WENTWORTH showed they are the team to beat again this season after a 75-17 romp against SFNL A Grade finals aspirants South Mildura on Saturday.
The defending premiers, who haven’t lost a game since the 2019 grand final, were ultra-impressive across all lines against the Bulldogs, who were coming off an opening-round win against Irymple.
One of the most impressive features of the Roos’ home win was that their defence held the Bulldogs to just nine goals in the first half.
Natalie Vercher and Courtney Wakefield continually blunted the visitors’ attacking forays, with the pair receiving a special mention post-game from playing coach Amanda Edwards.
“The girls did an incredible job in shutting down South,” Edwards said.
“Their on-court presence and chopping off passes was really good.”
Another highlight was the Roos’ fast play in transition, which cut the Bulldogs to shreds.
It also helped get Edwards into strong scoring positions, where she ended up draining 58 of the team’s 75 goals.
In an ominous warning for the rest of the competition, Edwards said her side was only warming up.
“I’m happy with where we’re at, but we still have things to improve on,” she said.
For the Bulldogs, the best players were wing defence Tayla Sellens and goal keeper Sharne Lane.
– Matt Taylor
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Mildura surge wins day
A POWERFUL third quarter by Mildura drove them ahead to a dominant win over Merbein at Kenny Park.
Scores remained close during the first quarter of the round 2 game, with Mildura’s tall shooter Zara Copley scoring 12 of Mildura’s 14 goals and Merbein goal attack Emily Gray shooting 13 of Merbein’s 15.
In the second quarter Mildura stole back the lead to gain a five-goal margin, but it wasn’t until the third quarter that the Demons found their best feet and fired 22 goals.
The shooting duo of assistant coach Jess McNamara and goal attack Ellie Vincent worked hard and fast for the quarter.
Defenders Milli Seward and Ava Zadow were also able to hold Merbein back, allowing them only nine goals.
In the final quarter Merbein began to claw their way back.
Merbein defenders Sophie Kroehn, whose height made Mildura lob passes hard, and Johannah Gray applied heavy pressure in the final quarter to keep Mildura’s score down, but it was too little too late as the Demons defeated the Pies 59-46.
McNamara said she thought her girls had done fantastic for their first game of the season.
“All of us were extremely nervous coming out but I think we really gel as a team and that showed on the court,” she said.
“I thought our girls played really well.”
McNamara spoke highly of the opposition and their ability on the court.
“I thought Merbein played really well,” she said. “They definitely gave us some competition.
“They were on our tails the whole time.”
McNamara said there were obviously things the team would be improving on, but the girls should be “proud of themselves”.
Best for Merbein were Gray and Kroehn, and for Mildura it was goal keeper Milli Seward and Challis starred.
– Sarah Buchecker
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Irymple comfortable
INJURIES made it a difficult Saturday for Ouyen United as they fell short against Irymple.
Ouyen United had an early one-point lead against Irymple in the first quarter, before a strong second quarter by Irymple established a margin.
Defender Tsharni Burns came off during the second quarter with an injury, followed by centre Ellen Morrish in the third quarter with an ankle injury.
Both were able to make a return to the court, but could Ouyen United were not able to cut Irymple’s lead.
The Swallows comfortably defeated the Kangas 39-29.
Irymple’s Shakara Delcastagne was prolific in centre, while sister Jorja made her presence felt in defence.
Coach Sherrie Geister was happy with the result and in particular one of her younger players, Lily Droffelaar.
“(I’m) happy with the win,” she said.
“We put on our young goal keeper for the last quarter, Lily.
“She’s still in under 17 and it was only her second A Grade quarter.
“She did a good job and stood up in defence.”
Overall, Geister thought that her team executed the game plan well.
“The way we brought the ball out of defence and our defensive unit as a whole worked really well,” she said.
Ouyen United’s best was Burns and Morrish, while Irymple’s best were the Delcastagne sisters.
– Josh Riseley
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Imps use home advantage
IMPERIALS recorded their first win of the season, against a game Robinvale Euston side, on their home court on Saturday.
After a first-round draw with Red Cliffs, Imps proved too strong for an improving Eagles team and emerged solid 39-25 victors.
In the low-scoring encounter, undersized defender Prue Maloney and Meg McManus were resolute in defence for the home side.
After the game, Imperials coach Kym Mayne said she was happy to emerge with the four points after sharing the points at the start the A Grade season.
“The girls felt that was an improved game on last week and, to their credit, there were only two girls on that team that played together last year,” she said.
“It’s now about keeping the wins going and not the other option.
“We’ve got lots to build on and lots of depth.”
Robinvale Euston, while slumping to 0-2, can take some solace from the performance after a 48-goal thumping at the hands of premiers Wentworth last week.
Maria Efstratiou and Ana Filamone were the Eagles’ best.
– Tym Glaser
