IT wasn’t pretty, but Ouyen United took the four points with a nine-goal win over Robinvale Euston on Saturday.
It was an even start, with young Eagles star Georgia Giofrelle starring early with nine goals in the first term.
The Kangas tidied up a few things in the second quarter with coach Kyra Nathan slotting back into centre after a week away.
The third term was when Ouyen pulled away, but it was a case of Robinvale’s shots not falling like they had during the rest of the game.
The Kangas held a nine-goal advantage at the last break before the teams played out an even final quarter.
For Ouyen United, Esther Manley continued her fine form in defence and Ellen Morrish was seemingly everywhere in attack. Morrish’s fitness and competitiveness are elite.
While acknowledging the performance of Robinvale Euston, Nathan felt there was room for improvement in Ouyen’s game.
“We were a bit off our best today, but Robinvale played really well,” noted Nathan. “They play a different style in attack to most, meaning the ball moves to places you don’t expect it to go, which challenged us today. The only thing that changed in the third quarter was that they missed their shots on goal.”
There were a few more errors in attack than normal for the Kangas, but after being in superb form for the best part of two months, a dip was bound to happen against an opponent not challenging for finals.
For the Eagles, Stephanie Gareffa gave it her all defending Morrish and Nathan and Belle Giofrelle connected well with sister Georgia with her feeds into the ring. It’s easy to see that they’ve passed the ball to each other frequently before with their innate understanding of what the other wants or will do in attack.
The win sees Ouyen jump to third position. With games against the seventh-placed Imperials and ninth-placed Red Cliffs to come for Ouyen, you feel like Merbein, Irymple and South Mildura are all fighting for the right to play Ouyen in the elimination final in three weeks.
– Nic Vine
Magpies crunch the numbers
A CONFIDENCE boosting 66-35 win could be an important one for Merbein, who were too good for Imperials at Kenny Park.
The home team never took their foot off the gas, showing full awareness of the percentage which could be just as important as points as they look to secure a top-four finish.
Magpies coach Breigh Hammet said she was “really, really happy” with the performance.
“We spoke last week about how we need to put the four quarters together and I felt that we did that today,” she said.
“At half time we spoke about keeping the foot on the pedal … don’t get complacent, it might come down to the same points but different percentage.”
It was a really solid game across the board for the Magpies, with Hammet applauding the effort of everyone.
Olivia Bowden had one of her better games of the season with some good passes to go along with a number of intercepts that got her team moving in transition.
“Today was a really good team effort, but I think Liv really put that pressure on the feeds which helped the other girls hunt,” Hammet said.
Both of the shooters for Merbein had a solid day, goal shooter Zali McMonnies finishing with 38 goals.
Imperials battled hard but were a fair bit off the pace.
As always, Tracey Sherlock ran hard through the middle and maintained pressure throughout the game, but on the whole they were comprehensively beaten by the Magpies.
– Josh Risely
Double chance in the bag
MILDURA sealed second spot on the ladder and a double chance in the SFNL A Grade finals with a clinical 30-goal home win against Red Cliffs.
The temperature was only 6.7 degrees during the lunchtime clash, but the Dees’ defence and shooters Jess McNamara and Ellie Vincent were running hot at Brian Weightman Oval.
Ava Zadow, Milli Seward and Katelyn Challis were at their best in repelling the Tigers’ attack.
Dees coach Sharon Watson heaped praise on the trio after the decisive win.
“Our defensive pressure was outstanding today,” she said. “Our defenders turned the ball over, time and time again, and their drive bringing it back into attack was great.”
One of the biggest highlights of the Dees’ win was the well-timed double jumps from Zadow and Seward to spoil the shooters, including Tigers ace Jazmin Parker.
“This is something we work on at training to get the timing right and see if we can put that shooter off,” Watson said.
“Any little trick you can pull to make them overthink the shot should be used.
“The girls (Zadow and Seward) also did a good job of blocking out and getting rebounds.”
Asked if she was happy with how the team was tracking just two rounds out from finals, Watson said: “It is nice to know we are cemented into second spot now and getting a double chance.
“One team (Wentworth) has got on top of us this season but we get to test ourselves against them before finals (in round 18).
“We’ll try a few different things against them and see if they work. If they don’t so be it.
“But I’m pleased with the balance of our team. They get on so well and work hard for each other.
“That sort of thing goes a long way to the success of a team.”
The Tigers remain winless for the season.
– Matt Taylor
Roos extend unbeaten run
THE Wentworth A Grade netball juggernaut continued to plough ahead with a 58-28 victory over Irymple at Henshilwood Oval.
It’s another ominous warning to the competition as the Roos were in control from the start against the third-placed Swallows, even while missing defensive star Natalie Vercher.
It’s all building to final round top-two clash with Mildura, before they meet again the following week in the grand final qualifier.
Coach Amanda Edwards said her side’s transition from defence into attack was pleasing.
“Obviously Irymple are on the hunt for a top four spot so we definitely knew they would come out hard, and the last time we played them it was tough as well,” she said, post-game.
“We expected nothing less but I thought we handled it really well, our speed out on court was awesome, and I thought we moved the ball really well.
“We work really hard on that on our defence out of transition and we managed to put it out there today.”
The “phenomenal” Christie Becker was outstanding at goal keeper in the absence of Vercher, grabbing defensive rebounds and interceptions like a ’90s kid collected Pokémon cards.
“She’s such an experienced player and when I give her a bib she just takes it and goes,” Edwards said.
“She’s normally found in the WD or GD but she was so crucial for us in GK today.”
As usual there were no weak links for the defending champions, who are unbeaten since the 2019 grand final.
Courtney Wakefield and Ash Cameron also defended brilliantly, Jess Collihole was impressive through mid court and Amanda Edwards, Liz Rowe and Molly Mangan’s attacking combination was hard to stop. Kelsey Cameron also had a strong second half off the bench.
Credit had to be given to the Swallows for sticking with the Roos in the second half, continuing to hustle despite the margin.
Praise had to be given to the efforts of Irymple defenders Jorja Delcastegne and Lily Droffelaar who had the tough task of curtailing Edwards and Rowe, but each got a number of impressive intercepts themselves.
Shakara Delcastegne in mid court also worked her backside off for the entire contest.
Irymple’s loss has seen them drop from third to fifth with Ouyen United and Merbein winning their games, and with the bye next week the Swallows must win their final game against the Magpies.
– Mitch Rodd
