Netball Reviews – Round 12


Published on Monday, July 16, 2018

Author : Marisa Sopcic

A review of Round 12 netball action in the Northern Football Netball League.

Section 1 Round 12 – South Morang 1 vs Greensborough 1
by Marisa Sopcic

South Morang might have kept the pressure up in the first half, but by the second half there was no stopping the strength of Greensborough in their Round 12 match in Section 1.

Stepping onto court South Morang were confident and their defence line up of Bridget Canals and Olivia Pels kept the ball in the Lions hands and in their attacking third.

With the scores at 3-0 the Lions way, Greensborough’s first goal soon came as they broke through their opponent’s tight defence.

Borough shooters Chantelle and Bianca Power soon began to settle into the game and once they found their range, the scoreboard began to tick over.

They quickly closed the gap to make it 6-all in scores and a step by South Morang gave Borough the turnover that put them in the lead for the first time in the match.

As South Morang began to make some slight errors, Borough used the turnovers to edge further ahead and take a lead into quarter time.

At the beginning of the second quarter it was the defence that was the strong point of both sides, which kept the scoreline close and the turnover counts high.

A rebound by Borough broke South Morang’s play and set them off on the start of a scoring streak.

Falling behind by six goals, the Lions desperately tried to score one last goal in the opening half and GS Mahalia Rank stepped up for with that goal.

With ten seconds left on the clock, Greensborough had the centre pass. The ball was launched long towards Bianca Power, where a contact call was made against South Morang.

Making the penalty shot on the half time whistle, Borough sat in front 21-16 as they headed into the second half.

Scoring goals was tough work for South Morang in the third term, taking almost half the quarter to score their first goal, by which time Greensborough had already made four.

Too many missed opportunities under the ring didn’t allow the Lions to play catch up netball this quarter.

Entering the fourth quarter already nine goals in front, Greensborough took the centre pass straight into the circle and stretched their lead with the opening goal.

The defensive pressure forced upon South Morang by Eilish Flagg and Rebecca McDonagh created many turnovers from intercepts and rebounds, giving Borough the upper hand in the second half to remain in front.

Cementing a win by 17 goals, Greensborough now sit in second place on the ladder.

Final score: Greensborough 1 (53) def South Morang 1 (36)


Section 3 Round 12 – Bundoora 1 vs North Heidelberg 2
by Marisa Sopcic

Sixth-placed North Heidelberg 2 proved to be strong competition against second-placed Bundoora 1, with result coming down to the final quarter.

North Heidelberg took some time to settle into the pace on court. The Bulldogs were too rushed to start the game, throwing away some potential goals scoring opportunities.

Bundoora GA Emily Williams scored the bulk of her team’s goals in the opening quarter and helped her team to a seven-goal lead at quarter time, with the scoreboard reading 12-5.

North Heidelberg came into form in the second quarter and really put the press on its higher-placed opponent.

The substitution of Hayley Hill into GK position was a superb move for the team. Hill brought North Heidelberg back into the match with some fantastic defensive plays and showed how competitive her team could be.

Her well timed intercepts in defence shut down Bundoora’s shooters this quarter.

The Bulldogs inched back to within two goals of Bundoora, who appear almost rattled on court by the sudden lift of North Heidelberg.

Soon enough the game was tied at 16-all with minutes left in the second quarter. With the centre pass, North sent the ball forward to GS Vanessa Seddon who scored her shot to give the Bulldogs the lead for the first time in the game.

With one final centre pass in the quarter, Bundoora make a quick break into its goal circle and converted to level the score at 17-all at half time.

The pace and pressure picked up again in the second half, and it was Bundoora who once again started the half better – scoring multiple goals to open up a lead.

However North Heidelberg was going to let Bundoora get away again and quickly came back within one following successive goals.

It began a pattern of scoring in the term, where Bundoora would score consecutive goals to edge out in front, only for North to quickly fight back and trim the difference back to one goal.

Late in the quarter North missed some chances to keep the pressure on Bundoora and the Comets were able to create a small buffer between the sides by three quarter time.

With four goals the difference heading into the final quarter, North Heidelberg slotted its first two attempts at goal.

The Bulldogs attempt for a third-consecutive goal was missed and Bundoora GK Hollie Wilson was first to the rebound, with the ball swiftly sent down the court for the Comets first score of the quarter.

From there Bundoora was able to keep North Heidelberg at arm’s length. Despite North’s best efforts, the Comets were able to play smart netball to run down the clock and keep their opponents at bay.

Final score: Bundoora 1 (34) def North Heidelberg 2 (30)

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