Round 5: Hornets 65 Badgers 60
The Hornets take their first win of the season and it took right up to the last 30 seconds to lock this down!
The Hornets have been building now for some time and in this game they took their opportunities.
At half time there was only two points separating the two teams with the Badgers ahead by two. However, the game was blown open in Boulder C by a well read beta break from the Hornets and the team capitalised. What read as a long and rather pumpy boulder turned out to not be the path of least resistance. By the time the Badgers unpacked this option, the gas tanks were being depleted and it proved the difference.
Henry Cowell and Lachie French led the way for the Hornets and Seth Axon was impressive in his first time in the breaker position for the Badgers.
The Badgers will take plenty from this game in the name of player development and the Hornets take a huge confidence boost.
Round 4: Donx 54 Badgers 43
This game had a bit of everything and was unpredictable right from the start. However, it was the Donx who the two points and the Badgers have every right to feel this was the one that got away.
Lachie McNee led the way for the Badgers with Henry George making a return and Aidan Hetherington on debut. They'll feel that boulder A was where they could have capitalised and in the end they were chasing the whole game. They were without Archie Eather and Simon Perhardi but there was plenty to take out of this game with solid learnings all round.
The Donx seemed to thrive with the inclusion of Lachie Butters lifting the energy. Fred Eather blazed the trail with the unpacking of some tricky co-ordination sequences and the team pulled together in what was probably their best performance of the season.
The unbeaten start to the season for the Badgers has been brought to a halt.
Round 3: Donx 88 Hornets 56
On paper this game could have gone either way. But the Donx took things up a gear and took home the two points in round 3 by defeating the Hornets 88 to 56.
It was Fred Eather's first game of the season and it was clear from the start the difference one person can make to a team's overall performance. Fred came out as the breaker in all four boulders and quickly unpacked the key sequences. This seemed to open up ample time for the rest of the team to chip away at building points and this reflected on the scoreboard with bettering the Hornets on all four boulders.
It wasn't a bad night for the Hornets though. The team worked well together and build a respectable score that's for sure. Given the youth depth in this squad, there is plenty to take our of this and experience matters.
There's a break now as game 2 of the Vilimaa Cup is on this weekend then the Badgers take on the Donx in round 4.
Pictured (Fred Eather on Boulder D with Judah Cann, Troy Clark, Cooper Gale and Nikala Murray looking on (Left to right)).
Round 2: Badgers 56 Hornets 22
It wasn't the start to the season the Hornets were aiming for but they'll take plenty away from it anyway being blown away by a full strength Badgers outfit 56 - 22 on Thursday evening in round 2 of the Central North A Grade 2025 competition.
A solid lineup from the Hornets with a few young guns coming in hot. A last minute scratching from Henry Cowell meant Logan Rust made his A Grade debut. Logan made a valuable contribution to the Hornets with his copious Vilimaa Cup experience clear to see.
The Badgers started on Boulder A, quickly racking up 19 points, while the Hornets tackled a much trickier Boulder B. By halftime, the Badgers had a strong lead and kept their momentum into the second half eventually winning the game 56 - 22. Credit goes to the Badgers for an energetic and almost clinical display showcasing what teamwork is all about.
The Hornets will regroup and tackle the Donx in Round 3 on Sat 14 at 5pm.
Pictured (Lachie McNee left of the Badgers and Lachie French of the Hornets right)
Round 1: Badgers 52 Donx 28
The 2025 season started on the weekend with a replay of the grand finals teams from 2024 - Badgers v Donx.
The last time they met it was the Donx who took the honours but this game was quite different as the Badgers blew the Donx away in the last quarter to make a strong start to the season and give the Donx plenty to think about.
From the very beginning it was the Badgers who looked more comfortable in what was a powerful dynamic set of boulders. The Badgers took the half time lead 23 - 11 and blew the lead out to a final 52 - 28 in the end.
This is a team sport.
It's all about collaboration, collective and accelerated learning in order to generate the best outcome for the team. Individual performances are naturally important but in the context of player positions and defined roles, there's more to it than just achieving 'tops' with the greatest contributions often coming from other factors.
The inclusion of Simon Peyhardi from France was an unknown quantity before the game but became quickly evident that he is quite at home in this space. The team played well and their chemistry show good early signs for a healthy season. Lachie McNee led from the front as usual.
The Donx were below their best on the night but we know what they're capable of so they'll look to regroup for their next game v Hornets in a few weeks time.
2 Jun 2025