WEST Gambier hosts North Gambier tomorrow and knows last weekend’s victory over the undermanned Saints will be for nothing if it does not produce another high quality, four-quarter performance in Round 15 of Western Border netball today.
With only two weeks until finals, the Roos will look to build on their strong performances and the main focus will be full-team defence to ensure the feeds into Caroline Davey are under pressure, giving Maddy Teakle a helping hand to deny the star Tigers’ shooter too much ball.
West Gambier v North Gambier
Ellie Gould is also coming off a particularly strong first half, so Amy Cram will need to find the right mix between helping defend Davey, but also ensuring Gould does not become damaging with her feeding, as well as her long-range shots.
Last weekend the Roos’ mid-court had a fine day out, with Maggie Kipping and Jess Bell doing a great job defensively, while Bell and Carlee Davey worked well to deliver to Lisa McGregor and Tahlia Earl.
Kipping will need to repeat that effort as she looks to stop dominant wing attack Kaitlin Egan, with the Tigers also batting deep in the mid-court with Amanda O’Shaughnessy, Ash Kalantarian and Emily Close all able to take any of the three roles.
Maddie Whaites is coming off a strong couple of weeks and she will need to be at her best as she takes on Earl, who is coming off arguably her best game for the season – finishing with confidence and presenting strongly for four quarters.
And then there is McGregor and Jordyn Adams will know how important it is she not only denies the quality goaler good shooting position, but also prevents her influence higher up the court where she is so often the key link player through the mid-court.
It will take a four-quarter effort for West to go back-to-back with shock victories and it will all come down to reducing the impact of Davey.
In 2018 that just seems like too hard a task and the Tigers should secure a narrow victory.
East Gambier v Millicent
WITH Donna Denton and Hayley Dunn returning to the court after missing last weekend’s loss to West Gambier, Millicent will not only be at full strength, but determined to return to the winner’s list.
That means what is always a challenging task will be even tougher for East Gambier when it hosts the reigning champions today.
The good news for the Bulldogs is they looked as sharp as any side last weekend in their massive win over South Gambier.
They were slick in attack and relentless with defensive pressure, creating their biggest win of the season.
Morgan Amy was outstanding at goal keeper, finding the perfect blend of leaving her player and hunting interceptions up high in the goal third.
She worked hard one-on-one to deny her opponent easy ball, often forcing errors on the feed, especially forcing balls over the baseline.
Bo Creek plays a similar game and she was also a key in bringing the ball down court through the middle third.
Tyne Bosko also played a role in transition and continues to quietly go about her business, denying her opponent easy access to the circle’s edge.
Tarsh McCallum and Sara Smith now look to have a wonderful chemistry and they worked well in tandem to ensure Tenille Gray and Sarah Lock received plenty of good ball in good shooting position.
The Bulldogs used every inch of the attacking goal third to move the ball and not allow the defenders to settle and Gray was dominant with her ability to take the ball strongly, with both Gray and Lock finishing with their usual accuracy.
The Saints will welcome Dunn back to the defensive circle to work alongside either Madi Haggett or Kimmi Varcoe and her ability to organise the back four to ensure the Bulldogs have no easy path into the shooting circle.
Hannah Nitschke and Madi Turner will also be a key in that defensive effort, with Lisa Duldig always working as hard defensively as she does with ball in hand.
The Saints never found their usual precision and speed in attack in last week’s loss and they will no doubt have been ironing out the wrinkles at training this week, with Denton’s leadership certainly helping to ensure things return to a more fluent style.
It was also a quieter game for Demi Verbena at the weekend and that never happens two weeks in a row, so she will be back to her best and lead her team to victory after a strong challenge from East.
Casterton v South Gambier
CASTERTON Sandford hosts South Gambier today in what both clubs view as their last genuine chance for a victory and will decide the Western Border netball wooden spoon for 2018.
The loss of Abbey Shannon is huge for the Cats, especially as she was best on court in the Cat’s Round 10 victory over the Demons.
Casterton Sandford could have another new-look line-up to the court, with injury and player unavailability having caused headaches all season for coach Tracie Layley.
Gaby Tomkins and Ellen Bowman have given Layely two reliable mid courters, who are hard running and play strong defensive as well as offensive games.
Madalene Cleary is the “X-factor” and she has played in all three areas of the court this season, while Tori Perry has been the anchor in the attacking third and will no doubt be the go to shooter this weekend.
When the two teams meet it normally becomes a defensive game, with a raft of errors as both sides strive hard for a rare victory.
Tilah Buckingham looms large and she will be pleased to not have to contend with Shannon.
The Cats were clearly undersized when they tried to take on North and Caroline Davey last weekend, so Buckingham’s height will be problematic if the Demons are patient and accurate with their feeds.
Georgia Hood has come off a strong performance against East and her long-range accuracy will be a key, while Imogen Walker and Lauren Duncan will need to work together to find their shooters in good position.
At the defensive end, Zoe Duncan and Alyssa Boylan had a great game in Round 10, but the ball just kept coming back.
They will look to replicate that performance and hope their team mates can be more careful with ball in hand.
Tori McIntyre should also return from injury this weekend and she too was impressive in the Round 10 loss.
Her work over the ball with her good reach will be critical to try and disrupt the Cats attacking efforts.
It has been a tough season for both line-ups, but given they have the more stable line-up, South should take the points.
