WEST means business in the 2022 Western Border netball competition.
Despite being without state 19 and Under goal shooter Sarah Ritter on Saturday, the Roos bounded to a 68-56 goal win.
Last week it was the Tigers who had the jump in their first quarter against East but West returned the favour this week to open with a 20-10 goal opening quarter.
Claire Hunter stepped seamlessly into the goal shooter position to net 13 from 14 while Lisa McGregor also finished accurately with seven from eight as the Roos made every post a winner in the opening stanza.
Down the other end of the court West’s defence was dominant and kept North to only 12 scoring opportunities for the quarter.
If not for the perfect finishing of Caroline Wakefield, the damage could have been worse.
Not only did circle defenders Jade Ritter and Amy Cram deny the Tigers’ frontline time and space but the entire team refused to concede easy possession.
Zoe Malseed and Tara Bryant in the mid-court worked tirelessly to deny North feeders easy access to the circle’s edge.
The match settled slightly in the second but the Roos still had the better of the Tigers to enjoy a 14-goal half-time lead.
McGregor was the prolific scorer, with 10 from 12.
Wakefield continued to be a strong target for North in the second half and netted 25 from 27.
However, the side could not create enough turnover ball to eat into the deficit and when West shot a perfect 15 from 15 in the final quarter, there was no coming back.
North’s Macey Griffith backed up her strong debut in Round 1 with another stellar performance, while Wakefield was again her side’s best.
Tenielle Human made her A Grade debut for the Tigers and the talented defender certainly did not disgrace herself, especially taking on a slick West frontline.
North will be keen to qualify the athletic circle defender despite her basketball commitments.
The scary thing for opposition is West is still building a new-look mid court.
It seems to be reaping the rewards of having given the likes of Malseed and Mikaela Horrigan plenty of time in the top grade in previous seasons.
The competition now enters a bye for the Easter break, with Round 3 scheduled for April 23.
