It was hard work and it did not come until the dying minutes but South Gambier has secured its first win of 2024.
Just what level of confidence that gives the Demons, who were without Megan Reid and Tully McShane, but did enjoy a cameo from Alyssa Duncan in a one-off performance, is unclear but East Gambier, while presenting a new challenge, also presents an opportunity to make it two from two.
The Bulldogs have got the better of the previous two encounters courtesy of stellar shooting from Malinda Foster and a dominant defensive performance from Bo Creek and Morgan Amy across the defensive transverse line and if the Demons do not learn from that and make adjustments the script will be the same.
Keeping the ball out of the air should be priority one for the Demons mid court as that is where Amy and Creek have thrived, creating turnover ball at will.
Accuracy on the shot will also be important given Sharna McKinnon and Creek dominate the rebounding duels.
At the other end of the court, denying Foster too much ball will be a focus of the South defensive line of Mykaela Thiele, Ellie Bouchier and Sophie Wight, bearing in mind Renee Henke and Casey Horrigan can also do damage in the shooting circle.
The team that limits its errors will be the one that prevails with East making it three from three, but in a much closer contest.
CASTERTON SANDFORD V MILLICENT
The Cats were undermanned and had to put a new look combination out on court last weekend in their three goal loss to South Gambier.
They will be looking to potentially welcome back their shooting combination of Chelsea Hulm and Holly Smith, which will allow a reset to their preferred starting combination.
And they will need everything to go right in their Island Park clash when they host Millicent – a team building nicely after a disrupted start to 2024 with player unavailability.
If you look at the Saints’ performance in round 9 when they demolished South Gambier, the Cats could be in for a world of pain, and after Millicent suffered a narrow loss to North at the weekend, they will be looking to continue finetuning both their offensive sets and their defensive structure.
Stopping not only the scoring power of Demi Verbena but her creativity with ball in hand to find her shooting partner Nikeisha Facey will be one of the Cats’ most pressing concerns, while being patient with ball in hand to work their way through the defensive unit of Lisa Duldig, Lauren VanEeden, Portia McRae and Edie Easterby will also be match shaping.
Madalene Cleary and Indi Longhurst will be key to that offensive task in transition, and both are hardworking and will present continually to ensure the ball ends up in good shooting position, while at the other end, Ebany Jarrad, who is coming off a strong performance against South, will need to be at her best again to limit the Saints’ scoring power.
Millicent will not let this one slip as they look to build towards another finals series.
WEST GAMBIER V NORTH GAMBIER
The top of the table clash between West Gambier and North Gambier at Malseed Park will be intriguing but will not tell the whole story going forward with star Roos shooter Sarah Ritter set to miss.
That being said, West Gambier covered her loss last weekend and coach Lisa McGregor showed she is more than capable of upping her scoring rate and the Roos also have shooting depth in their juniors and A Reserve.
That shooting duo will be tested by a tenacious Tigers defence, anchored by Stella Mobbs and well supported by Mel Renko, who is currently in the defensive circle while Lauran Norman recovers from her hand injury, while Ava Collins adds to that defensive pressure with her work over the ball at wing defence.
At the other end of the court, the North shooting combination of Macey Griffith and Kelly Lockwood is coming off a stellar performance against Millicent, where their accuracy went a long way to securing the six goal victory.
They will need to be that accurate again this weekend as they look to perform under the pressure of the Roos’ relentless defensive pressure with Amy Cram leading the defensive third with Mikaela Horrigan, Chelsea Tremelling and Tara Bryant.
The battle between Cram and Griffith looms large as one of the match defining contests.
The Roos will look to shut down the Tigers’ greatest weapon, their slick ball movement, which will mean stopping the run of Kaitlin Egan and Brianna Walters and the Tremelling-Walters battle on the wing will be another of those critical contests in deciding the final result.
It should be a tight contest with North taking advantage of Ritter’s absence to secure a narrow win.
