The Albi Mastellotto-coached Dubbo under-16s showed on the weekend why they are deserved Western Branch Youth League Champions with a great gutsy one-nil win over arch-rivals Bathurst.
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In the lead-up to the final, Dubbo finished over the Young based Lachlan Lions four-nil with goals coming from Joshua Brownlow, Sam Duffy, Nick James (Wellington) and Chris Walker.
Dubbo knew that a win was needed after Bathurst’s big win over Orange had put them one goal in front.
A draw for Dubbo would not be enough, so the stage was set for a grandstand finish.
The final game started at a furious pace and went from end to end before Mastellotto made a positional change that saw left winger Chris Walker moved to right wing which brought instant results.
There was more room to move and a great build up by the Dubbo midfield found Chris Walker with space to move and finished off with a great strike to put Dubbo up by one which was the eventual winning score.
The second half gave both sides chances as they started to tire, but Dubbo’s dogged determination refused to give in to a bigger and supposedly better Bathurst side.
Outstanding players on the day for Dubbo were hard to choose as there were no bad players, but player of the tournament Jake Harris led from the front as Dubbo’s captain and Dubbo’s goalkeeper Jack Miller was also outstanding putting his body on the line on many occasions.
Throughout the tournament Dubbo’s defence was rock solid only conceding two goals and was led by Kurt Munro as sweeper, backs Tim Groth and Tom Carruthers and stopper Sam Hancox who were rarely challenged.
Halves Chris Walker - who scored nine of Dubbos 26 goals - Sam Duffy (1), Nick James (1) were great and set up a lot of Dubbo’s attack for their forwards.
This gave Jordan Farmilo (3 goals), Damien Sallustio (4), Jack Lewis (1) and Josh Browlow (1) room to move.
Kyle Davis also played well despite being hampered by an ankle injury throughout the tournament.
In all, coach Albi Mastellotto said he could not have been more proud of his players.
“It was an outstanding effort against such opposition,” he said.
“Everyone played well and put in a top effort at training which came through onto the field. All the players and parents should be proud of themselves.”
Next up for the Dubbo 16s as Western Area champions will be representing the West at the Country Cup in Goulburn on the long weekend in June.
