Breakers play with pride

THE Breakers welcomed Pearcedale for their second annual Pride match. 

With support from the Bass Coast Shire, the ground really set the scene for a great celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community within and beyond the club with rainbow 50m arc, lights, and flags around the venue.

A shower of rain before the game made conditions difficult but didn’t stop the large crowd who were treated to a fierce but good spirited contest.

With both teams taking a while to adjust to the conditions, it was 11 minutes before the Breakers managed to hit the scoreboard through Tayla Tatterson with Ella Cargill slotting one from tight in the pocket shortly after.

The home side rounded out the quarter with their third goal coming via a set shot from Siena Lane just before the siren. 

After a fast paced but erratic first quarter midfield coach Sophie Bolding urged her charges to be more controlled and the team responded well.

The Breakers continued to dominate the play, however, the pressure from Pearcedale meant they didn’t get any easy opportunities and despite four scoring shots they only added one major through Immy Bradford which came early in the quarter.

The Breakers came out firing in the second half - led by Chelsea Connell who was at her usual hard running, pack bursting best - setting the tone for her team. 

Siena Lane looks to have taken a leaf out of her book with her attack on the footy creating a number of opportunities for her team.

Immy Bradford found Tess Angarane alone in the forward 50 resulting in the Breakers second goal for the quarter. 

Pearcedale started pressing but the Breaker’s defence held strong with Nico Randall and Jac Van Rooy shutting down their advances.

Pearcedale did all of the attacking at the start of the third quarter - getting some good looks inside 50 before the Breakers got back on top.

Chelsea Connell shifted the momentum with a goal on the run for the home side.

A good chain of handballs saw Shay Campbell set up Immy Bradford’s second goal while Ahlee Penry put the icing on the cake right on the siren.

Final Score: Breakers 10.6-66 def Pearcedale 0.2-2

Milestone galore for the Breakers 

There was a lot to celebrate for the Breakers with three players from the inaugural 2017 Bass Coast Breakers team - Carly Heislers, Jess Bolding and Tess Angarane - reaching their 50 game milestone on the weekend. 

While there are quite a few players in the team who have reached this milestone, this trio were the first players to reach 50 games in which all games were played at the Breakers.

A tale of two Tess’s

There were two players named Tess who reached a milestone on the weekend but their football journeys have been very different.

Veteran Tess Angarane played her 50th game following on from a solid 300 A grade game netball career. 

First pulling on the boots in 2017 (in her 30s) in the Breakers inaugural season - and now with two babies in toe - she has finally reached her first milestone. 

On the other hand, youngster Tess Wingfield celebrated her 100th game (which she actually played as a 17 year old in last year’s grand final) a feat which had been virtually unheard of in the Bass Coast region, but hopefully will become the norm with more pathways opening up for women and girls to play locally. 

Tess started her football playing for Wonthaggi Power in U/11s playing with the boys before moving on to the Wonthaggi Power and Dalyston Youth girls and then Bass Coast Breakers Women’s Team last year once she was old enough. 

She had an instant impact for the team with the opportunity to play from juniors right through to women’s evident in her silky skills, poise and great game sense. 

Tess is currently also playing for Gippsland Power in the Coates Talent League.