After eight quarters of footy in a day, you could rightfully forgive a player for slowing down. But try telling that to Dederang-Mount Beauty young gun Toby Derrick, who produced a career-best performance against Wahgunyah last Saturday. After a perfect 10-goal haul for the under 17s as part of a 124-point win in the morning, Derrick pulled the boots back on two hours later in the seniors. While his team couldn’t get the win after staying with the more-fancied Lions for the best part of three and a half quarters, Derrick clearly knew where the goals were at the Wahgunyah Recreation Reserve and added five out of his team’s tally of eight goals in the 40-point defeat – 8.8 (56) to 13.18 (96). The Bombers trailed by only nine points at half-time and 14 points with a quarter to go, but ran out of legs in the last quarter. Derrick suggested that his senior goal tally wasn’t necessarily part of the plan. “I actually started on the back flank and got moved forward after the first quarter, so it worked out pretty well,” Derrick said. “I’ve enjoyed my time up forward and it’s a bit different role, I think I only kicked four goals in total last season.” Speaking on his debut season in open-age football, Derrick has enjoyed the step up. “It’s been great to be a part of the senior team this year,” he said. “Even though we haven’t gone too well on the scoreboard, the culture of the club and the vibe of the group has been amazing.” “Jacob [Ozolins, captain], the coaches Jaydn and Tom, and the leaders have been really helpful and supportive." In just his fourth game of senior football, Derrick has been one of a few impressive juniors to be elevated to the senior squad, along with Jack Coulston, who also had his own influence on the game around the ground. While it’s no secret that the Bombers’ senior squad is in the middle of a rebuild and without a win in 2025, in a sign of positivity for the future, its junior football program is flying, with the under 17s (second) and under 14s (sixth) both more than capable of playing finals this season. In A grade netball, Dederang-Mount Beauty got the desired result from their trip to Wahgunyah with a 53-39 win. The Bombers gradually increased their lead at every change of end and led from start to finish in the 14-goal victory, which takes them another step closer to a second straight finals series. Alysha de Koeyer (33 goals) and Keely Bullivant (20) combined for the team’s entire score and did so with a high level of accuracy. Dederang-Mount Beauty will enjoy the week off with the annual league-wide school holiday bye, before returning home next weekend to take on Wodonga Saints on Saturday, 19 July.
