Sport
22 April, 2026
Bombers soar at Gardens Oval
COBDEN scored its first victory of the season in the Hampden league senior football competition with an 11-point win over Port Fairy on Saturday.
The low scoring match at the Gardens Oval saw the Bombers win 8.11.59 to 7.6.48.
“I was just super happy with the way that we put together an almost full four quarter effort,” Cobden coach Brody Mahoney said.
“We really stuck to what we have been practicing and the way we want to play and got the result, which is always great as a coach, but great as players as well.”
The match marked Mahoney’s return after more than a year out after injuring his knee in round one of 2025.
The Cobden coach got through the game, including kicking a goal in the win.
“I was sore on Sunday for sure, which was expected after not playing for 12 months.
“But I’m starting to feel better every day, which is good, hopefully it just gets better and better from here.”
Young Bomber Archie Taylor put in a strong performance to be named as Cobden’s best.
“Archie’s been great, even in the practice games when we’ve had him available, his pressure is fantastic, he’s just got that bit of polish and class when he has ball in hand.
“That certainly came on show on the weekend in the nice conditions, he’s just running over the top of the ground brilliantly, covering some super ground and finishing off nicely, which was good.”
Forward Matty Drayton, now in his second season at the club, continues to deliver for Cobden, kicking three goals.
“Matty’s been a great pick up for us, he gets a bit of attention now every week, and he still manages to find a fair bit of the footy and just put himself in good positions week in, week out.
“He does the work off the field, we all see that, there’s no coincidence why he’s playing well, he’s a very hard worker and just loves his footy.”
Alongside Taylor and Drayton, Gus Walsh, Eddie Walsh, Josh Hickey and Sam Thow were best for the Bombers.
This Sunday Cobden face a stern test against the undefeated Terang Mortlake at the Cobden Community Bank Recreation Reserve.
“It’s going to be a great game, our styles are probably similar in that we both play pretty fast-paced footy, and hopefully it’s a cracking day so everyone gets to see a good spectacle.
“I know our boys are pumped for the weekend, just getting that win under the belt early probably takes a bit of weight off the shoulders of a young group, so I’m really looking forward to seeing how the boys back it up.”
The Bombers also had a strong win in the reserves football, 9.7.61 to 1.5.11.
Lachlan Rosolin kicked three goals and was best, with Tom Darcy, Tully Darcy and Micah Darcy all kicking two goals each.
Jake Skahill and Kayleb Bignell were also in Cobden’s best.
Port Fairy scored a dominant 18.9.117 to 4.0.24 victory in the under 18 match.
Lenny Walsh, Broly Henderson and Riley Beames were Cobden’s best in the loss.
In the under 16 football at Cobden on Sunday, Port Fairy had 10.11.71 to 2.2.14 win.
Will Darcy, Archie White and Axle John were best for Cobden, with White kicking two goals.
In the under 14s, Cobden had a 7.11.53 to 4.2.26 win.
Fletcher White, Kaspar Hendrix and Tristian O’Connor were Cobden’s best, with Hendrix kicking three goals.
The under 12 game went Port Fairy’s way, the Seagulls scoring a 6.10.46 to 1.1.7 win.
Best for Cobden were Nash Kent, Harry White and Anderson Pekin, with Menzel Cook kicking the lone goal.
The open netball match saw Port Fairy score a narrow 40-39 win.
“It virtually came down to the last 20 seconds, so it was super disappointing to be on the losing side, there wasn’t a lot in it for most of the game,” Cobden co-coach Nadine McNamara said.
Down by five points at the final change, Cobden scored 12 goals to eight in the final term to fall just short.
“I thought we had a great last quarter, and I felt the first half and the last quarter were really consistent.
“We just had a bit of a lapse in concentration in the third quarter and turned over a lot of ball across our attacking transverse line, which they managed to control the tempo and score off, and that gave them that kind of buffer at three-quarter time which we had to try and crawl back.”
Star defender Remeny McCann played her 200th open game, with McNamara disappointed in not being able to get the win for the milestone.
“It was disappointing not to get the win for her, but it was such an amazing occasion to celebrate Rem and her commitment to our club, she’s been the cornerstone of our defensive end for the past 15 years.
“It was really nice to share the day with her, we had lots of people submit videos that we compiled for her, and there was lots of people around the court celebrating her career which was really special.”
McCann was named in Cobden’s best alongside Grace Taylor and Matilda Darcy.
“Grace has had a fantastic start to the season, she’s put in a lot of work in the gym and her own running in the off-season, it’s really paying dividends for her, she’s been super consistent for us through the mid-court.”
Darcy played a key defensive role for the Bombers.
“Matilda came on in goal defence at halftime, and she went onto (former Cobden player) Molly Hutt, I thought Matilda did a fantastic job at shutting her down.
“Molly was their major ball handler who was doing some damage to the middle corridor, so I thought Matilda did a fantastic job at putting some pressure on Molly and generating some turnovers for us.”
This week Cobden face the undefeated Terang Mortlake.
“Terang Mortlake has had some amazing juniors the past couple of years, and I feel like they’re kind of coming into their senior grades now.
“They’re a bit unknown for us, I think there’s a couple of names in there that we probably haven’t seen in a couple of years or have been in their junior ranks, so there will be lots of new combinations for them for us to consider, so we’re really looking forward to the challenge and eager to try and bank our first win for the year.”
Port Fairy had a 43-41 win in the division one netball match.
Tilly Dent, Matilda Darcy and Anna Hinkley were the Bombers best, with Jaymie Finch shooting 20 goals.
In division two, Cobden scored a 38-50 win.
Maddison Clifford and Steph Mahony were best for Cobden in the win, with Mahony scoring 38 goals.
The Bombers had a 28-27 win in the division three netball.
Maggie Conheady scored 18 goals, with Eisha Howard, Charlotte Meade and Tonya Spokes best.
The 17 and under netball saw Cobden score a one goal win, 33-32.
Best for Cobden were Sarah Bridges and Isabella Wain, with Wain shooting 24 goals playing as goal attack.
Cobden took out the 17 and under reserves game 20-10.
Ayrli Baxter, Ava Bonner and Greta Darcy were the Bombers best, with Bonner shooting 15 goals.
The 15 and under game also went Cobden’s way, the Bombers scoring a 40-22 win.
Zaya Howard, Dakoda Baker and Dekohda Baxter were best for Cobden in the win.
The 15 and under reserves game saw Cobden register a 12-11 win.
Best for Cobden were Olivia Halliday, Amelia Katsaros and Emma Bonner, with the latter two scoring six goals each.
The 13 and under game saw Cobden record a strong 40-4 victory.
Sienna Merrett, Charlotte Robertson and Zahlia Hill were the Bombers best in the win, with Hill shooting 25 goals and Robertson 15.
Port Fairy took out the 13 and under reserves 15-10.
Charlotte Phillips, Ella Davis and Ruby Glennen were best for Cobden, with Phillips scoring six goals.
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