As Olympic Park was in the middle of a deluge on Saturday afternoon, Intruders Orange and Amazons walked on water to produce a miracle game of netball in the MGNA B1 competition.
Despite the conditions both teams played out of their skins in the puddles and no one knew what the result would be until the final whistle.
The teams sat in second and third on the ladder, but Amazons entered the game as the overwhelming favourite with the far superior win-loss record.
However, the pink and black team was only successful by five goals in the round 3 meeting and Intruders Orange was determined to even the ledger.
Despite the early loss of Tanya Pettingill due to injury, Intruders Orange came out all guns blazing.
Captain Karen Lock was on fire in the goal shooter position, finding the net nine times, while Maddy Fife also joined the fun.
The onslaught left Amazons stunned and by quarter time the scoreboard read 13-2 Intruders’ way.
Amazons had to respond to the opponents and the slippery conditions and the side shook up its shooting structure with Kristie Pearson, Laura Long and Sarah Durbidge all swapping positions.
The move changed the game and brought Amazons back into the picture with Long connecting the midcourt to the goal circle with clean passing and Tilly Dohnt wreaked havoc with regular intercepts.
Pearson and Durbidge also found their stride under the ring, while the defensive pressure from Tanya Tonkin and Eykolina Benny stepped up at the other end of the court.
These factors allowed Amazons to slowly regain ground on Intruders Orange, which struggled to replicate its early form as the rain set in.
Despite the momentum being behind the pink and black team, the girls in orange still enjoyed a comfortable 10-goal lead at three-quarter time and would have backed themselves to seal a massive win.
But Pearson had other ideas and went on a rampage.
Intruders Orange had no answer for the goal shooter, who was a woman on a mission scoring a game-high 10 goals in the final term.
Suddenly the lead Intruders Orange had worked so hard for had disappeared and the tension among those who were lucky enough to find some shelter from the elements was nail-biting.
Both teams gave it their all during a thrilling finale, but Amazons’ class shone through as the side found the winning goal through Pearson.
Victorious captain Pearson might have been soaked, but the rain could not wipe away her smile after the finding out Amazons escaped with a 38-37 win in a comeback for the ages.
“It was so close we could not keep track of who was in front and we thought it was a tie,” she said.
“We were happy with that after coming back from the first quarter, but to get the win was just fantastic.
“Once we got a feel for how the court was and where everyone was going to be it all clicked.
“It is always on your mind and with so much water around it is really easy to hurt yourself, so I had to pull back from where I might normally be.
“It has been good to get the wins, but no matter how we play we are always support each other and it’s all about having fun.”
