Sport
30 June, 2026
Carisbrook prove too good for Avoca in 143-point win
Carisbrook celebrated Harold Mason Round by flexing their premiership credentials over Avoca, defeating the Bulldogs by 143 points.
Saturday’s dominant win was a fitting tribute to one of the club’s most beloved members, pulling away in the second quarter before putting the game to bed with nine third-quarter goals.
With Saturday’s nine-goal performance, Redbacks superstar forward Tim Rinaldi is only 26 goals away from reaching the magical 100-goal mark with five games left in Carisbrook’s home and away season.
Goals galore weren’t forthcoming for Rinaldi and the rest of Carisbrook’s forward line in the opening term, as similar to last year’s meeting between these two teams, the Bulldogs started well against one of the competition’s top teams.
While defensive interventions from Elliot Brandon-Jones and Jackson Bowen kept Avoca goalless, Jamie Beavis, Alexander Riches and Byron Wynd ensured the Bulldogs stayed within a respectable 21 points at quarter time.
That margin quickly ballooned following the short interval, as Thomas Gardam and Nicholas Wright helped the Redbacks’ forward line come alive in the second quarter.
Playing in his first seniors game since 2019, Jordan Bolding was making up for lost time, providing an unlikely goal-scoring threat alongside Lachlan Bursill.
After an excellent second quarter that propelled Carisbrook to a 57-point lead at half time, Rinaldi and Patrick Taranto remained an unstoppable attacking juggernaut in the second half.
The dynamic duo was dominating the marking contests, resulting in scoring opportunities for their clinical teammates or goals for themselves.
Following a 9.1 to 1.1 third term, the Redbacks put the icing on the cake of their 10th victory in 2026 with seven goals in the fourth quarter.
The victory was extra sweet for emerging footballer Billy Skinner, who made his senior debut for the Redbacks on Saturday.
Alongside Rinaldi’s bag of nine, Bolding and Bursill booted four goals each for the Redbacks while Taranto ended a spectacular individual performance with three goals.
Taranto, Brandon-Jones, Bowen, Rinaldi, Gardam and Wright were named Carisbrook’s standout performers, while Jamie Beavis, Scott Cawthan, Mitchell Wardlaw, Toby Beavis, Tyson Gray and Riches were the better players for the Bulldogs.
Nathan Coghlan and Toby Beavis were Avoca’s goalkickers on Saturday, with Coghlan scoring two.