GLENCOE 80 D KONGORONG 34
A two-week break gave Glencoe the edge over Kongorong in Round 13 of Mid South East netball on Saturday.
Kongorong was always going to be up against facing the reigning premiers, but both sides put out adjusted lineups due to player unavailability.
With the Buckingham duo out for Kongorong, usual mid-courter Rachel Perry stepped into the defensive circle and Kaylah Farrell filled the shooter position.
Up-and-coming youngster Alice Tentye was also unavailable for the Murphies, giving 17 and Under star Zoe Mulraney a well-deserved A Grade game.
It was the Murphies who came out with a high defensive work rate to make it hard for the young attacking line of the Hawks to transition the ball from their centre pass to post.
Down the attacking end for Glencoe the goalie combination of Jenna Paproth and Chantelle Cocks was working in unison.
It made life hard for the Hawks defenders in Perry and Emily Lightbody to create turnover ball as they needed to cover a clear two avenues to goal.
The Hawks’ attack line eventually settled and worked with patience to get the ball safely through the Murphies’ defence and into the reliable hands of Farrell.
However, the Murphies defensive pressure did not let up and any turnovers were transitioned quickly down court and converted, setting up Glencoe with a 22-10 lead at the first break.
The task only got tougher for Kongorong in the second quarter as the Glencoe side continued to perform.
The centre court battle between Glencoe’s Donna Jaeschke and Kongorong’s Ebony Lawson was entertaining.
Both players ran hard for their respective side, but the experience of Jaeschke gave her the upper hand.
Jaeschke and Mulraney started to combine well in attacking transition and feed with precision into the holding Cocks.
Despite the pressure Lightbody was applying to Cocks, her strength was on full show, converting 18 goals of 21 attempts in the second quarter.
Kongorong’s attack line struggled to transition past Glencoe’s defenders.
Chloe Pfitzner, Sarah Edwards and Jaeschke worked hard together to limit any easy options for Hawks, setting up intercept opportunities for themselves and Chelsea Owen coming out of the circle.
The pressure on the Hawks was clear, with them only adding five goals to their tally compared to 23 for Glencoe.
With the result seeming inevitable, with Glencoe having a 30-goal lead at half time, Kongorong focused on improving its performance in the second half.
Despite some impressive defensive turnovers from Pfitzner to start the quarter, the Hawks were able to get some momentum back.
Evie Sealey lifted her efforts and found more of the ball outside of the circle which allowed Farrell the space to utilise her strength and hold.
Down the defensive end the early work from Lightbody and Perry was starting to pay off, with both getting some hand to ball.
A patch of inaccurate shooting from the Glencoe circle also provided the Hawks defenders with opportunities on the rebound.
In a more-even quarter the Hawks were able to keep Glencoe to 15 goals and convert 11 .
Sensing a good fightback from the Hawks, the Murphies lifted a gear in the final term.
Jaeschke continued to be an option all the way down the court and fed with accuracy into the circle.
Edwards and Owen combined well in the defensive circle to force errors errors from the Hawks feeders and Pfitzner continued her defensive pressure outside the circle.
As the game went on and players started to fatigue there were errors from both sides, but it was the experience and high work rate of the Murphies that allowed them to capitalise and win the final term 20-8.
The final score saw Glencoe claim a big 80-34.
Best players for the Murphies were Pfitzner and Owen and the Hawks Sealey and Lightbody.
