North Gambier 65 d East Gambier 56
IT loomed as the match of the Western Border netball round and it did not disappoint with the opening quarter showcasing some fast paced, precision netball from both East Gambier and North Gambier.
The Tigers were scoring quickly as Kaitlin Egan used her explosive drives and strong positioning to find good space on the circle’s edge and then delivered the ball, quickly and with precision, to Caroline Davey, who continues to cause headaches for opposition defenders.
Missing Morgan Amy, the Bulldogs called up tenacious A Reserve defender Kate Zvirgzdins and after a somewhat shaky opening quarter, the tight checking defender started to find her rhythm and was able to get her hands to some of the North feeds to Davey.
East was more patient and measured in its approach to the circle, wary of the willingness of North defenders Jordyn Adams and Maddie Whaites to come off the player and create interceptions.
Tarsh McCallum and Sara Smith worked well together to ensure good feeding position and Sarah Lock and Tenille Gray were combining well to create space for each other and then finish accurately.
It was the final few minutes of the quarter that saw the Tigers earn a buffer and go to the first change four goal clear.
It was a similar story in the second, as the match was goal for goal and relatively error-free but again it was the Tigers who secured some late turnover ball and with Egan and Davey connecting so well, the scoreboard was eight goals in the favour of the Tigers.
East lifted in the third, bringing a better defensive mindset to the contest, as Bo Creek and Zvirgzdins started to find some chemistry and McCallum and Tyne Bosko started to hold the ball up in the middle third to ensure North was not able to play such a fluent, fast paced brand of netball.
Davey was still a huge factor, but the Bulldogs circle defenders were able to disrupt the feeds from time-to-time and forced a few balls over the baseline and with Lock and Gray continuing to create scoring opportunities for each other, the Bulldogs stayed in touch but still faced an 11-goal three-quarter-time deficit.
The last quarter was definitely the Bulldogs’ best as they worked their way back, winning the quarter to eventually go down by nine goals.
McCallum and Bosko started to not just slow the Tigers momentum through the middle but actually create some turnover ball, while Sara Smith, who had run hard all day to continually provide her team mates with an option, continued to be the vital link player, delivering some great balls to Gray and Lock.
Egan and Davey continue to provide headaches for opposition teams and the transition play of the Tigers is starting to resemble the speed of ball we expect from Millicent but the Bulldogs did still show enough, with Gray working hard up the court as well as being as damaging as always at the post and Smith showing good work rate and composure with ball in hand.
West Gambier 59 d Casterton Sandford 49
CASTERTON Sandford was left to rue a sluggish start in its clash with West Gambier, eventually going down by 10 goals in Round 11 of Western Border netball on Saturday.
The Roos came out of the blocks firing and had six goals before the Cats scored and while Casterton Sandford settled and fought back, the margin was still four at the first change.
West’s transition play was impressive with Jess Bell and Carlee Davey finding great connection with Lisa McGregor and Tahlia Earl.
At the other end, it took a little longer for the revamped attack line to gel for the Cats with Madalene Cleary returning to the shooting circle this weekend alongside Tori Perry and Isobel Cleary taking the attacking wing and Gaby Tomkins into the middle.
The second quarter was a genuine arm-wrestle as both sides looked to play with patience and the defensive lines both ramped up the pressure a little more.
The Cats still struggled a little to slow the speed of ball from the Roos off the centre pass but made life a little tougher off the turnover, making West work hard to move the ball through the centre third, opening up some turnover opportunities at the back for Sharna Fidler and Abbey Shannon.
The Cats won the second quarter by a goal and it was game-on heading into the second half.
West was the side that looked more composed, though, in the third, as the Roos created a few more turnover balls as they forced the Cats into error and with McGregor, in particular, finding good space and finishing accurately, the gap widened on the scoreboard and at the final change it was a seven goal game.
Looking for an edge in the final quarter, Casterton Sandford injected Mereana Crawford into the game at goal shooter to change the look of the circle and her holding game gave Maddy Teakle and Amy Cram something else to think about.
Crawford also opened up more opportunities for Madalene Cleary, but in the end the composure of Bell and Davey with ball in hand and the strong finishing of McGregor, the Roos were able to enjoy a 10-goal victory.
Millicent 85 d South Gambier 48
MILLICENT built its 37-goal victory over South Gambier on two elements of the game – precise, quick ball movement and a willingness to hunt the interception at the defensive end – in Round 11 of Western Border netball on Saturday.
Hayley Dunn was in stellar form and took a number of balls high in the goal third as the Demons looked for a way through the relentless Saints defensive quartet.
And while the misses were few and far between from the Demons shooting duo, Dunn pulled in every rebounding opportunity.
At the other end, Demi Verbena, Donna Denton, Lisa Duldig and Paige Nitschke put on a clinic in the first half.
They worked the angles and moved the ball with great speed as they carved their way through the Demons defence and continued to hit the scoreboard.
South circle defenders Alyssa Boylan and Zoe Duncan had the tough task of limiting the reigning champs’ scoring opportunities and while the Saints still piled on 85 goals, the duo never stopped working hard and managed a number of touches.
But in the end, Millicent won too much ball.
Kimmi Varcoe and Madi Turner also created their share of turnovers.
South would be happy with the accuracy of Georgia Hood and Tilah Buckingham, with Hood, in particular, proving somewhat of a headache at times for the Saints’ defender with her well timed drives across the top of the circle and accurate long-range finishing.
Hood converted 28-from-35 and was clearly the Demons’ best, along with the under siege circle defenders.
Millicent also enjoyed accurate finishing and that did not change when Paige Nitschke moved from the attacking wing to the shooting circle in the second half.
The young Saint was dynamic and sure with ball in hand in the first half and then netted an impressive 22-from-27 in the second half.
Verbena’s first quarter was something to behold as she converted at 100pc accuracy, using her pace to great effect and taking shots from long range as well as working closer opportunities with Denton.
Turner continues to impress and she was tight-marking when on the defensive wing in the first half and then ran hard to ensure the ball movement remained at top speed.
In the end, the Demons would have been happy with scoring 48 goals against the reigning champs but still need to find a way to work harder all over the court defensively to limit opposition scoring.
The Saints, on the other hand, keep marching on, while still trialling a variety of combinations and getting plenty of game time into their young players.
Hannah Nitschke was battling a foot injury on Saturday, sustained in the 17 and Under clash so was unable to hit the court at the weekend.
