MILLCENT 55 d EAST GAMBIER 54
AS a second semi-final dress rehearsal, the East Gambier v Millicent clash in the final minor round of Western Border netball was a cracker.
The Saints went on to claim the honours, but by just a solitary goal, which set the scene for another epic battle this week.
East was gunning for the perfect minor round, but losing Tarsh McCallum before the first whistle and with star defender Lisa Fyfe suffering a foot injury certainly added to the challenge.
McCallum returned to the court after a long lay off last round and got through the match unscathed, but the long-term injury flared again during the week and in the end she sidelined herself in a bid to recover in time for the finals.
Fyfe suffered her injury setback halfway through the first quarter but remained on court for the duration of the match, moving back to goal keeper for the final three quarters and still securing as handful of her spectacular intercepts whenever the Saints looked to go cross court and deep.
For the vast majority of the clash it was a goal-for-goal battle, with both sides having to work hard to secure scoring opportunities.
Defensive intensity was at an all-time high, patience was the key and both sides refused to give an inch.
Millicent led by one goal at the first break and the margin was still one at the main break.
Getting the ball into the respective shooting circles was tough, but once it was in the hands of the goalers the finishing was accurate.
Millicent worked its way to a six-goal lead halfway through the third term, but by three-quarter time, East was back in striking distance, trailing by just two.
The Saints held a three-goal lead for much of the last term before the Bulldogs surged again but eventually ran out of time as the final whistle saw them on the wrong side of the scoreboard by just one goal.
Every battle on court was riveting.
Young guns Amryn Bosko and Portia McRae both had their moments.
Bosko worked hard out of the circle to open up the space and her finishing was superb, while McRae chased down critical interceptions and rebounded strongly.
Tenille Gray was at her hard-working best and netted 36 of East’s 43 goals, missing only six for the entirety of the high-pressure contest, while her opponent Hannah Nitschke just kept getting to the right positions and if the feed was slightly off she made sure she got a hand on it.
Kate Dempsey was composed and continually provided her team mates with a safe option in transition, while Lisa Duldig denied easy access to the circle’s edge and led the defensive end with her strong direction.
Hard running and defensive intensity was the name of the game as Emily Hunter and Lucy Denton went head-to-head, with both doing the lion’s share of their team’s delivery into the circle, but also being disruptive defensively to pick up pivotal turnover ball.
Paige Nitschke and Tyne Bosko had one of the battles of the match.
Bosko was at her tight-checking best but Nitschke never stopped working and her connection with Demi Verbena in particular set up many a scoring opportunity.
Verbena was the architect of the Saints attack line, using her front cuts and stellar timing to great effect and she continually offloaded to Sanderson, while Bo Creek, who took the job of stopping Verbena from quarter time, did some strong work over the shot and was also a key link player.
Sanderson was strong under the post, converting 47 from 51 and she also took some critical rebounds and while Fyfe was clearly hampered, she still flew for some impressive intercepts and was able to create doubt at time in the feeders’ heads which produced errors and turnover opportunities.
This was a match that could have gone either way and can only whet the appetite for this weekend, with McCallum and Fyfe’s fitness a key to the final outcome.
WEST GAMBIER 65 d NORTH GAMBIER 55
As a precursor to this week’s knockout semi-final between the same two sides, this was a great contest and while West Gambier secured the 10-goal win, giving them two wins out of three over the Tigers, North will know they are still a live chance this weekend.
West Gambier entered the clash off a haphazard month, where they missed a match and did not play a contender in the past couple of weeks, but the Roos started as strongly as the Tigers, who were coming off a great fine-tune against the Saints.
North shooter Caroline loomed large in the opening quarter, securing plenty of ball and netting 12 straight as the Tigers took a one-goal lead into the first break.
Hard running mid-courter Mel Renko was finding great connection with the star shooter, while at the other end it was much harder work to get through the Tigers defence but with Lisa McGregor and Sarah Ritter sharing the shooting duties, the Roos stayed in touch.
The second quarter was all about Sarah Ritter.
The young shooter caught fire in a major way, demanding the ball at every opportunity and converting 18 from 19 as West powered to a seven-goal half time lead.
Tara Bryant, Carlee Ransom and McGregor all worked together to get the ball to Ritter and she did not disappoint, while at the other end, the Roos defence made life tougher for the Tigers, with Jade Ritter and Amy Cram limiting the scoring opportunities to help inflict the scoreboard damage.
The Tigers were not done for though and the attack line got back on top in the third with North converting 16 from 19 to claw their way back to a five-goal three quarter time deficit.
The defensive end also shut down time and space and worked hard for some critical turnover ball through their tenacity and willingness to contest.
However, it was all about Sarah Ritter again in the last quarter, as the young shooter again became the focal point for the Roos, converting 16 from 19 as West took control and secured the 10-goal victory.
Again it was a dominant quarter set up by the defensive end of the Roos, led by 350 game milestone defender Cram and then the connection with Bryant, Ransom and McGregor, ensured Sarah Ritter had ample scoring opportunities to be the difference.
Still covering the loss of Lauren Buddle, North will be better for a hit out with their new-look line-up and the stage is set for an epic first semi final on Sunday at Millicent.
