Under 12 boys got over George Town 7-1, and now sit third on the ladder. They play the top side on Saturday, and will need to be at their best to win. The boys have been good in patches this year, but their lack of consistency has been a problem. They have the potential to beat any side in the competition, and would push division 1 sides as well, but potential counts for nothing if they don't bring their A game when it counts.

Under 14 Red defeated Westside Pirates 8-0 in a very one sided contest, with Rangers totally dominant in every aspect of the game. Rangers passing was precise, as was the first touch on the ball, and their possession football was superb. Our defence was rarely threatened as the Pirates moved the ball into our half predictably, and down the left side just about every time. The only danger was early in the second half, when the Pirates winger put a cross into the box to find 3 Pirates players on their own with all Rangers on the front post. All players seemed surprised, and the ball passed each one of them without any touch on the ball. Harry Thannhauser did as he liked, as did most of his Ranger team mates.

Under 14 Blue continued with their good form, and a 7-0 win over Deloraine. The boys were 3-0 up at half time despite being a little sloppy and appearing a little rushed. In the second half, after being instructed that a one touch game had been "banned", the boys took control of the ball, got their heads up, and delivered a far more attractive brand of football, which I'm certain would have been good enough to defeat a number of division 1 sides. Sam Spaulding was excellent, particularly in the second half, with the entire team playing more patient football, and rarely wasting possession.

Under 14 White began very slowly, and conceded early against the bottom side, and didn't look to threaten the Riverside goal in the first 15 minutes. Riverside clearly looked the better team, which was of real concern. A couple of positional changes, which were more about just getting on the scoreboard than improving the football, did actually work, and enabled the boys to settle, with the panic going out of the game. The boys did finish much better than they had started, eventually wining the match 5-2. Daniel DeRuiter was again solid, and will be a division 1 player in 2012, without any doubt.

The Senior girls played a great game against the benchmark Westside Jets, in spite of missing key players Alisha Van Asperen and and Leah Heys. Rangers are starting to play a more controlled game, which showed through some great passing. Maddie Reitsema had her work cut out in goals making save after save, a task that would have been more difficult were it not for the fantastic efforts of Hannah Barracu and Hannah Kapinga in defence. Mikala de Haan had the better of the Jets with her speed down the wing, and was getting closer and closer to converting before she was injured in the 2nd half. A simple mistake lead to a penalty which produced the only second half goal, and the Rangers came out with a 3-0 loss. Fingers crossed Mikala hasn't done too much damage to her knee. Facing Deloraine next week will be tough with so many out, but the girls have shown that the tough games bring the best out in them.

Under 16 Blue had the bye.

Under 16 Red defeated the Southern Raiders Cavaliers 4-0 in another one sided contest. The boys were looking to gain some of the precision lost in recent weeks, but didn't really find it. What we did find was greater intensity, and we were first to the ball. There was a bit more "run and carry" than I would have liked, but a lot of this was due to the lack of pressure applied to the ball carrier, so I guess that the boys were just adapting to the game. Hayden Vandervelde scored a hat trick, and Josh Hinds scored a training goal surrounded by 4 Cavaliers defenders. He was blocked for a decent passing option so took the centre backs on and scored the goal himself. And why not? Ben Burk also impressed in his move into midfield, and centre backs Jordan Poland and Tannar Hinds were solid all night, leaving Henry Strong with little to worry about. A number of injury concerns put a dampener on the evening, with Rangers finishing with 9 fit players.

Rod