WEST Gambier and East Gambier will put it all on the line when the two battle for supremacy in the cut-throat Western Border Netball Association first-semi final across the border at Island Park tomorrow.
One thing is for sure – if either of these sides want to advance to the preliminary final, they will have to bring their A game on the weekend.
West defeated East in the opening round and showed that when on song, the Roos have the firepower to challenge anyone in the top four.
East has taken the points in the previous two outings and is coming off a tough, finals like loss to North Gambier.
Across the court, the match ups are all pivotal and intriguing.
West goal keeper Maddy Teakle will take on Sarah Lock.
Teakle enters this finals series in arguably the form of her career.
She will play a tight one-on-one game against Lock, as the East shooter loves to create with her long drives out of the circle, before working back to the post.
Teakle will be all too aware of Lock’s long range accuracy but, of course, will also be called upon to help shut down easy ball to Tenille Gray, who is a player that can single-handedly rip a game apart.
Lock will need to meet every ball strongly and finish accurately as Teakle has improved her rebounding game and her work over the shot has seen her generate more misses from opponents.
Amy Cram has a job that could be described as mission impossible – stopping Gray.
The good news for Roos fans is Cram’s smarts means she will have generated some tactics that incorporates her entire back four, to limit supply to the star Bulldogs goaler.
Gray has been working higher up the court this season and Cram will have to decide when to follow and when to stay back and make her passage to the post more difficult.
Cram is also a key voice on court with her direction and encouragement and she is often used numerous times in transition if the attack line struggles to find space.
Maggie Kipping will take on Sara Smith as two of the young guns of the competition go head-to-head.
Both have shown great signs in the second half of the season as their confidence has grown.
Kipping is tenacious and always sacrifices her own game to shut down her opponent, while Smith works the angles and she rarely makes a mistake when delivering to Lock and Gray.
The clash in the centre will be worth the gate entry alone as two of the fittest, quickest and smartest mid courters in the competition go head-to-head – East’s Tarsh McCallum and West’s Jess Bell.
Quiet achiever Tyne Bosko has the job of denying Carlee Davey her trademark long drives and she hope her superior height will force some errors from the usually safe hands of the experienced West wing attack.
And if you think the Gray versus Cram battle is critical, then look no further than Bo Creek taking on Lisa McGregor.
Creek is in the throws of her two best seasons as a circle defender for the Bulldogs and she has the ability to run with McGregor all day, which she will have to do, as McGregor works high up court, never looks rushed and is the general of the Roos forward set up.
She times her moves to perfection and is accurate on the finish, while her combination with shooter Tahlia Earl has been in stellar form in the second half of this season.
Make no mistake, Creek will realise the importance of strong one-on-one defence, but she sill still hunt the intercept and West will need to move the ball with care down court and around the circle’s edge.
The final battle sees in form defender Morgan Amy taking on Earl.
Amy has really improved her footwork and is getting into strong positions to challenge balls into the tall shooters she so often has to mark.
Earl has had a strong second half to 2018 and if her radar is on she will invariably win enough ball to do some serious scoreboard damage.
With tight match-ups all over court, this game will come down to the wire.
