ZAIDA GLIBANOVIC
NETBALL
By ZAIDA GLIBANOVIC
GIPPSLAND League finished its home-and-away season at the weekend with outcomes of no surprise.
Moe downed the Hawks.
The Lions won their 17th game in a row, in what would be a record for the club’s A Grade side.
Playing-coach Ramayer Gourley was dominant again, sinking 31 shots to get herself among the best alongside fellow shooter Abby Gregorovich. Emma Sculley was also instrumental for the Lions.
Drouin had no answers to stop the Lions’ train as the final scores read Moe 48 to Hawks 40.
Despite the loss, Drouin’s Ava Gaul, Kym Diston and Lucy McKellar starred.
Moe secured the minor premiership, having lost only one game all year.
Off the back of a stellar season, the Lions finished with 68 points, and will have the first week of the finals series to rest and recover.
The Hawks will have to gear up to play an elimination final against Warragul on Sunday.
Lights out as the Tigers dominate.
Morwell made light work of Wonthaggi last Saturday with a 27-goal victory.
The game started out even as the quarter-time scoreboard read Tigers nine and Power eight.
Wonthaggi’s competitiveness ran out in the second as the Tigers steamrolled their opposition on court, scoring 14 to five.
But it came down to Morwell’s fitness and perseverance in the fourth quarter, which won them the healthy-looking margin, sinking a further 20 shots to a mere seven.
Chelsea Bowman, Annalise O’Halloran and Freya Scapin were good for the away team.
Morwell veterans Tanya Budge and Courtney Garth dominated the play and led the defensive pressure in the game, while Ellie Pollutro had the game of her life.
The final score was Morwell 55 to Power 28.
Morwell will now head to a qualifying final against Leongatha at Wonthaggi on Saturday.
Hoping to put a little fear into Morwell’s eyes with such a big win, the Parrots will turn their focus onto getting through the Tigers in week one of the finals.
The Maroons finished the season on a high.
Traralgon hosted Sale in the last game for the year for both sides, who fell short of finals, but that did not mean this game did not come at any stake.
Pride and hope for the next year were on the line, and the Maroons grabbed it with both hands as they defeated Sale by just three goals.
It was a close affair all game between Traralgon and Sale – almost goal-for-goal. But the Maroons’ last quarter set them above the rest as they shot 12 goals to the Magpies mere eight and ran away with the win.
Traralgon’s young guns Milly Murphy, Amy Harrison and Cassidy Smith were outstanding on the day for the Maroons and undoubtedly gave the club hope for the future of the side.
That future will be led by someone other than Kate French, with the Traralgon A Grade coach stepping down afther this season.
Leongatha was too good for Maffra.
The Parrots came out of the gates firing and gave no sign of letting up as they defeated the Eagles by 28 goals.
Laura Higgins, Lauren Redpath and Nicola Marriott were influential for the Parrots, while Maffra’s Chloe Felsbourg, Matilda Pendergast and Ashleigh Keefe were recognised for their efforts.
Leongatha made a statement with this dominant victory. The final scores read Parrots 56 to Eagles 28.
The Gulls sent the Redlegs packing.
Warragul showed just why they’re playing finals in season 2023, as they thumped Bairnsdale 48 to 28.
The Gulls were too good, like a well-oiled machine with defensive pressure to make any team crumble.
Despite the best efforts of Bairnsdale’s Alison Dwyer, Anna Mooney and Ruby Dunkley they could do little to stop the dominance of Warragul’s Renee Cook, Pippa Cook and Sienna Green.
NORTH Gippsland Football Netball League’s semi-finals were one for the ages.
The Cougars caused a major upset as they went straight through to the Grand Final after beating Sale City.
There must have been a lot of manifesting and belief as the Churchill side, against all odds, took down the minor premiers.
Sale City had all but one grade of netball in the finals on their home deck at Stephenson Park, and the Cougars rolled up to see a sea of red, white and blue.
The crowd was heated as the match began being a goal-for-goal game with momentum shifts galore. Still, it was Churchill’s experienced players in skipper Rachael Loechel and Coach Katrina Hutchinson, who were able to keep composure and possession to settle the pace.
The Bulldogs never gave up as they continued to contest every ball despite trailing the whole game.
Sale City’s goal attack, Charlotte Ronchi, was unstoppable, keeping them in the game with her accuracy in the ring; however, it was simply just not enough.
Down the other end, Lynette (Louie) Patten was just as accurate for the Cougars, and when she wasn’t, there was no one taking a rebound off her. Patten was strong in the win, snatching up every ball that was fed into the ring.
The Cougars impressed when they were able to stop the Bulldogs from getting on any run but when Churchill royalty Stacey Yates came on into goalkeeper position, best believe Sale City’s scoring power all but completely dried up.
The final scores read Churchill 47 to Sale City 40.
Sale City will now take on Woodside in the preliminary final next Saturday, which has been relocated to Glengarry.
Woodside are in a league of their own.
The Wildcats sent Heyfield home after defeating the Roos 64 to 34.
We know the Wildcats are good, but just how good are they to win a semi-final like it was a piece of cake?
The Roos couldn’t stop the scoring force that is playing coach Libby Nicole, who received silver service delivery from her midcourters and goal attack.
The Wildcats had doubled the Roos’ score in the first quarter, sinking 16 to their eight to go on to dominate the play entirely for the rest of the match.
After an impressive home and away season, Heyfield was sent home from finals after straight-set losses.
A very young side, the Roos will take it as a learning experience to come back bigger and better next year.
Woodside, who is arguably the major contender to the flag, will take on Sale City in the preliminary final.
The last time these two sides faced was one of the best netball matches all year, with no winning result as the two sides drew at 47 all. With stakes so high, expect to see a battle like no other this Saturday.
As for the Cougars, they’ll be eagerly awaiting who they’ll face off against come Grand Final day.
MID GIPPSLAND’S Elimination finals began on Saturday, August 26, at Mirboo North as Morwell East sent Fish Creek home.
The Hawks were just the better side on the day despite a very fair challenge from the Kangaroos.
Danni Dunn, in goal attack, impressed, shooting 28 goals. Playing coach Maddison Burney had a day out, directing play and commanding the defence with young gun Sienna Blair.
Best on Court went to Innika Hodgson for her down-the-court presence in the centre and her excellent delivery into the ring as a wing attack.
Quite the upset occurred when Tarwin took down Boolarra on the Sunday elimination final at Fish Creek.
Boolarra have been the better side for the better part of the year and would have come into the match quite confident in their ability.
But, the Sharks had a few tricks up their sleeves as they put Boolarra on the back foot.
Brooke Anderson from Tarwin was amazing for the Sharks. Her delivery into goal attack, Ellie Bates, made for some smooth court transitions and quick goals that ultimately sent the Demons home.
Yinnar and Toora will battle it out this upcoming Saturday, September 2, to see which one of the Magpie’s side will go to the Grand Final. On Sunday, Morwell East and Tarwin will go head-to-head for a spot in a preliminary final.
