GLENCOE hosted Hatherleigh for Round 1 of the Mid South East netball on Saturday and showed their intentions from the outset, with a strong win over the Eagles.
The Murphies took the first centre pass and scored through the hands of Chantelle Cocks, but the Eagles responded with a converted centre pass.
High hands of the Hatherleigh defensive line disrupted the vision of the Murphies and forced some miscommunication down the Glencoe attack line.
The Eagles had some early opportunity with the ball but were unable to penetrate through the high defence of the Murphies, with Sarah Edwards able to reap the rewards of the Glencoe pressure with some floating intercepts off Hatherleigh’s defensive transition.
As the Murphies settled into the quarter they were able to accumulate a slim early lead and held the advantage 15-11 at the first break.
Both sides remained unchanged heading into the second quarter and the Murphies were off to a solid start, with tight defence from Edwards and Caitlin Hentschke, which caused turnover ball in the Hatherleigh attack line.
Down the other end the front-line combination of Ashlea Pfitzner and Jenna Paproth began to gel, finding their familiar form from their last pairing in the 2022 season.
As the Hatherleigh defensive circle of Lara MacGregor and Maddie Pulmer began to double-team Cocks, Paproth was able to take on the driving load in the circle and open up the space.
Pfitzner found her straps and was dominant over former teammate Chelsea Owen, who had no answer to her strong drive.
Some impressive long-range shooting from Demi Vanderhorst and Bree Harris kept the Eagles in the quarter, eventually only increasing the deficit by one goal.
Hatherleigh adjusted its attack line at the main break, swapping shooting bibs between Vanderhorst and Harris and injecting the fresh legs of junior Niah Faulkner into wing attack in an attempt to find easier avenue to post.
An unfortunate knee injury to Pulmer early in the quarter saw an extended halt in play.
This forced more movement for the Eagles, with Owen covering goal keeper, Faulkner moving to wing defence and Kalli Nettle returning to the court at wing attack.
The Murphies forged ahead, with Pfitzner continuing to lead the attack line with calm and accurate feeding.
In the Hatherleigh attack end, Vanderhorst and Harris struggled to find space and eventually utilised the tactical sub rule to swap back to their original positions.
Going into the final break the Murphies led the Eagles 39-30.
Heading into the final quarter with a nine-goal deficit, the Eagles made further changes in the hope to peg back the score.
Vanderhorst moved to goal keeper, Owen back to wing defence, Faulkner back to wing attaqck, Harris to goal shooter and Nettle into goal attack.
With all players asked to come off the body the score was blown open by the Murphies.
With space to move freely, the Glencoe side asserted its dominance and class and easily ran over the Eagles in the final quarter.
In the end the more-settled Glencoe outfit was able to outlast Hatherleigh to win 59 to 39.
Best players for the Murphies were Pfitzner and Paproth, while MacGregor and Nettle took the honours for the Eagles.
