East Gambier 67 d North Gambier 33
EAST Gambier continued on its merry way in Round 2 of Western Border netball with another comprehensive performance, set up again by an explosive start, leading 16-4 at quarter time for the second time in consecutive weeks and then not allowing the opposition a way back into the contest.
It was a case of lack of supply for North Gambier in the damaging opening quarter, with East creating 24 scoring shots to the Tigers’ six.
Losing the experience and versatility of Noni McConnell in the warm up when the key Tiger injured her calf turned out to be an omen for North in a day that went from bad to worse.
North did somewhat rectify its supply issue in the second term with a more even performance but with young shooter Amryn Bosko netting eight from nine and Tenille Gray converting nine from 11, East only extended its advantage to 19 by the main break.
If North was going to conjure a comeback to put some respectability into the scoreboard, the third quarter put paid to that as the relentless Bulldogs outfit continued to pile on the pain.
It was all about weight of possession again with the Bulldogs converting 19 from 21 while North converted accurately with only one miss for the quarter, unfortunately from only seven opportunities.
The final quarter was the Tigers’ best, with Jessie Little moving to the defensive wing and new recruit Maddie Stegmyer taking the goal keeper bib and in the end they lost the quarter by only two goals.
Tarsh McCallum was outstanding for East, while the battle in the middle of the court was as expected, with Mel Renko and Emily Hunter going head-to head.
The concerning thing for opposition teams is how dangerous the new shooting combination for the Bulldogs is.
Gray, as the two time reigning association best and fairest has a resume everyone is familiar with and now she has a shooting partner who is producing the same volume of goals in rising talent Bosko.
The youngster netted 33 of East’s 67 goals and only had a handful of misses.
West Gambier 62 d South Gambier 52
IT was a more promising performance from South Gambier but West Gambier still found a way to win with its experienced campaigners Lisa McGregor and Amy Cram leading their young team mates to a 10-goal victory.
West led by one at quarter time and six at the half with the new look Demons matching it with the Roos.
Brandi Bouchier and Renee Pluckhahn ensured there was no time, space or easy ball for McGregor and her young shooting partner Sarah Ritter, while at the other end of the court, Imogen Walker provided drive and accurate feeding at wing attack as the height of Grace Edwards and the slick moves and accurate finishing of youngster Lara Munro made sure the time in possession was rewarded on the scoreboard.
Zoe Malseed made her A Grade debut at centre for West, scrapping hard at the defensive end of the court and driving hard onto the circle.
The defensive duo of Cram and Jade Ritter were key in the opening half for West, with Cram getting some important touches but arguably more importantly organising the defensive goal third to try and shut down the free-flowing Demons, while Jade Ritter rejected shots and hunted high in the goal third to take some critical interceptions.
The Roos shuffled the line up at the main break and while none of those moves seemed to significantly impact the match, West dominated the third quarter.
McGregor finally got off the leash after Pluckhahn had made life tough for her in the first half.
By the final change, West had established a 14-goal buffer and the result looked set.
Coach Belinda Scanlon took the wing attack bib for South, injecting fresh legs into the contest and Bouchier returned to the court to goal defence and the added experienced seemed to refocus the young Demons who won the final quarter, reducing the deficit to eight goals before having to settle for a 10-goal loss.
West would be pleased with the premiership points and the ability to respond to what was somewhat of an unexpected challenge, while South matched it with a perennial finalist and also scored 52 goals – a tally rarely reached in recent seasons.
Millicent 87 d Casterton Sandford 36
Casterton Sandford’s goaling combination started their tough clash with reigning premiers Millicent having to work hard for any possession, but coach Tori Broomby and Paige Murrell made the most of every opportunity, shooting seven from seven.
The problem was at the other end of the court.
The speed of ball from Demi Verbena, Lucy Denton and Paige Nitschke into the height of Tabatha Sanderson was impressive and accurate and Sanderson rewarded her team mates converting 22 from 22 in a stunning opening quarter.
It was always going to be a tough outing for the inexperience Cats, but they grew across the game, and the third quarter, where Murrell and Broomby again combined for a strong shooting performance, netting 13 from 14.
At the defensive end things improved in the second half as well, with Caeleigh Humphries continuing to develop and Sharna Fidler entering the clash and providing her usual high standard of tight checking to provide her opponent had no easy ball.
However, Sanderson was impressive for the Saints and 65 of their 87 goals.
