NETBALL

By BLAKE METCALF-HOLT

 

Gippsland League

ROUND 10 of Gippsland netball offered many thrills and close encounters.

Despite coming up against a winless Sale, Moe received a good contest on Saturday afternoon.

The Lions won 50-45 to move three games clear of second-placed Drouin.

Moe held an early lead that stood almost all of the way, but Sale refused to give in and remained in the hunt right to the end.

Moe were missing a number of key players including attackers Georgia Moody (191 goals this season) and her sister Alex, as well as goal keeper Emma Sculley.

Ramayer Gourley therefore had to take on much more of the scoring load, and dropped 43 goals, putting her two goals above Warragul’s Emma Ryde for the league-leading goal scorer.

Kate Van der Voort continued a stellar year for Sale, adding 36 goals to her season total of 259.

Wonthaggi travelled to Morwell and subsequently defeated the Tigers in a thrilling 51-48 contest.

Morwell found themselves ahead 27-24 by halftime, before Wonthaggi tightened defensively and outscored the Tigers by six goals in the backend of the match.

Chelsea Bowman and Courtney Brann lit a fire underneath their team, scoring 27 and 24 goals respectively for the Power. Morwell saw heavy contribution from Tiffany Boatman and Isabella Bettridge.

Power captain Alan McRae was best-on-court, followed by Brann and Hannah McRae through the midcourt, while Rachel Tatterson, Chloe Radford, and Anna Solomon led the charge for the Tigers.

Traralgon managed a narrow three-goal victory over Bairnsdale to sit in the top four.

The visiting Redlegs started feistily, coming out to a 16-9 lead at quarter time, before the Maroons buckled down to get it to a one-goal margin by the half.

The rest of the way was a back-and-forth affair with respective shooters Cassidy Smith (Traralgon) and Olivia Betts (Bairnsdale) converting time-after-time. However, the Maroons held strong to win 43-40 that pushes Bairnsdale outside of the finals positions.

Leongatha maintained a steady climb back into finals contention, dismantling Maffra to record their fourth win for the year, winning 84-40.

The winless Eagles managed just six goals in two of the first three quarters and were ravaged by a determined Parrots on their home deck.

Mikaeli Hilliar was one of those separators for Leongatha with 48 goals, alongside Kate Browne’s 36.

Keisha Jackson converted 28 goals with Chloe Felsbourg 11 for Maffra, helped by young gun Sienna Wynd collecting best-on-court honours for the Eagles.

In the battle of second versus third, Drouin defeated Warragul, 50-48 on Sunday.

It was an almighty start from Drouin, who jumped out to a 25-14 lead, before the Guls stormed back and outscored their opponents by eight goals to bring it within the margin spectators would have been expecting.

The combination of Charlize Traumanis with 32 goals and Stacie Gardiner with 18 was all too much for Warragul, who continue to be held up by the efforts of Emma Ryde, who shot 40 goals on this occasion.

The Guls still sit a game clear in third-place.

 

Mid Gippsland FNL

THE midway point of the Mid Gippsland netball season produced results that once again leave future predictions still in the air as the ladder still remains compact from first to eighth.

Newborough returned to the top six after defeating evenly-placed Boolarra at the weekend, 62-49.

A balanced scoring load for the Bulldogs saw Demi Caldow with 27 goals, Caitlin Demczuk (18) and Paige Dabb shoot 17.

The visiting Boolarra were led by Maddy Dark’s 32 goals and Tessa Jewell with 17.

The loss for the Demons moved them back a step to seventh via percentage outside of a finals position.

Morwell East moved into fourth position on the ladder after a 49-42 victory over Mirboo North at Walter Tuck Reserve.

A significant game with both sides sitting on equal wins before the round, Mirboo North jumped out to an early 10-5 start while the Hawks worked themselves into the game after a three week rest before surging with the last five goals to tie it up at quarter time.

Morwell East saw true separation in the second term, scoring 20 goals to the Tigers’ 10 to lead 30-20 at halftime.

The Hawks kept that pace and distance the rest of the way home, and were led most significantly by Tayla Watson with 30 goals and Sukie Hodgson with 19.

Mirboo North had all of their score produced by Rachael Vansittart and Chloe Hogg with 21 goals each.

Yinnar laid the smackdown on Tarwin 71-18 to sit atop the ladder and give them their fourth win in a row.

Skye McDonald splurged for 49 goals in the victory, along with Clair Thorburn notching 22 on the road.

Foster defeated Toora 53-45 to place themselves top five in the league.

Both sides traded goals through the first three quarters, with the visiting Tigers holding a relatively small four-goal lead before pouncing off the back off a Ella Rendell scoring seven goals consecutively, stretching out to a comfortable nine-goal lead to secure the win.

Rendell had 27 goals for the day alongside Ebony Best with 26 to outlast 33 goals from Toora’s Hannah Weston.

Fish Creek secured a substantial win over MDU, 44-36 in the standalone match played on the King’s Birthday weekend.

The Kangaroos remain above the rest of the rest of the second-tier sides to sit third on the ladder.

 

North Gippsland FNL

IN Round 9 of North Gippsland netball, matchups swayed between blowouts and closer results.

Churchill secured their fourth win in a row, defeating Rosedale handily, 50-41 at Rosedale.

The Cougars remain in the race for the minor premiership with a win-loss record of 7-1, while the Blues have dropped to seventh at 3-5.

Sale City continued their reign with a 52-34 victory over Traralgon Tyers United at Stephenson Park to remain undefeated and atop the ladder.

Heyfield steered past Yallourn Yallourn North 42-21 at George Bates Reserve to keep themselves in second position, whilst the Jets sit far behind at third-bottom on the ladder.

At home, Woodside smacked the winless Yarram in a 64-20 contest that sits the Wildcats at fourth on the ladder.

Cowwarr collected their third win for the year against Gormandale in a 44-40 affair at Cowwarr.

Glengarry had the bye.