A review of the 2018-19 Section 1 Summer netball semi finals in the Northern Football Netball League.
Section 1 Second Semi Final – Fitzroy Stars 1 vs St Mary’s 1
Fitzroy Stars 1 booked the first place in the 2018-19 Section 1 Summer netball grand final, with an 18-goal win over St Mary’s 1 in the second semi final.
The top two teams from the summer season took the court at Parade College on Friday night with the grand final in their sights.
Fitzroy Stars had the first centre pass of the game and looked to open the scoring early.
However, a missed shot saw St Mary’s take possession. The Burra took the ball forward and were first on the scoreboard.
The early lead was short-lived, with a number of St Mary’s turnovers resulting in the Stars being able to get on the board.
Fitzroy’s defenders did well to keep St Mary’s goalers from getting good looks at the ring, forcing them to shoot long from distance.
The pressure was tight at both ends of the court, with St Mary’s creeping back into the game and staying within touching distance of their first-placed opponent.
St Mary’s goal shooter Biljana Cvijetic just missed her shot on the siren, with the scores 7-5 in favour of the Stars at the first break.
After a close first quarter, both teams were eager to create an ascendancy when they jumped onto the court in the second term.
St Mary’s once again opened the scoring, with the opening goal going the way of goal attack Abbie Barnes.
However, Fitzroy stayed focused and replied instantly to reclaim a two-goal advantage.
With both defences holding sway, the scores remained tight for much of the opening half of the second quarter.
St Mary’s goal shooter Cvijetic held good position and was often fastest to react to rebound any missed shots.
As the quarter wore on, the Stars began to make great use of their mid-court players. Goal attack Brigitte Linares was a beneficiary of her team’s good play and was able to keep the scoreboard ticking over with good position in the goal circle.
St Mary’s forced a turnover late in quarter, but a risky pass decision allowed the Stars to take an intercept and close out the half on top, with a 16-10 advantage at half time.
The buffer was stretched early in the third term, when the Stars were able to pick off another loose pass to set-up the first goal of the quarter.
St Mary’s goal defence Casey Barnes did her best to try to will her side back into the game. Reading the play well, she grabbed a smart intercept, which eventually resulted in a goal for the Burra.
However, Fitzroy continually showed why it finished the season in first place on the ladder.
The Stars continued to stretch their lead and took a 12-goal advantage into the last term.
Fitzroy goal shooter Natasha Atkinson-Brown was confident in her long shots and made the most of the many opportunities her mid-court players provided for her.
The Stars were able to finish off well to claim an 18-goal win, with the result setting up a week off ahead of next week’s grand final appearance. St Mary’s will face off against Craigieburn in this week’s preliminary final.
Speaking after the game, St Mary’s coach Latoya Wards said her side was looking to bouncing back in the preliminary final.
“We’re looking forward to going into next week, getting our head in the game and just making sure we play controlled netball and enjoy it while we are there,” she said.
Final score: Fitzroy Stars 1 (37) def St Mary’s 1 (19)
Section 1 First Semi Final – Bundoora 1 vs Craigieburn 1
Craigieburn 1 is through to the 2018-19 Section 1 Summer netball preliminary final after beating Bundoora 1 by eight goals in the first semi final.
After finishing the season in third and fourth place, both sides went into the match knowing that a loss would end their season.
It was a fast-starting Craigieburn who held sway for much of the match, racing to an early lead before holding on for a 30-22 win at Parade College against their higher-ranked opponent.
Craigieburn started with the centre pass but found it hard to work the ball forward initially after some tight marking by Bundoora wing defence Maighan Corps, who stuck tight to her opponent and tapped the ball out of court.
Craigieburn managed to settle in, despite the intense pressure of Bundoora goal keeper Hollie Wilson, and opened the scoring.
Quick moves in the Bundoora third got the Comets two quick goals.
However, Craigieburn was the side who was best able to create scoring chances in the first quarter and took an 8-4 advantage into the first break.
Craigieburn started the second term with the centre pass, and a close contact on goal shooter Belinda Vass awarded her side a penalty shot.
Craigieburn was able to keep possession in their third in the early stages of the second term and converted the opening three goals to take a 11-4 advantage.
On one occasion, Craigieburn was too eager in its passing, with Vass unable to reign in a long pass, which dropped out of court. However, Craigieburn’s defence was quick to win back possession, feeding the ball forward for another goal.
The second half of the quarter saw a tighter contest for the ball.
Vass and goal attack Leah Steven teamed up well throughout the first half and were able to often pass over the top of defenders to create scoring opportunities for each other.
By half time Craigieburn had opened its advantage to nine goals, with the scoreboard standing at 17-8.
Bundoora made several changes to its line-up as play resumed after half time in a bid to change the complex of the match.
Craigieburn was able to maintain its stronghold on the game, opening up a 10-goal advantage early in the third term.
Bundoora slowly worked its way back, with goal keeper Wilson creating several turnovers and giving her side opportunities to then drive the ball forward.
The Comets managed to cut their deficit back to eight goals at the end of the third term.
However, any hopes of a last-term comeback were quickly snuffed out, with Craigieburn unwavering in the final quarter – finishing off 30-22 winners.
Craigieburn will match up against St Mary’s in the preliminary final, with the winner to take on the Fitzroy Stars in the grand final.
Final score: Bundoora 1 (22) def by Craigieburn 1 (30)
For a full list results from Friday’s semi finals, please visit www.nfnl.org.au/nfnl-netball-fixture-results-ladders
