EAST GAMBIER V SOUTH GAMBIER


It loomed as a battle of the goal shooters in the round six clash between East Gambier and South Gambier when in the first quarter East’s Malinda Foster netted seven from eight and South’s Ash Widdison converted nine from 11 as nothing separated the two at the first change.


It was a promising start from the Demons but East kicked it up a notch in the second with defensive pressure a key to their success as Bo Creek, Morgan Amy and Sharna McKinnon went to work denying the Demons frontline time and space and suddenly the accuracy of the feeds and the finishing dropped away and by half time the Bulldogs had a seven goal lead.


And while it was built on the ramping up of the defensive pressure, the conversion from Foster and Renee Henke ensured the Bulldogs got maximum bang for their buck, Foster converting 16 from 18 in the first half and Henke shooting nine straight.


South upped the scoring again the third with Widdison again proving a strong target with nine from 10, while Gracie Dalton started to shake off the tight defensive checking of Creek and converted five from six but Foster was again dominant with 14 from 15, including many balls that were delivered direct from the centre pass to the smart East shooter in range.


The 10 goal three quarter time lead was going to be tough for South to overcome but not impossible but East went to another level again, only giving up four goals for the quarter while piling on 12 of their own to secure an 18 goal victory.


The feeding from Tegan Nunan and Casey Horrigan was outstanding, while Creek and Amy created plenty of turnover ball and the accurate finishing from the Bulldogs goalers meant everything counted on the scoreboard.


Ellie Bouchier continues to be the standout for the Demons, while Tully McShane did the job on the defensive wing and also did a mountain of work in transition, while Sophie Wight played wing defence, goal keeper and centre and brought effort and athleticism to every role.


NORTH GAMBIER V WEST GAMBIER


The top of the table clash between North Gambier and West Gambier at Vansittart Park certainly delivered in the opening quarter as both sides used clinical ball movement to keep the scoreboard ticking over and by the first break the visitors had a two goal lead.


The second quarter became all about Sarah Ritter as the West shooter dominated possession and converted 15 from 18 to help the Roos extend their lead to seven at the main break.


North continued to stay in the contest in the third but could not make inroads into the lead and faced a 10 goal three quarter time deficit.


It was a case of one way traffic in the last as West’s defensive pressure started to take a toll on the turnover front and Ritter grabbed the game by the scruff of it neck, scoring 18 from 22 as West powered to a 21 goal victory.


North did try a new combination in that final quarter with Ava Collins entering the game at goal defence, Lauran Norman moving back to take on Ritter and Stella Mobbs taking the goal shooter bib but it clearly did not have the impact coach Kaitlin Egan was hoping for.


Ritter was clearly the dominant player on court with good support, in terms of feeding and accurate finishing from her limited scoring opportunities, from Lisa McGregor, while Amy Cram continues to be the turnover queen and the way she marshals the Roos troops in the defensive goal third ensures no team has an easy scoring opportunity against West.


Brianna Walters was at her hard running best and so safe with ball in hand for the Tigers, while Kelly Lockwood was again tough to contain in goal shooter.


MILLICENT V CASTERTON SANDFORD


On the back of their drought breaking victory in round five, the Cats started their McLaughlin Park clash against Millicent with confidence.


Saints goal attack Edie Easterby was causing the Cats defenders headaches but in terms of matching it with the Saints, Casterton Sandford worked hard to stay in the contest and were only four goals adrift at the first change.


Things got tougher in the second as the Saints frontline started to settle as well as a major uptick in the defensive pressure and the key statistics told the story – Millicent created 21 scoring opportunities to the Cats’ eight and in the end, the scoreboard was 24-10 in the home side’s favour.


To their credit, Casterton Sandford rallied after the rough second quarter and the 14-11 third quarter scoreline, still in favour of the Saints, would have pleased coach Jodie Humphries.


The third quarter also saw the injection of Bell Coghlan for her first A Grade appearance with the tenacious wing defender not looking out of place in the top grade.


The Cats also stuck with the Saints in the last in what was a goal for goal 15 minutes that saw both teams score nine goals.


Lauren Van Eeden continued to dominate the defensive end for Millicent, while Daisy Tunkin worked overtime on the attacking wing and was accurate with her delivery to Easterby and Nikeisha Facey.


The usual suspects of Caeleigh Humphries and Madalene Cleary were best for the Cats.