A review of the 2018-19 Section 1 and 2 Summer netball preliminary finals in the Northern Football Netball League.
Section 1 Preliminary Final – St Mary’s 1 vs Craigieburn 1
St Mary’s won through to the 2018-19 Section 1 Summer netball grand final with a 12-goal win over Craigieburn in the preliminary final at Parade College.
The Burra were on top from the get-go and set up a rematch against the Fitzroy Stars in the premiership decider with an outstanding first quarter that set the tone for the rest of the game.
Opening with eight of the first nine goals, St Mary’s shooters got off to a great start and held their ground under the ring to score.
As the quarter progressed Craigieburn was soon able to make an impact on the scoreboard.
However, some simple errors, like stepping and over passing, didn’t allow the side to make a huge dent into its deficit, with St Mary’s closing out the first quarter with an eight-goal lead.
Craigieburn was under pressure in the ring, as the defensive work by St Mary’s made it impossible for the ball to move cleanly into the circle.
But Craigieburn persisted and capitalised on some passing errors from St Mary’s to make a slight comeback.
St Mary’s goal defence Jacqueline Kitto made a clean intercept late in the quarter, which led to a great chain of play to give St Mary’s the final goal of the half and an 18-10 halftime lead.
Coming onto court for the second half, Craigieburn GK Shannon Tresider forced an early intercept but her team couldn’t convert.
St Mary’s shooters Abbie Barnes and Biljana Cvijetic rebounded well in the third quarter to keep going up for goals.
Down by 10 midway through the quarter, Craigieburn attacked every ball coming their way. But accurate long passing into the circle from St Mary’s proved too hard to stop, with the Burra continually adding to their score.
That was despite the best efforts of Craigieburn defenders Amanda Matthews and Shannon Tresider, who never gave up the fight despite the big difference on the scoreboard.
Ahead by 14 goals heading into the final term, St Mary’s continued to attack in the early stages of the fourth quarter, moving smoothly into the circle with each drive.
Craigieburn continue to work hard and put up their shots in a concerted effort to put some scoreboard pressure on their opponents.
St Mary’s, however, had such a large lead that they were able to comfortably hold out their opponent in the final quarter for a convincing win.
The Burra will be looking to turn the tables on the Fitzroy Stars in the grand final, after the Stars claimed an 18-goal win in last week’s second semi final between the two sides.
Final score: St Mary’s 1 (39) def Craigieburn 1 (27)
Section 2 Preliminary Final – Kilmore 1 vs Craigieburn 3
Kilmore 1 will meet Bundoora 2 in the 2018-19 Section 2 Summer netball grand final after holding on for a gripping two-goal win over Craigieburn 3 in the preliminary final.
A late goal to Kilmore goal attack Ruby Sommerville sealed the win in the final minute, with Kilmore 1 holding on for a 20-18 triumph at Parade College.
Craigieburn gained an early advantage in the match, creating a turnover on the first centre pass, before scoring the first two goals of the game.
Kilmore wasted no time to respond and scored two goals right back.
It was a tough and tight opening term, with both sides able to make several steals throughout the quarter.
On several occasions the sides traded intercepts in consecutive passes as the ball pinballed between the midcourt.
Kilmore centre Karla Page made a particularly note-worthy intercept, which stopped a ball entering Craigieburn’s shooting third and set up her side for a goal.
Trailing by four goals, Craigieburn struggled passing through Kilmore’s in-form defenders Maggie Finnerty and Ella Stoward.
Craigieburn made a solid start to the second quarter and put through the first two goals to cut into Kilmore’s lead.
However, Craigieburn was unable to build on its momentum, and once again struggled to hold the ball and with some wayward passes.
Kilmore’s defence ensured their side maintained a lead heading into half time.
Craigieburn goal attack Phoebe Jackson really showed her skills in the third quarter, scoring from distance to cut her side’s deficit back to two goals.
Kilmore kept their composure in defence to regain possession when Craigieburn threatened to move closer on the scoreboard.
Craigieburn goal keeper Ellanor Carboon took a quick intercept with less than a minute left in the quarter, but Jackson was under pressure from the clock and missed her shot before the buzzer, with Kilmore leading 18-15 heading into the final term.
Craigieburn stepped out onto the court determined and shot the opening two goals of the final quarter, with tension rising as the margin was cut to a single goal.
Craigieburn wing defence Rachel Cullum sent a ball down into her side’s shooting circle, with the chance to even the scores.
But Kilmore’s defenders put plenty of pressure on the shot, before taking possession from the missed shot.
A Kilmore goal gave the Blues some breathing space, before a number of contact calls saw the ball progress to Craigieburn’s circle, where a goal was scored.
With just one goal separating teams in the last minute of the game, a composed goal from Kilmore goal attack Ruby Sommerville sealed the game.
Speaking after the win, Kilmore coach Lisa Mandanici said her side deserved its victory in the preliminary final and would look to improve in the grand final.
“Unforced errors like offsides and pulling out of contacts need to be clean to make them force the errors next week,” Mandanici said.
Final scores: Kilmore 1 (20) def Craigieburn 3 (18)
For a full list results from Friday’s preliminary finals, please visit www.nfnl.org.au/nfnl-netball-fixture-results-ladders
