Northern Netball League (NNL) reporter Lauren Bordin looks back over some of the netball action from Round 15.
EAGLES KEEP FINALS HOPES ALIVE
Whittlesea has kept its finals chances alive in Section 1, defeating third-placed Bundoora by 10 goals in Round 14 of the NNL.
Defensive pressure from the Comets forced the Eagles to hesitate with the ball giving Bundoora the upper hand early.
But it didn’t take long for Whittlesea to get into its rhythm, racing the ball down to its goals, with shooter Danielle Mair being on target from the start.
Whilst Bundoora still continued to be a strong defensive team, it was in attack where the ball was lost for the Comets.
Turnovers allowed Whittlesea to take the ball down the court and help it to create a nine-goal lead at half-time.
Both teams fed the ball well into its shooters and with both teams shooting effectively, relying on rebounds as an opportunity for turn the ball over wasn’t an option.
It was purely the amount of ball being fed in from midfielders that impacted the score, with Whittlesea outscoring the Comets by two goals in the third term.
Bundoora still had drive in the last quarter, although started the term trailing by nine goals.
The Comets had plenty of possession but Loren Weekes was again solid for the Eagles in goal keeper, creating turnovers to ensure Bundoora’s possession didn’t result in goals.
The win, the Eagles’ seventh for the year, keeps them breathing down North Heidelberg’s neck in the race for fourth place.
Final score: Whittlesea 1 (42) def Bundoora Comets 1 (32)
NO SEPARATING NORTH AND STARS
Missed opportunities in the final quarter cost Fitzroy a win in its 20-all draw with North Heidelberg in Section 5 of the NNL.
The Stars’ centre Mary Pou saved the ball from going out of court in order to enable her team to break centre and get the opening goal of the game.
Fitzroy was also helped out by its scoring accuracy, as opposed to North Heidelberg who had plenty of scoring opportunities it couldn’t convert.
It was good passing that brought these chances to North, as its clean passes relayed plenty of the ball into to its circle.
In the second quarter a particular period of play saw North Heidelberg have plenty of opportunities to add a goal and help reduce its quarter-time deficit.
But it was the Stars that scored when a turnover occurred as they made the most of the ball in attack, not needing several opportunities like North Heidelberg.
However, after this period both teams traded goals with the margin remaining in Fitzroy’s favour at half-time, 15-10.
North began to take control of the match in the third quarter, shooting seven unanswered goals to create its first lead of the game.
It held the momentum in the match as it entered the final quarter with a one-goal advantage.
Multiple minor mistakes in the last term kept Fitzroy from taking back the lead.
Penalties against North Heidelberg for stepping or held ball weren’t capitalised on by the Stars, and like North Heidelberg in the second quarter, the ball spent plenty of time in Fitzroy’s circle for no score.
This meant the Stars had to work hard to score the last three goals of the game to again draw level the scoreboard in a match in which saw them lead for the majority of time.
The result keeps North Heidelberg in the top two of the Section 5 ladder, with Fitzroy Stars in a tight battle to hold onto fourth place.
Final score: Fitzroy Stars 2 (20) drew with North Heidelberg 3 (20)
