Kongorong opened its account for the season in round 8 of the Mid South East Netball Association, defeating Nangwarry.
Glencoe had a 20 goal victory over Port MacDonnell, Robe had a solid win over Hatherleigh and Tantanoola defeated Mount Burr by 13.
Kongorong v Nangwarry
Kongorong won the toss and had the first centre pass, but Nangwarry’s defence was able to get the rebound and score the game’s first goal.
After this Kongorong’s Rach Perry and Emily Lightbody applied good defensive pressure to ensure turnovers.
Kayla Gray again proved to be a key player in Nangwarry’s defensive line up as she was able to convert the ball and cause some turnovers.
Kongorong got in front of Nangwarry in the first quarter, scoring 12 to 4.
In the second quarter Kongorong transitioned the ball quickly down the court, with Ebony Lawson and Zara Vonstanke feeding well into the circle.
The Hawks goalies Evie Sealey and Tilah Buckingham worked well in the circle to score both their centre passes and turnovers.
Nangwarry’s goal attack Ebony Wurst worked hard in the circle against Rach Perry.
Alice Circelli’s feeding helped both Ebony and Sheridan Sakkers score.
At half time the Hawks were up 22-8.
Heading into the second half of the game Kongorong made a change in their line up with Ebony Lawson into WD and Sammy Ham into centre.
Hann’s drives made the ball move quickly down the court, helping the shooters score.
Nangwarry’s Michelle Richardson worked hard against Evie Sealey and applied pressure forcing the goalies to work harder.
Emily Lightbody intercepted the ball many times creating more chances for the Hawks to score.
Nangwarry’s WD Gemma Glynn worked hard to defend the ball and caused some turnovers which helped the Saints to score.
Although Nangwarry worked hard Kongorong was able to push the score further to be up 35-15.
Kongorong was able to maintain possession of the ball in the fourth quarter.
Hawks defenders found hands in the circle and capitalised on any missed shots by the Saints.
Nangwarry’s attackers Alice Circelli and Maddi Stephens worked well to transition the ball and help Ebony Wurst and Lacey Neale score.
Tilah Buckingham and Evie Sealey continued to work well together in the circle, rewarding their team’s defensive efforts and turnovers.
The Hawks were able to get their first win of the season, defeating Nangwarry 46-20.
Kongorong’s best players were Rach Perry and Ebony Lawson and for Nangwarry it was Jemma Glynn and Ebony Wurst.
Robe v Hatherleigh
Robe hosted Hatherleigh at the seaside, with the third placed Roosters proving too strong for the Eagles, sitting in seventh.
The game opened with both sides kicking up their defensive efforts, with the circle tightly held.
Robe’s Emillie Gould and Kimberley Austin and Hatherleigh’s Lara MacGregor and Elly Redden locked down their defensive circles in a low scoring quarter.
The Eagles made a tactical change just before quarter time, switching Bree Harris into GS and Kalli Nettle into WA.
It was an intense first quarter, with Robe outscoring the Eagles by seven to be up 13-6 at the first break.
Hatherleigh applied intense pressure going into the next quarter and had more opportunities in their goal circle with Harris capitalising on Hatherleigh’s score.
However, Robe’s patience through the mid court gave shooter Sarah Laurie plenty of access to the ball and she did not disappoint with her shooting.
Sophie Bates and Annie Regnier swapped roles and provided agility and speed through the middle and wing.
Perkins came to the bench after a physical contest with Ashlee Hunt stepping on into WA.
The Roosters had managed to increase their lead at half time, to be up 28-15.
Hatherleigh had a great third quarter with Rosie Nettle coming on into WA.
There were numerous defensive turnovers and pressure from both defensive ends, keeping the ball moving.
The Eagles had the upper hand with Watson’s persistence delivering the ball accurately to her goalies.
Hatherleigh won the quarter by one, however the Roosters were still up 38-26 at the final change.
Robe was able to settle in the final quarter, working hard to get away from Hatherleigh’s defensive bodies.
Clean intercepts by Bates and the defensive team allowed them to outscore the visitors.
Laurie and Carter decided on a dynamic change, while increasing shooting accuracy to finish the quarter with 19 goals and take the win 57-36.
Robe’s best players were Sarah Laurie and Demi Carter, with Erin Watson and Bree Harris taking the honours for Hatherleigh.
Glencoe v Port MacDonnell
Port MacDonnell headed to Glencoe and looked to continue their reign over another top four side after defeating Tantanoola last round by two goals.
The Murphies were coming off a convincing win against the Saints.
Both sides were without some tall timber, with Caitlin Hentschke missing from the Murphies and Megan Hein for the Bay.
Glencoe were made to work hard from the first centre pass with Alysha Coon getting hand to early ball and creating a turnover for the Bay.
The Murphies defence was also switched on early and their pressure forced an error from Port Mac to eventually allow Glencoe to score a long awaited first goal.
The scoreboard ticked over goal for goal for the opening part of the game with both goal shooters, Kori Collins for Port Mac and Chantelle Cocks for Glencoe, being the focal points of the shooting circles.
Both Collins and Cocks were strong on the hold and good feeding placement kept defenders’ hands out of reach.
It was the Murphies’ defensive end that tightened up their pressure and began to confuse the space for the Bay attack line which gave their side more scoring opportunities.
Glencoe headed into the first break with a 17-10 goal lead.
The Murphies came out of the break firing.
Sarah Edwards and Alice Tentye were working in unison to shut down the middle third and intercept any long passes.
This constant defensive pressure and quick transition down court by the Glencoe side allowed them to pile on the goals before Port Mac could find their rhythm again.
The Bay defensive circle of Emily Thompson and Alana Berkefeld began to turn to their focus to the threat of Cocks at the post.
However, this did not stop the scoring of the home side with Jenna Paproth taking a heavier load in the second quarter.
Port Mac eventually settled with Coon working hard in attack to get the ball into their goal third.
When the Bay were able to get a steady transition it was hard to stop the hold and accuracy of Collins who continued to be a threat under the post.
At the main break the Murphies led 31-20.
Port Mac made a number of changes heading into the second half with only Thompson and Berkefeld remaining unchanged.
Collins moved out to goal attack and was joined by Lara Wilson in the circle, Cody Manning moved to wing attack, Kate Faint into centre and Coon back to wing defence.
With an adjusted line up the Bay re-entered the game loud and energised.
Their defensive end worked tirelessly to hold up the Glencoe transition into attack and successfully forced the ball to be returned to the transverse line on multiple occasions.
The intense pressure from the Bay was rewarded with some early turnovers, however in attack the change was not as successful.
Collins was unable to have the same effect on the game out at goal attack with Edwards working hard to keep her away from the post.
Once Glencoe adjusted to the pressure of the Bay defence the mid-court duo of Ashlea Pfitzner and Donna Jaeschke worked patiently to feed the ball into Cocks and Paproth.
At the final break the Demons trailed 28 to Murphies 43.
The game turned scrappy in the final quarter and with legs beginning to tire both sides threw the ball away and inaccuracy began to creep in on the shot from both ends.
The Murphies continued to need to be patient with the ball in their attacking third with any misplaced high balls being snapped up by the long arms of Thompson, who stepped up in the final quarter.
However, the Bay continued to struggle converting their turnover ball with Edwards still a threat of any transition balls in the middle third.
Coon moved back into centre for the final quarter and continued to run hard alongside Jaeschke for the remainder of the game.
The Murphies came out victorious with a 20 goal margin, winning 52-32 on their home court.
Best players for Glencoe were Cocks and Edwards and for Port Mac it was Collins and Coon.
Tantanoola v Mount Burr
In conditions perfect for netball, Mount Burr travelled to Tantanoola, undermanned without Megan Thiele, while the Tigers suffered an injury earlier in the day to up and coming junior, Molly Cushion.
Cushion’s absence allowed Shelby Ryan, returning from injury and illness, to make her debut game in A Grade for the season.
The start of the game was fast paced and goal for goal until a rebound by Kate Bromley saw Tantanoola take the early lead.
Danika Shepherd at GA went down early with blood and was replaced momentarily by Ava Smith-Muhovics who slotted in well.
However, Bella Poulish began to find her groove against Mount Burr’s focal point Maddy Haggett and took some nice intercepts.
These were converted by Tantanoola’s Emma Gould after some effective feeding around the ring by Kate Varcoe and Ryan.
The Tigers finished the quarter with a seven goal lead at the first break.
It was a scrappy start to the second quarter from both teams, both making many unforced errors.
Mount Burr found an avenue to goals with Ella Easterby providing plenty of drive and great delivery to Haggett.
Tant’s defenders provided their team with plenty of ball through rebounds.
However, the Mozzies stepped up a gear in the mid court and turned the ball back through the fierce and determined pressure of their mid court pressure of Easterby, Abbey Falting and Laura Schulz.
Towards the latter part of the quarter Haggett began to use her height effectively with the Mozzies capitalising and winning the quarter by two to bring the margin back to five.
In the third quarter Tantanoola started with a different line up with Ryan at GA, Jami Walker at WD, Casey Walker C and Varcoe at WA.
This new look combination took a couple of minutes to settle, allowing the Burr to score the first two goals of the quarter.
Ryan, who looked at home in the circle, scored their first goal before Casey Walker took a great intercept which resulted in Gould scoring and Tant regaining the margin.
Moving Olivia Dean to GK was effective, providing extra defensive pressure to Gould and making sure any inaccurate passes were turned over.
Part way through the quarter Ryan came off with injury, allowing Keryl Ousey to come onto the court at GK and Bella Poulish repositioned at WD.
Ousey put pressure on the shooters and took some strong rebounds, using her height to advantage with the margin at 11 in favour of Tantanoola going into the final quarter.
The last quarter had Ryan returning to the court at WA and Ousey off, while the Mozzies were unchanged.
Jami Walker, who had been consistent all game, had a blistering last quarter shooting at 100% and taking a timely intercept that was scored by Gould.
Poulish created turnovers, but uncharacteristic missed shots by Gould allowed Mount Burr back into the game.
The Burr scored a couple of late goals during the last minutes of the game, but Tantanoola was able to keep control.
Mount Burr’s mid court pressure and intensity was a feature of their game.
The Tigers secured the win 57-44 with Jami Walker and Bella Poulish named their best, and for Mount Burr it was Ella Easterby and Abbey Falting.
