Kongorong v Hatherleigh
Round 12 at Kongorong saw Hatherleigh take on the young Hawks at home in solid conditions.
Eagles Lara MacGregor and Elly Redden were on from the first whistle, working hard in the circle, applying pressure to the Hawks.
The Hawks defensive lineup of Emily Lightbody, Rach Perry and Jasmine McKinnon took a while to adjust to the Eagles quick ball movement, but eventually settled into the quarter and were able to curb some of Hatherleigh’s momentum.
The first quarter saw the Eagles capitalise well thanks to Demi Vanderhorst and Maddie Pulmer’s accuracy, giving them a solid 12-goal lead heading into the first break.
The defensive pressure from both teams lifted in the second term as players all over the court were having a real good crack at the ball.
MacGregor for the Eagles and Evie Sealey for the Hawks battled hard in the circle.
Tegan Telfer and Erin Watson turned it up another gear and the Eagles remained composed and displayed patience and skill through their mid court to push their lead out a further 13 points at half time.
The Hawks went into the third quarter with work to do, with Perry and Lightbody in defence contesting every rebound.
However, their efforts were rarely rewarded as the Hawks struggled with some poor feeding and missed shots.
The Eagles defenders were also finding their groove with Redden and MacGregor taking advantage of the Hawks’ poor ball use and found hands all over the court to capitalising on any missed Hawks’ shots.
The Eagles played possession ball in the third term, leading them to outscore the Hawks 14 to 10.
The game saw McKinnon’s pressure consistently built and well supported by Perry’s down the defensive end for Kongorong, while Redden and MacGregor did not ease up pace at the other end, capitalising on any errors and transitioning the ball down the court with speed.
Despite Kongorong’s efforts winning the last quarter by one, Hatherleigh was the more polished side which ultimately saw them run away with the game.
Mount Burr v Kalangadoo
Mount Burr welcomed back Madi Haggett and was missing Megan Thiele.
The first quarter started evenly with Mozzie goalies Ebony Clark and Lauren Wheeler and Kalangadoo’s Abbey Duncan and Ebony McDiarmid shooting with accuracy and presenting well.
Mount Burr’s Madi Haggett made interceptions to help her sidestay in touch with the Magpies.
Kalangadoo immediately made an impact on the score board in the second term, with Lauren Kain and Lara Munro taking turnovers in the defensive circle.
Jayde Peacock at Centre and Jane Auld for Kalangadoo drove strongly to the circle edge to feed goalies.
Mount Burr’s Laura Schultz (pictured above) continued to work hard and have a good contest with J. Peacock, forcing turnovers and working hard to drive the ball into attack, with the Magpies leading by 14 at the main break.
Kalangadoo again had a strong third quarter with the changes of Auld to Wing Defence and C. Peacock to Wing Attack strengthening their drive into attack.
Duncan and McDiarmid continued to shoot with accuracy even though Haggett and Olivia Dean created turnovers and rebounds off limited missed shots.
Schultz worked tirelessly creating turnovers and putting pressure all over the court.
Kain and Munro made it difficult for Mozzie goalies with Schultz and Ella Easterby having to continually re-offer and have patience.
The final quarter was a defensive affair with both defensive circles creating turnovers and forcing passes into the hands of defensive players.
Haggett continued to make Kalangadoo goalies work hard for possessions.
The Peacock combo continued to feed with accuracy with Duncan creating space and strong positioning to assist McDiarmid to have scoring opportunities close to the post.
Each Kalangadoo player played their role in a great team game making the most of each possession.
Mount Burr showed they have the skill and determination, however, were unable to match the consistency and experience the Kalangadoo team can sustain for the full match.
The final score was Mount Burr 34 defeated by Kalangadoo 61.
Nangwarry v Tantanoola
Both teams started strong, but Nangwarry struggled to convert at their end while Tantanoola was accurate.
Both teams made many errors but started to settle and be more patient by the end of the quarter with the Tigers up by nine at the break.
Emma Gould was a major focal point on the Tigers’ positioning and holding well making it easy for her feeders, while Jami Walker at Goal Attack moved around with patience and finished with high accuracy.
Nangwarry bought ball down well through Cassie Dinnison and Claire Ferguson but found it hard to feed the goalers at times, as defensive pressure from Tantanoola defenders did not make it easy.
The Tigers increased their lead to 30 goals heading into the main break before making a change with Gould and J. Walker swapping positions in the circle.
Nangwarry swapped Chrystal Lock into Goal Keeper, Kayla Gray Goal Defence and Carly Ploenges Wing Defence.
This still did not stop Tantanoola goalers even though Gray got numerous hands to balls and rebounds, Gould continued to shoot at high accuracy, however Lock really made J. Walker work hard.
Casey Walker and Kate Varcoe provided a lot of opportunities for their goalers with some great attacking onto circle and pinpoint feeding.
Hayley Vanderhorst worked hard in goals moving well with Tahlia Wilson, just at times struggled with some tight defence from Tayla Rowe and Bella Poulish.
Tantanoola kept up the hard work and continued to pressure Nangwarry with Rowe taking numerous intercepts and transitioning the ball well down the court into the Tantanoola goalers.
Dinnison continued to provide drive for her team but was not left with a lot of options to pass to as the Tigers’ defence was great.
C. Walker drove hard onto circle and was having a good tussle with Ploenges, but Tantanoola was too strong for the Nangwarry team.
Robe v Port MacDonnell
With both teams matching up well – it was always going to be a close contest.
In the first quarter Robe’s Demi and Halle Carter moved well in the goal circle, shooting with accuracy.
However, Port Macs defenders Alana Berkefeld and Alysha Coon put on lots of pressure and were there for any missed shots.
With both teams making no changes at quarter time – the Demons came out strong with Megan Hein and Kori Collins combing well in Port MacDonnell’s goal circle to shoot accurately.
Robe’s Lucy Perkins and Demon Kate Faint had a good tussle on the wings, with Perkins driving hard and making opportunities for Robe’s attack line.
Port MacDonnell won the second quarter by three gaols, with Robe being in the lead by one at quarter time.
Half time saw a few changes by Robe – with Tori Gluyas coming on into Goal Attack, H. Carter to Wing Defence, Ellen Ramke to Goal Defence and Emma Grant on the bench, while the Demons remained unchanged.
Once again Port MacDonnell came out strong with their goalies combing well.
Robe’s Gluyas made an impact – shooting a few long bombs, while D. Carter shot nine from nine.
The break again saw changes by Robe – with Grant back to Goal Defence and Ramke taking the bench.
This was a very defensive quarter with lots of turnovers by both teams.
Robe’s Annie Regnier stepped up and got her hands to lots of balls.
Robe’s defenders Perkins and Grant rebounded well and made the most of Port Mac’s inaccuracy for the quarter.