EAST Gambier has kept its slim hopes of a Western Border netball top two finish alive with an 18-goal win over West Gambier at Malseed Park on the weekend.
The 44-26 scoreline suggests a defensive stoush and that is exactly what it was.
Both sides succumbed to the defensive efforts of the opposition to make too many ball handling errors.
The Bulldogs good start laid the foundation of the victory, earning a five-goal lead early in the first quarter and then running goal-for-goal, basically until half time.
A startling change from the Roos, moving Olivia McEvoy into the goal shooter role at quarter time, added a new dimension to the West forward line.
The added speed and movement forced a rethink from the Bulldogs defence and that adjustment took time.
Knowing how important victory was, the Bulldogs stepped it up in the second half.
West received a blow when Lisa McGregor was forced from the court halfway through the third quarter with a back injury.
Tahlia Earl returned to the court to cover the loss of her coach as East gained more momentum.
Defensively East was relentless, with many of their turnovers coming in the mid court or defensive third, as well as some key stops off the centre pass, and the lead started to build.
On the back of that defensive effort, the offence also started to flow with Morgan Amy and Brenna McKay proving to be key in bringing the ball through the mid court.
Amy and McKay were assisted by Tarsh McCallum who also drove hard and proved a handful for Carly Trevilyan as she hit the circle hard and delivered with her usual safe hands.
Balls that did make their way into the offensive third for West Gambier then had to find a way past Bo Creek and McKay.
McGregor was missed as much for her on court direction and role as the outlet pass as she was her shooting and despite the best efforts of McEvoy, who was named in her team’s best, scoring became a chore for the fourth ranked Roos.
In fairness, Amy Cram and Nicole Butler kept the Roos in the contest with their ability to also win the ball back, while youngster Hannah Witherow, who entered the clash at quarter time, fitted in seamlessly to the West defensive line and refused to make feeding simple.
When East showed patience, opportunities to find Tenille Gray and Sarah Lock in good shooting position opened up, but there will still too many errors and the Bulldogs will be looking to rectify that for this weekend and a crucial clash with North Gambier.
The good news was just as Creek and McKay were able to create turnovers when needed, Gray and Lock were accurate, making the most of their opportunities to increase the scoreboard pressure – now they need more opportunities.
West would be disappointed given this was a match it had set itself for.
However, it will now focus on this weekend’s clash with Millicent with the hopeful return of McGregor.
East knows its defensive pressure is on point and comparable to the top two sides but errors in transition must be eliminated and that will be the focus this week.
