THE match of the round Western Border netball round is definitely the resurgent West Gambier outfit hosting North Gambier as both sides are fresh off strong victories.
The Roos outlasted every challenge to take the points over East Gambier, in what was the best match of the season so far.
West Gambier v North Gambier
The Tigers shone on Anzac Day, completely outclassing the Demons on the back of stunning shooting from Caroline Davey.
The job of denying her easy ball will fall to Maddy Teakle and the young defender is coming off a strong performance against the Bulldogs.
Her combination with Amy Cram looked back to its best and Cram will be grateful for the extra week of recovery, given she was battling a calf injury during the Round 4 win over the Bulldogs.
Davey can expect to be double teamed and Ellie Gould will need to work overtime to draw one of the defenders away and showcase her long range accuracy to be as damaging as possible.
Maggie Kipping also looked more at home on the A Grade court against East and her battle with Kaitlin Egan looms large.
Egan is the player the Tigers rely on to drive hard and hit the circle’s edge at pace and Kipping will need to work hard to deny her easy access.
Amanda O’Shaughnessy taking on Jess Bell is also a match up to savour.
Both have great pace and athleticism and work as hard at the defensive end of the court as they do with ball in hand and whichever player takes the honours will go a long way to securing a win for their team.
In the Round 4 win, Tahlia Earl and Lisa McGregor were back to their best as a shooting combination and Maddie Whaites and Jordyn Adams will need to shut down space and try and force longer shots.
Earl not only won a lot of ball against East, she also finished accurately, while McGregor rarely plays a bad game.
Carlee Davey also seemed to find the pockets and top of the circle with monotonous regularity and her battle with Ash Kalantarian will be intriguing.
Kalantarian has a height advantage over the Roo wing attack and her hands pressure and ability to get touches are as good as anyone in the competition.
If West brings its best like it did in Round 4, this will be a tight battle.
East Gambier v Millicent
EAST Gambier has a tough task when it hosts the Western Border netball reigning premiers, who despite having personnel changes and experimenting with a variety of line-ups are still racking up convincing victories.
Adding to the challenge for the Bulldogs, is the match marks Donna Denton’s 400th game as a Saint and her team mates will not be prepared to compromise her celebrations with a below par performance.
Demi Verbena’s battle with Bo Creek, will intrigue as Creek is one of the few goal defenders who has the pace to run with the star coach.
The scoring power of the Saints is as strong as ever with Verbena proving accurate on the finish, Denton always accurate and Paige Nitschke also more than holding her own in senior company.
Lisa Duldig has shared her time between wing attack and centre and along with Paige Nitschke, Madi Turner and Hannah Nitschke, leads a young but hard working mid court.
Sarah Lock and Tenille Gray had a tough day out against Maddy Teakle and Amy Cram and it gets no easier taking on Hayley Dunn and Kimmi Varcoe – who not only play tight one on one defence but also hunt the intercept.
Varcoe will be less likely to go on the hunt, though, with the responsibility of marking Gray.
The young Bulldogs goaler had a good battle with Cram in round four but was still clearly her side’s focal point and converted 38-from-42 in a game characterised by some strong takes and wonderful by play with McCallum and Sara Smith.
While the Bulldogs will need to be patient but positive with its ball movement in offence, they will need to work hard at the other end to slow the speed of ball and try and give defenders Creek and Morgan Amy a chance to have a go at poor feeds.
Easier said than done, of course, but if McCallum and Tyne Bosko work hard to keep the feeders off the circle’s edge and get their hands over the ball, it will give Creek and Amy a fighting chance.
You just can not see the Saints letting this one slip, though and another comfortable victory looms.
