NETBALL
By ZAIDA GLIBANOVIC
Gippsland League
LIONS go roar.
Moe was too strong for Traralgon under lights in Round 2 of the Gippsland League, winning 58-37 on the road.
Hollie Bugeja, Georgia Moody and fan favourite Emma Sculley starred in the Lions win.
Best for Traralgon were the usual suspects, Stacey Jacobsen, Bronwyn Tebb and Montanna Styles.
Morwell went down to Bairnsdale 40-31 in the upset of the round.
The Tigers had a good start on their home court, scoring 13 goals to seven in the first quarter, but the Redlegs weren’t ready to give up, returning to outscore the Tigers by three goals in the second term.
The third quarter is often dubbed the premiership quarter, and boy, those young women from Bairnsdale impressed, with scores of 31 goals to 25 by the final break.
Gippsland Stars Under 23 defender Alison Dwyer was integral for the Redlegs, alongside Brielle Malady and Olivia Betts.
Once again, Anna Solomon for Morwell was gallant in defeat, and so too were Courtney Garth and Chloe Radford.
Drouin thumped Maffra 65-17 at home.
Maffra’s young juniors were no match for the full force of the Hawks. Drouin seems to be serious in asserting their strength with such a dominant win.
Despite the loss, Matilda Pendergast, Krystal Craft and Maddy Dalton were good for the Eagles.
The Parrots might have had their wings clipped by the Power at Wonthaggi Recreation Reserve.
Wonthaggi had a convincing win over the previous finals contender, winning 43-25.
Alana McRae has been a huge recruit for the Power, named in the best, two weeks in a row.
Teammates Cassidy Bowman and Ellie Bates also played well.
Jayde Hall, superstar Sharni Lambden and Amber Walker were best for the Parrots.
Watch out, Warragul are good.
The Guls’ Suncorp Super netballer, Emma Ryde shot a massive 56 goals from their 33-goal win over Sale at the weekend.
Warragul were certainly not fazed by the travel, coming out of the gates firing after piling on goal after goal.
Renee Cook, Sienna Green and Jamie Rollinson were huge in facilitating scores for the winners, while Sale’s Kristy Glover, Kate Van der Voort and Ashleigh Keefe were notable in the loss.
North Gippsland FNL
NORTH GIPPSLAND opened its 2024 netball season with a huge upset.
Reigning premier, Woodside took a tumble against TTU, losing by six goals away from home.
Though a 40-34 TTU win was a surprise, perhaps having Wildcat premiership stars, Caitlin Ponton and coach, Elizabeth Nicol missing from Round 1 action contributed to a weaker Woodside team.
Sale City’s new mid-court recruit, Isla McCarthy, was sensational in the team’s 65-25 win over Cowwarr.
The Bulldogs really showed their bite, not holding anything back when the Saints showed up at Stephenson Park. Expect Sale City to be a real contender this year.
In the biggest winning margin for the round, the young team at Yarram could not ward off Churchill, who won by 45 goals.
The Cougars were too strong, maintaining possession with a tight defence to win 60-15 at Yarram Recreation Reserve.
Heyfield are building something special.
The Kangaroos got the job done against fellow 2023 finalists, Rosedale.
The young Roos showed their composure to win 39-34 at home.
Heyfield’s Sarah Schellen would have been happy to secure her first win as the new A Grade coach.
Glengarry was glad to have defeated Gormandale 53-39 at Tigerland.
Though the score looks convincing, Gormandale might have celebrated the closer match as a win, as the team only averaged around 31 goals per game for the season last year.
Mid Gippsland FNL
THERE can only be one Magpie in Mid Gippsland.
Yinnar maintained its dominance from last season, winning by 29-goals over last year’s runner-up, Toora to start the new season.
The Magpie match has proven to be a delight for spectators, with Yinnar and Toora having similar squad strength, but perhaps those days are long gone, as coach Skye McDonald leads her Yinnar side into premiership defence.
A strong 70-21 home win for Yinnar has positioned them nicely to go back-to-back.
A struggling Mirboo North put the storm and recruiting issues behind them when they defeated the Demons 53-47 at Boolarra.
Morwell East was among the few teams that started their 2024 season convincingly, with a 45-24 win over home side Foster, while MDU gave Thorpdale a harsh reintroduction into A Grade netball, defeating the travelling Blues 61-25.
Newborough narrowly claimed four points, escaping Fish Creek with a 38-36 victory on the road.
Stony Creek and Tarwin had the bye.
