Sport

10 June, 2026

Bombers dig deep

COBDEN came back from its round seven belting by Koroit to score a five point win over local rivals Camperdown in the round eight Hampden League senior football match at the Leura Oval.

The Bombers, down by 15 points at three-quarter time, kicked four goals to one in the last term to record a 10.9.69 to 9.10.64 win.

“It was one of those funny games,” Cobden coach Brody Mahoney said.

“It was we’re winning, they’re winning, we’re winning, they’re winning – it was never really much more than a goal or two.”

The Bombers coming back the way they did after the previous week’s heavy loss was particularly pleasing for Mahoney.

“Probably the biggest positive out of the game, other than getting the win, is just being able to respond and put the learnings from the week before behind you,” Mahoney said.

“You can’t dwell on what happened last week too much, it’s footy and you get to back it up the following week, and the boys did respond really well.”

Cobden got the points in all three Saturday football games in a big boost for the club.

“It was the first time this season we managed to get all three wins which was great, it was awesome to see our under 18s get a win,” Mahoney said.

“Camperdown has been in the same boat as our boys with their under 18s, both been pretty short and been on the end of a few big losses most weeks, so to see a good competitive game between the two under 18 sides was awesome and for our boys just to get that win, they were so pumped after that.”

Matthew Drayton kicked an equal match high four goals and was named as Cobden’s best.

“Matty was really good, just played his role, as a small forward does, he wouldn’t have had a heap of the footy but just made the most of every opportunity when he got it, and then applied a lot of pressure, as we ask him to do,” Mahoney said.

“We thought it was just a really good all-round game for his position and to get on the end of it and finish and kick some goals was really good as well.”

Playing a different role, Gus Walsh was second best for the Bombers.

“Gus was good through the ruck for a fair chunk of the game with big Clarkey (Matt Clarke) being out, he just stepped up as we knew he would,” Mahoney said.

“He’s been really good all year, it’d be great to have a couple of him because he’s quite competitive in the ruck and just gives us a little bit of something else, he might not get as many hit outs as Clarkey, but it just gave us a different look in there sometimes, which was good.”

Playing just his third senior game, Blake Mottram made his first appearance in the best players list.

“Blakey was great, he played as a key forward for most of the game and was a bit of a backup ruck and competed in the air, took a few good contested marks and a few marks on the lead up and down the ground which gave us that target,” Mahoney said.

“Having a young side with not a lot of tall players, to have a big fella like Blake step into that role and play it to a tee was awesome for his development.

“I guess he can see what he can do now and hopefully keeps improving every week.”

This week Cobden will host Portland at the Cobden Community Bank Recreation Reserve.

“They’ve started to play a bit better going by their results, so it should be a good game hopefully,” Mahoney said.

“We’re obviously looking to get a back to back win, which would be great, it should be a cracking game.”

The reserves match saw Cobden record a 7.9.51 to 3.8.26 win, their fifth victory of the season.

Best for the Bombers in the win were Ryan Mottram, Edward Delaney and James Hallyburton; with Ryan Mottram kicking four goals, Jack Hutt two and Lachlan Rosolin one.

Cobden’s under 18s scored their first victory of the season with a 6.4.40 to 6.2.38 win.

Spotswood’s Xavier Brandham and South Colac trio Gavin Reynolds, Dezire Irunga and Harvey Parker played their first game for Cobden on permit, with Camperdown fielding four Irrewarra-Beeac players also on permit.

Micah Darcy, Brandham and Rusty Ponting were Cobden’s best in the win, with Ponting kicking two goals.

In the under 16s at Cobden on Sunday, Camperdown had a big 18.14.122 to 2.0.12 win.

Michael Benallack, Aaron Fleming and Ryder Egan were best for Cobden, with Lucas Smith and Archie White kicking a goal each.

Cobden scored a 5.4.34 to 4.7.31 win in the under 14 football.

Luca Borgia, Fletcher White and Ryan Bailey were best for the Bombers, with Oscar Uebergang kicking two goals and White, Bailey and Jed Watson one each.

In the under 12s, Camperdown had a big 13.12.90 to 0.0.0 win.

Nash Kent, Nicholas Campbell, Daniel Darcy, Anderson Pekin, Jack Robertson and Harry White were best for the junior Bombers.

The Open netball also saw Cobden rebound from a heavy loss, defeating Camperdown 63-41.

“I feel like the rivalry between Camperdown and Cobden is a really friendly rivalry, so it’s a nice one to come into each year,” Cobden coach Nadine McNamara said.

“We always enjoy our battle, and it’s always really tough out there on Saturday regardless of what the scoreline may reflect.”

An even first quarter saw some changes made to the Bombers line-up.

“Camperdown are a quality side, and I felt like Piper Stephens and Nell Mitchell probably got on top of us in the first quarter, managing to convert their centre passes a bit too easily,” McNamara said.

“So we changed up our defensive structure and moved Matilda Darcy to wing defence and Macy Hicks to goal defence, and I felt like both those girls had a really great impact in those roles.

“Macy managed to turn over a heap of balls for us in that second quarter, and that really helped to build some momentum into the second half.”

Hicks, Emily Finch and Jess Walsh were named as the Bombers best.

“I thought Macy did a great job of hedging through space and obviously intercepting the ball and Emily was really solid for us as goal shooter, she provided some really nice outlet to relieve some pressure that Camperdown were doing quite well across the transverse line, and she was really consistent with her accuracy under post,” McNamara said.

“Jess Walsh did a fantastic job across wing attack and wing defence, she’s such a coachable player and takes on board any feedback that we have, she did a great job of adjusting to the conditions in the wet and providing us with some consistent drive and transition.”

Finch shot 37 goals for the Bombers, with Jess Bouchier putting through 23.

“Jess is really finding her own now, she’s played seven games in Open this season and that consistent game time at that level, is building her capacity and also building her strength against some more physical opponents.”

As was the case with the senior footballers, McNamara was thrilled with the follow up to the heavy loss against Koroit the week before.

“We were bitterly disappointed with our performance against Koroit, they are an incredible side, and they were really well drilled and executed what they wanted to,” she said.

“It shows great resilience in the playing group to come back from a defeat like that and control what we can, which is the next week.”

Camperdown got the points in division one with a 43-42 win.

Tilly Dent, Hannah Justin and Ruby Suhan were best for the Bombers in the loss, with Steph Mahony shooting 36 goals.

The division two game saw a 52-29 win to Cobden.

Jessica Anderson, Ashlee Merrett and Eisha Howard were the Bombers best, with Steph Mahony leading the scoring with 22 goals and Howard shooting 21.

In division three, Camperdown had a 38-23 win.

Caitlyn Mahony, Courtney Gatens and Eisha Howard were Cobden’s best, with Howard shooting 13 goals and Maggie Conheady 10.

The 17 and under game saw Camperdown have a big 59-24 win.

Matilda Narik, Sarah Bridges and Chali Robbins were best for Cobden, with Marley Howard shooting 12 goals.

The 17 and under reserves netball went Cobden’s way, 23-19.

Best for Cobden were Jessica MacDonald, Ava Bonner and Ayrli Baxter, with Ava Bonner scoring 15 goals.

The 15 and under netball saw Cobden score a 31-30 win.

Charlotte Dean, Lily Baxter and Stephanie Fleming were best for Cobden, with Dean shooting 21 goals.

Camperdown won the 15 and under reserves 19-17.

Olivia Bignell, Mollie Rochfort and Olivia Halliday were best for the Bombers, with Emma Bonner scoring 12 goals.

The 13 and under netball saw a 25-15 win to Cobden.

Mahli Baxter, Zahlia Hill and Charlotte Robertson were best for the Bombers, with Hill shooting 15 goals and Robertson seven.

Camperdown scored a 15-14 win in the 13 and under reserves netball.

Alexis Bamford and Charlotte Phillips were best for the junior Bombers, with Nardia Ferrari shooting five goals and Phillips and Penny Marlow four each.