CHANGE OF FATE, NETBALL TOP 4 DECIDED

21 Aug CHANGE OF FATE, NETBALL TOP 4 DECIDED

Sport can be very unfair at times and that has never been better exemplified than the fate of the Inverleigh A Grade netballers. The Hawks sat in the top five of the GDFNL all season, only to tumble out at the completion of the final round of matches. On the other side of the ledger is perennial finalist Thomson. The Tigers had a disastrous start to the season, but gradually found their feet and snuck into the fourth position vacated by the Hawks. They will tackle Corio in next Sunday’s elimination final, while Winchelsea have earned a day off leaving Werribee Centrals and East Geelong to battle out the qualifying final on Saturday.
Inverleigh headed to Werribee on the weekend knowing a victory over the powerful Centrals was the only certain path to a debut finals appearance. Both team defences were on top early in the game and goals were difficult to come by.
The Centrals had restricted Inverleigh to only 11 first half goals and held a seven goal lead at the long break. With their season on the line, the Hawks produced a huge turnaround in the third term to net nine goals and reduce the margin to just four when the final quarter started. The effort was quickly countered by the experienced defensive unit of Caitlin Hendricksen and Amanda O’Malley in the last term and any chance of a boil over was quickly snuffed out. The Centrals gave up only four goals and netted 13 of their own, to pull away to comfortable 37-24 victory.

Corio needed a final round victory to be assured of a finals berth and many thought that task would be easy. North Geelong did not get the memo and the Devils had to fight all the way to finally win 39-36. The Magpies held sway by a goal at halftime, but the reliable Danielle Sgarbi and Maddie Menzel closed off the avenue to goalers Tyler Lewis and Shae Rowbottom, who had been impressive again for North. Molly Gribble won back control of the centre court and Shayna Brown welcomed the extra supply which allowed her a game high 27 goals, but her job was never easy with Magpie keeper Maddie Vines putting in a superb defensive display.

East Geelong tuned up for their finals clash next week with a heartening 56-14 win over the Belmont Lions. The Eagles were never really troubled through the day, as Shannon Pietsch dominated with 35 goals and Dolly Cottrill controlled the mid court. The Lions worked the ball forward regularly, but Molly Neeson was able to keep the scoring in check, a job made easier with the absence of Lions star Angelique Ross.

The strength of the Thomson shooters was on display again as they managed 79 goals against Bell Post Hill, but the defenders were under constant pressure, conceded 47 at the opposite end. Kaytlyn Stone was a standout again for the Panthers, with another impressive display on her attacking wing. Cheyenne Philpott dropped in 53 goals for Thomson and Caitie Ball was just as impressive as the Bell Post Hill scoring target, with 36 of her own.

Bannockburn finished off their disappointing season with a huge 88-11 win over Geelong West, with young shooters Lucinda Bubb and Ella Wasik holding their form with 49 and 36 goals respectively. Emma and Georgia Maclean battled hard at either end of the court for the Giants, but it was the Tigers defender Rosie Shannahan who once again won the best on court plaudits.

Winchelsea had to work hard in their 70-43 win over Anakie, with the Roos April McLean scoring 39 goals to keep the defence honest. Melody Philpott took advantage of the superb delivery of the Blues mid court to also impress with 53 goals.