A dominant third term stamped North Heidelberg 1’s authority on the 2023 senior winter netball Section 1 competition, as they went on to defeat North Heidelberg 3 by 24 goals at La Trobe Sports Stadium.
Both sides were yet to taste defeat in the winter season, having won their previous matches in convincing fashion, but it was North 1 who were able to double North 3’s score in the second half to finish 67-43 victors.
It was a relatively close first half between the two sides. The skills of each team were on show throughout the two terms, as North 1 held a narrow five-goal advantage at half time.
But the match would soon break open in the third quarter, as North 1 produced an electrifying 20-8 term, taking complete control of the contest to establish a 17-goal lead at the final break.
North 3 did what they could to reduce the deficit throughout the final term as they looked to re-create the competitiveness that saw stay in touch with their opponents throughout the first half, but North 1 would push their lead out to 29 by the final whistle, which signalled their sixth straight triumph.
The midcourt for North 1 was consistently outstanding across the entire game with their connections proving to be almost unstoppable.
Captain Maddi Wallmeyer’s read of the play in attack was breath-taking, being able to get incredible depth on second phase and take her long drives into the pockets, which was paying off.
Tara Watson’s introduction into the midcourt was the defensive change needed for North 1, with her tagging ability allowing her to shut down whoever she was up against, whilst also getting some clean intercepts no matter what third she was in,
Another stand out for North 1 was Ella Tennant, who got the majority of centre pass receives and had good depth in transition out of defence while picking up some intercepts herself as she acted as a prime feeder into her shooters. She would also contribute on the scoreboard with two goals.
Being a shooter also herself, her injection into wing attack was vital to her side’s win, as she would know where the shooters wanted the ball placed and how to set up certain plays.
It was not all doom and gloom for North 3 though, with circle defenders Alexis Liechke and Georgia Hatzikiriazis using their elevation and body positioning to get themselves in front of their opponents, gaining multiple deflections and intercepts as a result.
And while North 1’s Rebecca Colwell finished with 38 goals, she was kept quiet by her standards in the second term, where she only mustered eight goals.
Both sides used a great variety of passes in their short and sharp plays, knowing when to give off those long feeds into the goal circle which were paying off majority of the time.
They were using their change of direction and speed incredibly well as those movements were opening each player while keeping up the fast tempo of the match, a sign that these two teams will look to feature prominently at the point end of the season.
