IT was another successful campaign for the Western Border Netball Association at the 2018 South Australian Country Championships in Adelaide over the weekend.
The 17 and Under side claimed their fourth successive title in that age group, while the 13 and Under team also completed a four-peat.
A heart-breaking one-goal loss in the semi-final ended the 15 and Under Western Border side’s hopes at another title.
However, the team of young guns will travel to Melbourne this weekend to compete in the Victorian Association Championships after their recent win at the Western Zone competition.
Sharon Adams coached the 17 and Under side, which was forced to fight hard to claim its victory.
They lost Olivia Patzel to a knee injury before the weekend even started and had Jess Earle struck down with illness over the weekend.
However, they soldiered on and despite losing to the Mid South East in the minor rounds, they played a strong finals series and took control early against the South East rivals to claim the title.
Sophie Ellis and Imogen Walker combined well in goals, Ellen Brown, Hannah Nitschke and Emily Close showed great poise and a high work rate in the mid court, while Tyne Bosko, Sharna McKinnon, Jordyn Adams and Riley Buckingham worked overtime to get the job done at the defensive end of the court.
The 15 and Under Western Border side was coached by Donna Denton and all 10 girls played their role in their 10 matches.
Paige Nitschke was the focal point in goals and she combined well with Charlotte Bruhn, Kate Walker and Lucy Denton over the weekend.
The mid court was a versatile and hard working group with Charlotte Turner, Kayleigh Turner, Tara Bryant and Tully McShane all working as hard defensively as they did offensively, while Sarah Ritter and Hannah Nitschke were the mainstays of the defensive end, working the front position well, rebounding strongly and creating plenty of turnover ball.
The championship winning 13 and Under side was coached by Sarah Lock and the young group was versatile and hard working all weekend.
Amryn Bosko and Kori Collins combined well in goals, while Daisy Tunkin, Saige Gibson, Ellie Bouchier, Paige Lucas and Siobhan Adams ran hard in the mid court and were first class at picking up loose balls and putting opposition mid courts under immense pressure.
Alyssa Duncan and Portia McRae emerged as the defensive combination and both girls were strong over the shot, rebounded well and attacked the ball with two hands to enable them to come up with plenty of interceptions.
Makere Cordell was the X-factor for the team, playing the majority of the championships in defence and often taking on much taller opponents but showing great tenacity.
