CARDROSS has opened their MFNL season 2025 A Grade account with something of a shock 13-goal win over last year’s grand finalists Werrimull at the Lions’ Den on Saturday.
The game was often one-way traffic from the first whistle, with the Lions too hot for the Magpies.
Bronte Burgess, Tamara Hamence and Gypsy Gange were Cardy’s standouts while Anna Thomson, Mary Kelly and Cassie Morris put in solid performances for the visitors.
Meanwhile, Nangiloc’s miserable start to their A Grade netball title defence continued at the Mildura Senior College courts when they were trounced by Bambill, 40-21.
The Demons lost each quarter to the Saints and, after a first-round five-goal defeat to Gol Gol, their hopes of a premiership repeat look shaky to say the least.
Coach, Ginine Sluiter, is one of only two players from that pennant winning team back on the court this season, and a lack of cohesion coupled with little firepower is a major cause for concern.
The former can be fixed on the practice court over time, but the latter is not so easy to remedy – particularly when the quarterly returns at the weekend were five, five, five and six goals.
Bambill, last year’s minor premiers, are cruising at the top of the table – the only undefeated side after two rounds.
Tessa Houkamau, veteran Breigh Hammet and Tayla Davison-Armao were named the Saints’ best, but they had winners all over the court.
The top Demons were harder to find with Sluiter, Holly Mills and Amber King getting the nod.
The encounter between Meringur and Gol Gol at Lake Cullulleraine was the closest of the day, but that’s not saying much as the hosts led all day and won by a comfortable nine goals.
The Kangaroos were led by Emily Birch, Bella Connell and Susan Wilson and levelled their early season record at 1-1 after a first-round defeat at the same venue to Cardross.
The Hawks, also at 1-1 with three other teams, received solid performances from Ally Stanborough, Jarae Johnson and Abbey Curran.
