By Dogwhistle
The final round of the Football Far North Coast Premiership at Alstonville on Saturday brought comfortable wins for both the Premier League players and Reserves of the Northern Hotel Byron Bay Rams.
With only 19 players available to cover both teams, quite a few of the Rams put in double shifts.
The reserves were in complete control of their match, with two goals to striker Tomas Do Prado Coelho, one to veteran defender James Packham, a soaring ‘crot’ to Ronan Karup and a long floating lob to Simon McCarthy rounded out the score to 5–0.
This win – and a stonking 82-point goal difference – gave the Rams Reserves the 2016 Pointscore Championship and a valuable week off going into the finals series.
In a phenomenal season the Rams reserves scored 92 goals, averaging more than five per game, and have conceded only ten.
The Premier League’s final regular season match was an equally leisurely affair for the Rams who, despite the manpower deficiencies, cruised to a 3–0 win.
Herick ‘Hezza’ Schuenemann celebrated his new Aussie status with two goals for the Rams.
The highlight of the match was a free kick taken from just outside the box by 17-year-old keeper Griffin Bambach in the closing minutes of the game. He skimmed a superb drive across the grass, through most of the Alstonville team and into the net. It was a great finish to a successful debut season by Griffin.
The Prems finish the season in fourth spot and face stiff competition when they meet Lismore Workers at the Recreation Grounds in the sudden-death semifinal on Saturday at 3pm.
