Netball
29 July, 2024
Burras finals hopes still alive
Minyip Murtoa's A-grade netballer's finals ambitions are still alive following a sensational nine-goal win over the Southern Mallee Thunder at the Hopetoun Recreation Reserve in round 14 of the Wimmera Football Netball League.
Heading into the clash, both teams were sitting on four wins, one win behind fifth-placed Stawell, with the winner setting themselves up for a potential finals berth.
In a finals-like atmosphere, the first quarter was tough, with the Burras edging out to a four-goal lead at quarter-time.
They extended that margin in the second quarter to lead by nine at half-time. After half-time, the Burras came out firing, scoring another 12 goals to nine to lead by 12 at the main break.
In front of their home fans, the Thunder rallied in the last, but the Burras were too good, running out 55 to 46 winners.
Kirby Knight scored 40 goals for the Burras, and Johanna Griffiths and Tamika Mentha were outstanding in defence and midcourt, respectively.
The Thunder were led by Steph Thomson, who scored 21 goals, and Abby White and Sydney Thorogood were excellent in defence and attack, respectively.
Burras coach Kirby Knight said they have started to gel.
"Over the last couple of weeks, we have started to gel more on the court and have been able to rotate players, and everyone has stepped up over four quarters," Knight said.
"To be able to go out there and execute our brand of netball and play the way we want to play and come away with the win was great.
"We were also pretty lucky to get some nice conditions on the court during our game and didn't have too many elements to contend with."
Knight highlighted Mentha and Griffiths work-rate during the game.
"Johanna was our best player. She started in wing defence, and when Taylor Forster came off the court, we put her in goal defence. She put us in front position and won a lot of contested balls," Knight said.
"She is not the tallest player but has a leap on her which makes her deceiving on the court.
"Tamika played well through the midcourt in the centre and wing attack and was steady all day. She looked after the ball and came out and provided a steady and calm head."
With only three more games to play and a bye, Knight knows they need to keep their consistency going if they want to play finals.
"If we can keep producing what we are, who knows what can happen," Knight said.
"Whilst percentage would be good, we are just focusing on wins, and we have a couple of hard games coming up against Dimboola and the Saints.
"For us, it's about maintaining our consistency."
Demons continue winning streak.
The Horsham Demons notched their eleventh consecutive win with an 18-goal win over Nhill at Horsham City Oval.
It was a tight first quarter, with Nhill bringing the heat early and only trailing by one goal at quarter-time. The Demons scored 18 goals in the second quarter, restricting the Tigers to nine to lead by 10 at the main break.
The Tigers did well to stay within reach of the Demons. Despite being outscored by three goals, they had a solid third quarter.
The Demons came out of the blocks fast in the last quarter, scoring 14 goals to win 55 to 37.
Imogen Worthy scored 41 goals for the Demons, and Georgia Batson was excellent at goal-attack, chipping in with 11 goals herself.
Larnie Hobbs and Ashleigh Batson were the best for the Tigers down back, with Ruby James leading the way in attack with 23 goals.
Roos comfortable winners over the Eagles.
At Anzac Park, a massive last quarter has seen Dimboola reign supreme over the Eagles.
The match was tight early, with the young Eagles keeping up with their more-seasoned opponents. At quarter-time, they trailed by three goals.
They restricted the Roos to six goals in the second quarter in a great defensive effort and only trailed by six at the main break.
The Roos threatened to get away in the third quarter, but the Eagles remained strong, trailing by nine goals at three-quarter time.
A 20-goal final quarter, however, saw Dimboola run away 49 to 26 winners.
Nicole Polycarpou scored 29 goals for the Roos, with Olivia Beugelaar excellent with 19.
Ashlynn McKenzie and Leiah McKenzie were excellent for the Eagles in centre and defence, respectively, with Nicola Clyne shooting 16 goals up forward.
Saints maintain momentum with easy win over the Rats.
The Horsham Saints continued their great recent play with a comfortable 91 to 40 win over Ararat at Alexandra Oval.
Jorja Clode returned for the first time since suffering an injury in round nine and was one of their key players in the win.
Saints coach Jess Cannane said she instils confidence in the attacking lineup.
"You could see she hadn't played for a little bit on a few balls, but you can see the confidence she instils in the attacking lineup," Cannane said.
"Ashlee Grace, Megan Byrne and Abby Hallam all connected well with her, and it was nice to have her back on the court and get back to those big winning margins we saw at the start of the season."
The Saints now head into the bye, with Cannane saying it's a double-edged sword.
"Unfortunately, we roll into the bye, so we will lose some momentum, but at the same time, it's a nice chance to refresh and give Jorja a good chance to recover," Cannane said.
"We will then move into a few tougher games in our last three which will set us up nicely for finals."