-23 (L1)
2nd 20-13 (W7)
3rd 18-20 (L2)
4th16-12 (W4)
The Devils did just enough to get over the top of Coburg at home. Good defensive efforts in the second and fourth quarters helped to seal the eight point win.
* Charlotte Vincent-Lord (19 points, 3 steals)
* Teaghan Doyle (15 points, 6 rebounds)
* Tegan Hindle (11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals)

Round 14, Saturday June 27
Werribee (5th) 61 defeated Corio Bay (4th) 51 (Geelong Basketball Netball Centre)
1st 17-16 (W1)
2nd 12-14 (L2)
3rd 13-11 (W2)
4th 19-10 (W9)
The Devils secured an important win against fellow finals contenders Corio Bay. The first three quarters were tight but the Devils came through when it mattered, outscoring the Stingrays 19-10 in the last quarter to take a 10-point win. It was the Devils third win on the trot. 
* Teaghan Doyle (13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists)
* Britney Epperson (12 points, 15 rebounds)
* Charlotte Vincent-Lord (9 points, 9 rebounds)

Sunday June 28
Werribee (5th) 53 lost to Warrandyte (2nd) 55 (Warrandyte Sports Complex)
1st 11-5 (W6)
2nd 12-11 (W1)
3rd 14-13 (W1)
4th8-16 (L8)
OT: 8-10 (L2)
It was a tough weekend for the Devils, with an away double-header. After defeating the Stingrays in their home “water”, they travelled out to Warrandyte the next day to face the 2nd-placed Venom. In a very low-scoring contest where the defences ruled the day, the Devils won the first three quarters and looked set to cause a boilover. However, the Venom fought back and won the final term 16-8 to force the game into overtime. Remarkably, the Venom won the overtime period despite not scoring a single field goal. The Devils fouled the opposition seven times, and the Venom made the most of their free throws, getting up for a two point win.
* Teaghan Doyle (17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals)
* Charlotte Vincent-Lord (11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists)
* Tegan Hindle (9 points, 5 rebounds)

Round 15, Saturday July 4
Werribee (5th) 70 defeated Hume City (1st) 60 (WSFC)
1st 18-13 (W5)
2nd 13-21 (L8)
3rd 17-10 (W7)
4th22-16 (W6)
Having had their three-game winning streak snapped by Warrandyte the previous week, the Devils found themselves facing the undefeated Hume City Broncos, who had won 70-40 in their previous encounter. In front of the home crowd, the Devils started well but were pegged back in the second, going into half time trailing by three points. They seemed to sense the significance of the occasion in terms of their finals hopes. Rather than wilt under the pressure, the possibility of causing the upset of the season seemed to energize the girls. They held the top side to 10 points in the third quarter, and when challenged in the last they kicked on for a magnificent 10-point victory.   
* Teaghan Doyle (16 points, 5 assists)
* Britney Epperson, (12 points, 12 rebounds)
* Tegan Hindle, (10 points, 4 rebounds)

Round 16, Saturday July 11
Werribee (5th) 69 lost to Craigieburn (4th) 83 (Craigieburn Leisure Centre)
1st 22-25 (L3)
2nd 20-23 (L3)
3rd 18-17 (W1)
4th 9-18 (L9)
It seemed like the Devils were playing a “crunch-match” every week heading towards the end of the season. On this night they came up against Craigieburn, who were occupying the fourth spot on the ladder the Devils desperately craved. The Eagles had won both their previous match-ups this season and tonight the Devils ran out of steam. The first three quarters were competitive, but an 18-9 last quarter in favour of the Eagles gave them a 14 point victory.
* Britney Epperson (17 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists)
* Tegan Hindle (16 points, 4 rebounds)
* Teaghan Doyle (12 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists)

Round 17, Saturday July 18
Werribee (5th) 69 defeated Coburg (6th) 56 (Coburg Basketball Stadium)
1st 21-9 (W12)
2nd 14-16 (L2)
3rd 13-15 (L2)
4th 21-16 (W5)
In the penultimate round of the regular season, the Devils faced Coburg for the third time this season in what was a “must-win” clash for both teams if they had finals aspirations. A 21-9 opening quarter set the game up for the Devils. Coburg narrowly won the two middle quarters but couldn’t make up enough ground and the Devils finished strongly to record a 13 point win. Despite the win, they still had to rely on other results going their way in order to make the finals.
* Charlotte Vincent-Lord (22 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals)
* Britney Epperson (16 points, 18 rebounds)
* Teaghan Doyle (10 points, 3 assists, 3 steals)

Round 18, Sunday July 26
Werribee (5th) 62 lost to Corio Bay (4th) 71 (WSFC)
1st 18-16 (W2)
2nd 14-19 (L5)
3rd 14-16 (L2)
4th16-20 (L4)
And so it came down to this: in order to make the finals, Werribee had to defeat the Corio Bay Stingrays. It was the ultimate “must-win” match. The Devils had worked so hard to overcome the early six match losing streak. They fought back to win six of their past nine, but their fate came down to 40 minutes of basketball. The season series was locked at 1-1. After losing by 20 in Round 7, the Devils fought back in Round 14 to snatch a 10-point win. The Devils led this contest by five points with four minutes remaining, but inexplicably they just stopped while the Stingrays came to life, going on a 14-0 run to take the match and secure their finals spot, while the Devils were left wondering what might have been.
* Charlotte Vincent-Lord (15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals)
* Britney Epperson (12 points, 8 rebounds)
* Tegan Hindle (11 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 6 steals)
Player
Games
Min
FGM
FGA
3PM
3PA
FTM
FTA
PF
BL
AS
ST
TO
OR
DR
TR
Pts
Charlotte Vincent-Lord
21
501m 12
88
276
4
28
58
98
56
12
23
37
59
34
75
109
238


23m 52
4.2
13.1
0.2
1.3
2.8
4.7
2.7
0.6
1.1
1.8
2.8
1.6
3.6
5.2
11.3
Teaghan Doyle
18
488m 38
70
172
1
13
62
96
51
3
53
21
43
24
64
88
203

27m 08
3.9
9.6
0.06
0.72
3.4
5.3
2.8
0.17
2.95
1.2
2.4
1.3
3.6
4.9
11.3
Britney Epperson
19
480m 08
85
216
0
2
10
29
62
20
20
21
60
59
107
166
180


25m 16
4.5
11.4

0.1
0.5
1.5
3.3
1.05
1.05
1.1
3.2
3.1
5.6
8.7
9.5
Tegan Hindle
19
458m 03
50
172
11
38
39
65
31
2
37
35
45
23
62
85
150


24m 06
2.6
9.05
0.58
2
2.05
3.4
1.6
0.1
1.95
1.8
2.4
1.2
3.3
4.5
7.9
Kennedy Taylor
21
465m 05
42
135
0
3
56
65
51
5
24
11
30
40
84
125
140


22m 08
2
6.4

0.14
2.7
3.1
2.4
0.24
1.15
0.52
1.4
1.9
4.05
5.95
6.7
Olivia Klaman
21
376m 52
40
145
19
70
21
33
27
3
27
17
33
23
46
69
120


17m 56
1.9
6.9
0.9
3.3
1
1.6
1.3
0.14
1.3
0.8
1.6
1.1
2.2
3.3
5.7
Hayley Jones
21
394m 05
27
111
4
29
10
20
36
2
24
16
44
22
37
59
68


18m 45
1.3
5.3
0.2
1.4
0.48
0.95
1.7
0.095
1.14
0.76
2.1
1.05
1.8
2.8
3.2
Taylah Lea
21
438m
21
98
7
39
13
22
62
1
34
30
51
26
48
74
62


20m 51
1
4.7
0.33
1.9
0.6
1.05
2.95
0.05
1.6
1.4
2.4
1.2
2.3
3.5
2.95
Jenna Thomas
20
186m
13
43
0
0
10
15
27
2
5
9
15
9
22
31
36


9m 18
0.65
2.15


0.5
0.75
1.35
0.1
0.25
0.5
0.75
0.45
1.1
1.55
1.8
Rachel Miller
20
209m 01
13
57
1
7
6
21
27
2
11
4
19
13
53
66
33


10m 27
0.65
2.85
0.05
0.35
0.3
1.05
1.35
0.1
0.55
0.2
0.95
0.65
2.65
3.3
1.65
Kirsty Neeves
21
149m 06
5
44
0
4
15
28
23
0
7
1
15
8
5
13
25


7m 06
0.24
2.1

0.2
0.7
1.3
1.1
0
0.33
0.1
0.7
0.4
0.24
0.6
1.2
Timika Szulc
10
77m 08
2
10
0
0
1
2
15
0
2
2
11
7
6
13
5


7m 42
0.2
1


0.1
0.2
1.5

0.2
0.2
1.1
0.7
0.6
1.3
0.5
1st quarter
FGM
FGA
3PM
3PA
FTM
FTA
PF
BL
AS
ST
TO
OR
DR
TR
PTS
Total
119
370
17
63
54
115
124
11
73
50
104
78
156
234
309
Avg
5.7
17.6
0.8
3
2.6
5.5
5.9
0.5
3.5
2.4
4.95
3.7
7.4
11.1
14.7
High
9
28
3
8
8
15
12
2
7
5
8
9
12
17
22
Low
1
13
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
1
0
4
6
4
2nd quarter
FGM
FGA
3PM
3PA
FTM
FTA
PF
BL
AS
ST
TO
OR
DR
TR
PTS
Total
109
367
10
56
75
111
95
11
65
56
117
72
156
228
303
Avg
5.2
17.5
0.5
2.7
3.6
5.3
4.5
0.5
3.1
2.7
5.6
3.4
7.4
10.9
14.4
High
8
25
2
5
10
12
8
2
6
6
10
8
12
17
20
Low
3
10
0
1
0
0
1
0
1
1
1
0
3
6
8
3rd quarter
FGM
FGA
3PM
3PA
FTM
FTA
PF
BL
AS
ST
TO
OR
DR
TR
PTS
Total
108
365
14
59
79
112
114
18
66
40
116
70
151
221
309
Avg
5.1
17.4
0.7
2.8
3.8
5.3
5.4
0.9
3.1
1.9
5.5
3.3
7.2
10.5
14.7
High
9
24
2
7
11
16
9
4
7
7
11
6
12
17
23
Low
1
11
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
1
1
0
2
5
4th quarter
FGM
FGA
3PM
3PA
FTM
FTA
PF
BL
AS
ST
TO
OR
DR
TR
PTS
Total
116
369
6
55
93
156
128
12
61
54
105
68
145
213
331
Avg
5.5
17.6
0.3
2.6
4.4
7.4
6.1
0.6
2.9
2.6
5
3.2
6.9
10.1
15.8
High
10
21
2
8
9
14
12
2
9
7
9
6
13
16
25
Low
1
11
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
2
1
2
6
8
End of game
FGM
FGA
3PM
3PA
FTM
FTA
PF
BL
AS
ST
TO
OR
DR
TR
PTS
Total
456
1479
47
233
301
494
468
52
267
204
446
288
610
898
1260
Avg
21.7
70.4
2.2
11.1
14.3
23.5
22.3
2.5
12.7
9.7
21.2
13.7
29.1
42.8
60
High
30
87
5
22
32
51
30
7
21
17
31
21
38
52
76
Low
14
50
0
5
4
10
15
0
5
2
12
3
14
26
40