Kowree Naracoorte Tatiara Netball Association
The 2022 Netball SA Country Championships were held in Adelaide over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend at Priceline Stadium.
The Mid South East, Western Border and Kowree Naracoorte Tatiara Netball Associations were all represented and fought hard at the event which brought the state’s regional netball community together.
It was an unforgettable weekend for the KNTNA Knights, taking out the main prize at the end of the carnival with the senior side defeating regional rivals Mid South East by 13 goals in the decider.
Having defeated Roxby Downs Netball Association by 46 goals in game one, the Knights were already set for game two with another win over Yorke Peninsula by 14 goals in a whitewash while game three was a close one against the neighbouring Mid South Eastern side.
After a greatly entertaining match, the KNTNA claimed the win by a slender five goals.
Another thriller followed against North Eastern where the Knights came away victors by two goals.
An 18-goal win over Great Southern Netball and a three-goal thriller against Eastern Eyre ensured KNT flew into the finals undefeated.
This booked the Knights in the semi-final alongside Great Southern where the game went down to the wire.
Only one goal split the teams at the final whistle, but KNTNA side emerged victorious by the barest of margins to reach the big dance.
The grand final was held on Sunday against arch-rival MSENA and there was a different vibe around the court.
But the Knights side stayed strong to claim the win and enjoy the silverware around their necks.
The association’s Under 17’s also had good success finishing the weekend fifth on the ladder.
Across a total of 11 minor-round games KNTNA won seven, lost three and drew one.
The Under 15’s made it through to the Division 1 quarter final, but went down by two goals in a thriller while the Under 13’s finished seventh on the table with four wins and six losses.
All in all it was a successful weekend for the Kowree Naracoorte Tatiara Netball Association.
Mid South Eastern
Netball Association
In the seniors it was the Mid South Eastern side that made the most of the carnival, going all the way to the grand finale.
In the opening game Mid South Eastern defeated Great Flinders in a tight contest by three goals and best player awards went to Demi Carter and Laura Schultz.
The side continued its momentum in game two with a five-goal win over Whyalla, where Halle Carter and Annie Hunter performed well.
The winning form for the Mid South East ended at the hands of the Kowree Naracoorte Tatiara side, with the team battling in a tight contest going down by five goals with Laura Schultz and Madi Haggett starring.
It was a whitewash in game four with the Mid South East securing a comfortable win by 35 goals thanks to Demi Vanderhorst and Halle Carter.
But Yorke Peninsula provided a scare in the final minor round game where the Mid South East came out on top by just four goals thanks to Ellen Ramke and Emma Gould.
The preparation for the Mid South East was good leading up to the finals with a bye in game six and Hunter and Halle Carter combined well to give their team a hard-fought six-goal win over North Eastern in the semi-final.
It completed a strong campaign for the Mid South East with the loss to the Knights the only blemish.
A semi-final date with the North Eastern Netball Association awaited and a strong game from Hunter in the mid court and Carter’s speed and accuracy in the goal circle helped MSENA gain five-goal lead in the first half.
This set them up for a tough 23-17 win to have another crack at the KNT side in the grand final.
The KNT team started strongly and pushed out to a four-goal lead, while the Mid South East girls struggled to settle with limited rebounding opportunities.
The Knights continued to apply pressure all over the court forcing MSENA into errors and limiting opportunities to score, eventually running out winners with a 13-goal lead.
Gould and Hunter were named as Mid South East representatives in the Senior Country Championships team of the year.
MSENA was also represented in the minor grades with the Under 17’s winning nine out of its 11 clashes during a great weekend.
But they could not save their best for the quarter final where Hills got the better of them winning 25-13.
The Under 15’s did not start off well, but did manage to score a couple of wins during the carnival and would be happy with their efforts
In Pool B the Mid South Eastern Under 13’s won two out of five matches on Saturday before securing a pair of Sunday triumphs in a great experience they will get a lot out of it.
Western Border
Netball Association
The Western Border Netball Association travelled to Adelaide slightly undermanned without a seniors side to defend its crown, but this did not stop plenty of junior sides from scoring some silverware.
The Under 17 side started well on the court to start the weekend with a win in game one against the Northern Netball Association by 28 goals, then backing up the performance with another dominant 39-goal win over St Southern Hills.
Game three was a successful goal feast over Adelaide Plains, while the winning form continued in game four with a 14-goal triumph over Port Pirie.
Western Border held a strong presence in game five alongside Yorke Peninsula with a comfortable 23-goal win followed up with another impressive 20-goal win against Port Augusta on Saturday.
Western Border returned to the courts again on Sunday and played the Riverland in a close match where they eventually wound the game up, winning by five goal.
Some two hours later they came up alongside the Hills and scored an 11-goal win before following up against Eastern Eyre with an 18-goal victory.
The good form carried into game 10 with a 12-goal win over the KNTNA Knights, while a superior win over Mid Hills sealed a grand final ticket.
The stage was set for the big final against the Riverland Netball Association and the Western Border girls showed why they are such a strong unit by collecting the title in style with a 29-14 win.
Both Western Border Under 15 teams had a good weekend with the number one and two sides both making it all the way through to the quarter finals.
However, only WBNA 1 advanced to the semi’s where they moved forard into the title decider.
But it was not to be, as the side fell just short 31-28 in a classic decider against a strong Port Augusta side.
Western Border had two Under 13’s sides compete in their division with the number one and two sides making the quarter finals.
The top team held nerve winning the semi, but went down in a nail-biter by four goals in the grand final against Mid Hills.
