Any game when first and second place are facing off are always the most explosive, and that was exactly what took place in round 19 of the 2022 Mount Gambier Netball Association season last Saturday.
The Under 19 teams of Zodiacs and Hobitz Red went against each other and it was intense from the moment first whistle was blown.
Zodiacs dominated throughout almost the entire game.
Jas Poel was an absolute force on the court, scoring 18 goals for her team, while in defence Nicola McMillian and Kayla Ferguson reached in the air almost all of the time and scored themselves a simply incredible amount of intercepts.
Their defence is what kept them up the entire first half, and that is when Hobitz made it tough.
The team was already in fever with Emily Stockwell achieving her 100 games on Saturday and only in the second half when she joined the court, she scored 22 goals which is what Hobitz needed to put themselves into a further position of strength.
By the fourth quarter, they were trailing 10 goals behind.
But Zodiacs still fought back against them with their defence working hard but it was simply not enough as they lost 57-33 in a complete turnaround of a match.
B2 SAINTS VS AMAZONS
Saints and Amazons went head-to-head on Court 4 almost immediately after the Under 19s and it was a close game in the B2 competition.
Both teams walked onto the court with something to prove and Amazons showed how much of a tough team it really is.
Their defence was sometimes up and down but it was always on the right track as Maddi Sutterly and Bethany Hille would get the goals they needed.
Saints trailed behind for almost the entire game but were always fighting back for the ball and with Chloe McIntosh playing in the positions of goal defence and goal keeper.
She was a secret surprise against Amazons and would pop out of nowhere to score fantastic intercepts and steal the ball off the Amazons players.
By half time the score was 16-12 Amazons’ way, which they made bigger in the second half.
The fourth quarter created a newfound energy in all the players, and the best part was at the end when they were all laughing together and putting everything they had before the final whistle.
At the end Amazons took away the win, 35-24.
