RED Cliffs were a split-second away from pulling off a thrilling SFNL A Grade netball victory against Imperials on Saturday, but Jazmin Parker’s final shot didn’t make it through the ring before the full-time siren.
The Tigers’ players and bench thought they’d won the game, but the umpires declared that even though Parker drained the shot, time had already lapsed with scores locked at 41-all.
The youngster had a terrific game for the Tigers, scoring 40 of her team’s 41 goals in the draw with Imps, who erased a three-goal deficit with only a few minutes left to play at Quandong Park.
Tigers coach Chantal Allford was “absolutely thrilled” with her players’ strong four-quarter effort, even though they didn’t quite get the job done.
“I was celebrating because I thought we’d won it, but I can’t be disappointed in the girls,” she said. “They played amazingly well.”
Allford said she felt the game was in the bag when Parker nailed four straight goals late in the final quarter to put the Tigers in front, 40-37.
“I thought at that time, ‘we might be on here’. It’s just that little bit of inexperience where we couldn’t quite finish them off. But we’ll work on that,” she said.
Imperials coach Kym Mayne said she was proud of her players’ late fightback.
“The girls really dug deep. To come back and salvage a draw in the dying seconds was a great credit to them,” she said.
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IT was a close fight between Merbein and Ouyen United on Saturday, but tough defensive pressure ended up being the factor that gave the Magpies the round 1 A Grade netball win.
Merbein took an early lead on the court at Blackburn Park, positioning themselves ahead of their rivals for the length of the game.
Ouyen United fought hard to cling on to the Magpies and not let them crawl too far ahead, but a few poor shots and messy passes saw them lose opportunities to score and take the lead.
The game finished with a score of 40-31, with Merbein defenders Sophie Kroehn and Johannah Gray essential to the Magpies’ win.
Merbein goal attack Emily Gray said it felt good to get a win in round 1 against last year’s runners-up.
“Especially coming out here, it is always tough to play them out here and they are always a great side,” she said.
“Even though they have different players here and there, they have always been a strong side, so it was good to get that win.”
The defensive duo applied heavy pressure to Ouyen United shooters Catherine Brown and Julia Woodall, keeping the opposition’s score down.
Brown had made the move to goal shooter this year, stepping out of defence to fill some gaps left by last season’s departures.
The Kangas’ Ellen Morrish and the Magpies’ Stephanie White were powerful in the midcourt, using speed to intercept and feed to their teammates.
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Retired AFLW footballer Courtney Wakefield slotted seamlessly back into a defensive position, while the shooting double act of coach Amanda Edwards and Liz Rowe looked sharp as ever as the Roos’ laser-like passing dissected the Eagles’ defence.
Wakefield, Natalie Vercher and Christie Becker compose arguably the most fearsome defensive trio in the competition and their coach is over the moon with how they are tracking.
“I’m really happy with how we went today, it’s a warm day and we haven’t really been training in this kind of weather but really happy with how it panned out and all the girls’ efforts,” Edwards said post-game.
“Having Courtney back in the mix is a really critical in for us this year. She’s a huge presence down in that defensive end and she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience.”
Despite the lopsided scoreline, the Eagles had some impressive patches of play, with shooter Sarah McMonnies deadly from long range and Taney Romeo and Georgia Giofrelle showing plenty in the passing game.
“You can never underestimate Robinvale Euston, they’ve got a great midcourt and some rally impressive younger players as well and their shooting was really on when shooting from range,” Edwards said.
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SOUTH Mildura got their SFNL A Grade season off to a flying start at Mildura Sporting Precinct with a relatively comfortable 42-34 victory over Irymple.
Trailing by a goal (10-9) at the first break in warm conditions, the Bulldogs split the game open in the second stanza with a 14 goals to six term and followed that up after the big break with a 13-7 effort to have the encounter all but sealed, 36-23, entering the last quarter.
The Swallows pulled off something of a comeback as the clash wound down but it wasn’t enough to overcome the dominance of South Mildura on their home court.
Returning Bulldogs goal shooter Sarah Telfer was best on court with a 33 goals and received solid midcourt support from wing defence Tayla Sellens, while centre Shakara Delcastegne and defender Mackenzie Ryan battled hard for the visitors.
It’s hard to gauge a team so early into a fresh season, but South Mildura coach Sally Moore believes her revamped side is trending in the right direction.
“I feel very proud of the girls,” Moore said. “We have a brand-new team and credit to them.
“That game gave us confidence about where we want to be and how we want to play … games are how we learn and we will take that back into training,” she said.
