FOR the past four years of Western Border netball, anticipation has always ran high when North Gambier takes on Millicent for the first time and Saturday’s clash at Vansittart Park was no different.
However, for whatever reason the first round clash of every season has ended up one-sided and another season of the Saints dominating looks on the cards.
Millicent 67 d North Gambier 38
The good news for North and the rest of the competition is teams seem to bridge the gap deeper into the year.
While they had a 40-goal win in Round 1, Saints did lack its usual polish and even had some defensive lapses throughout the four quarters.
Safe to say both ends of the court did take it up a gear on the weekend.
Donna Denton and Demi Verbena looked more in sync, while Hannah Nitschke combined well with Madi Turner, Kimmi Varcoe and Hayley Dunn as the quarter stifled the Tigers attack line.
After a relatively even start in the first term, the Saints surged mid-quarter and by the first change, the margin was nine.
Verbena’s pace and the slick ball movement around Millicent’s shooting circle was relentless, which had the Tigers’ defenders on the back foot.
Both Denton and Verbena shot with accuracy, which gave the Saints the upper-hand.
Turner’s pace – which was a factor in Round 1 – also saw the young centre carve her way through the Tigers defence, while strong positioning and accurate passing from Lisa Duldig on the attacking wing saw Millicent again at its best.
North regroup in the second and was more patient and accurate with its delivery into Caroline Davey, who began to find space in the ring.
Midway through that quarter, the Tigers surged back to within three, but again they were pressured into error late and the margin returned to nine goals by half time.
North moved Kaitlin Egan to the defensive wing at the main break, which opened up Ash Kalantarian to take the attacking wing bib, while Millicent shifted Nitschke into the centre and Turner back to wing defence.
The Tigers were unable to make inroads this time, as Verbena continued to find good space and Duldig continued her accurate feeding into the circle.
At the other end, Varcoe was influential, hunting the intercept and creating some critical turnover ball.
The lead grew and by three-quarter-time the match was effectively over.
The last term was more of the same.
Egan and Kalantarian returned to their starting roles, while Paige Nitschke joined the fray on the offensive wing and delivered some good ball into Denton and Verbena.
In the end, it was a convincing display from the reigning premiers, with Verbena dominating and Duldig and Varcoe also putting in strong four-quarter performances.
For North, Amanda O’Shaughnessy ran hard all day to be her side’s best, while Maddie Whaites battled hard against Denton and the precise Saints delivery.
Lisa Fyfe had a quiet opening half, but did start to hunt the intercept and rebound strongly in the second, while Davey continues to shoulder the shooting load.
West Gambier 46 d South Gambier 38
DESPITE both sides missing their tall shooters, West Gambier was able to out-play South Gambier in difficult weather conditions in Round 2 of Western Border netball on Saturday.
Tahlia Earl was at a wedding, which allowed Georgia Monkley to make her A Grade debut for the Roos.
Monkley replaced the holding game of Earl with a moving game, characterised by pace on the drive.
Meanwhile, at the other end, Georgia Hood again brought a moving game to the role normally occupied by Tilah Buckingham.
The opening quarter was anything but slick with both sides making errors.
In the end, some late turnover ball created by the Roos defence saw West enjoy a four-goal buffer at the first change.
The match followed a similar script for the remaining three quarters, with the game never reaching great heights.
West enjoyed a seven-goal half-time lead and a nine-goal three-quarter-time lead, before the Demons fought back to win the last.
However, the result was never in doubt and the final margin of eight was where the game sat for the vast majority of the contest.
Zoe Duncan thrived on her return to the defensive wing and shut Carlee Davey out of the contes, while the Roos attack line relied heavily on Lisa McGregor and Jess Bell.
McGregor and Bell worked overtime to find each other in space and McGregor rebounded what she did not finish to ensure the Roos always enjoyed the better of the scoreboard.
The movement of Hood caused its share of headaches for the West defence and she was particularly outstanding in the final quarter when she hit nine straight.
Imogen Walker and Amy Cram had one of the battles of the day, with Walker attracting more whistle than usual, courtesy of some tight checking from Cram.
And the tight checking of Alyssa Boylan and Brandi Bouchier meant life was not easy for the Roos’ offence, but in the end, the weight of supply ensured the scoreboard favoured the undefeated West line-up.
East Gambier 53 d Casterton Sandford 21
THE 53-21 scoreline was arguably predictable as East Gambier hosted Casterton Sandford in Round 2 of Western Border netball on Saturday.
The Bulldogs were always going to want to rebound strongly from their opening round loss, while the Cats are suffering from some personnel unavailability and new faces, which means it is a line-up that will take a while to settle.
The battle of the day was, as predicted, Cats defender Abbey Shannon going head to head with East goaler Tenille Gray and the duo arguably shared the honours.
While they did not play on each other, when Gray hit the circle, Shannon took the job and it was an intriguing spectacle.
The conditions ensured neither side could play with any pace or surety and some basic errors marred the opening quarter before East, in particular, started to consistently create defensive turnovers as Tarsh McCallum, Tyne Bosko, Bo Creek and Morgan Amy, made access to the Cats circle incredibly difficult.
By the first change the margin was 11 and the Bulldogs increased it at every change to secure the comfortable 32-goal victory.
With Sarah Lock still sidelined, Sara Smith stepped into the shooting role again and she looked more assured in her second outing in the A Grade circle.
The Bulldogs attack line, without Lock and with Lauren Pike on the attacking wing, was not as slick as coaches McCallum and Creek would like, but until the preferred starting seven is available, there will be some inevitable teething problems.
McCallum was dominant through the mid court as she took on Madalene Cleary and her leadership was again pivotal, while Pike provided her usual safe delivery.
At the other end, newcomer Alice Saunders played the Nat Rhook role – her consistency of effort and her reliability on the feed saw her emulate the recently retired Cat.
Eva Chandler grew across the game in goal shooter and when the Cats perfect feeding the tall young shooter the ball, she will start to become a genuine weapon.
Meg Fennell was the general of the offensive end but it is safe to say the Bulldogs won most positions on court.
The Cats plight was not helped by a serious injury to Scarlet Jarrad just before the three-quarter-time break, robbing Casterton Sandford of the tenacious competitor, potentially, for some time.
East also debuted Casey Horrigan, who took the wing attack bib at half time and her understanding with Gray and Smith, having played plenty of junior netball together, paid dividends.
Bosko was again one of her side’s best and McCallum, as always, leads the way for the Bulldogs, while for the Cats, Saunders and Fennell were the most consistent.
