AGRADE


It is safe to say nothing went right for Millicent in the A Grade preliminary final.


They were behind the eight ball right from the first quarter as West Gambier pressured the usually composed Saints into error and Sarah Ritter announced she was in stellar form in the 19 from 20 in the opening 15 minutes.


It saw West enjoy an eight goal lead at the first change after a quarter where Lisa McGregor often chose to bypass what was a tenacious, hard-working Saints defence by delivering the ball from long range to Ritter at the post.


Things settled in the second quarter, with Millicent finding better rhythm in offence, with Lisa Duldig moving to centre and Lillie Paul to the attacking wing and getting some important touches defensively, with Edie Easterby having an impact with her ability to create turnover.


West, did, still win the quarter by one to ensure they enjoyed a nine goal half time lead.


The Roos put the result beyond doubt in the third as deflections from Millicent defenders fell back into the hands of Roos players and any tight decisions just did not go the Saints’ way.


With Tara Bryant and Jess Holmes moving the ball quickly and Ritter continuing to find space, converting 16 from 17 for the quarter, the lead blew out to 19 by three quarter time and the final quarter did fizzle out as West went on to secure a 26 goal victory.


The defensive pressure from West all over the court certainly played a role in the comprehensive victory but the comfortable margin did belie a match that, at times, saw both sides applying incredible pressure, with an inordinate amount of held ball calls as teams just could not find space.


Even when the scoreboard was getting away, Paul continued to run hard and in the final quarter, in particular, she picked up a raft of interceptions.


Nikeisha Facey and Demi Verbena, who had to do a mountain of work to help move the ball through the West defence, made the most of limited opportunities while Easterby was again the pick of the defenders, taking some incredible interceptions.


But in the end, Millicent attracted too much whistle and could not stop the West Gambier scoring machine with the Roos now set to take on North Gambier in the season decider.


A RESERVE


The A Reserve clash between Millicent and South was expected to be a close contest and played in perfect weather conditions it lived up to that expectation.


It was Millicent who got off to the better start and this helped them as they went on to record a 14-goal win to advance into the grand final against North Gambier.


Millicent started well with Centre Jackie Sunderland controlling the midcourt and combining well with Piper Paul to deliver the ball to in-form GA Mylee Lynch.


Lynch was the stand-out goalie on court, scoring 10/11 in the first quarter.


At the other end the Millicent defenders Alice Pratt and Georgia Clarke forced errors with their tight pressure and rebounded any missed shots.


South’s Caitlin Muller tried to steady her side but the pressure from the Saints ensured they took the early lead and went into the break with a nine goal lead.


South started the second quarter strongly with GA Jaymee O’Neil finding space in the attack line and scoring more freely, well-fed by WA Maddie Burley.


Lynch continued to find space and used her smarts and speed to get close-range shots.


An injury to GD Claire Day early in the quarter forced a change with Charlene Riley entering the court and she made an impact with increased pressure on Lynch.


With more scoring opportunities South were able to stay with the Saints.


At the main break the Saints injected Poppy Venn onto the attacking wing, replacing Piper Paul who had a standout first half.


Venn used her smarts around the circle edge and combined well with Abby Denton who found space on the baseline and scored accurately.


At the other end it was Ruby Richter who found her range despite the pressure from Pratt, who was the standout defender on court.


Pratt’s combination with Clarke was impressive and they forced errors deep in South’s attack line.


The Saints again increased their lead to be a match-winning 13-goal lead.


South started the last quarter well, playing more freely with O’Neil and Muller using their speed to score quickly.


They were able to get back within eight goals before the Saints settled through some good intercepts from Alana Craig on the wing.


A late tactical change from the Saints saw talented junior Bell Coghlan hit the court, replacing Sunderland and she made an impressive impact, taking two intercepts and feeding the ball to Denton who shot from long range to help the Saints win the quarter and take the match by 14 goals.


Best players for the Saints were Alice Pratt and Piper Paul and South were best served by Caitlin Muller and Jaymee O’Neil.


B GRADE


Millicent certainly came to play in the B Grade second semi final, firing from the first whistle to set up an eight goal quarter time lead that proved match shaping in the final wash up.


Saints defenders Michelle Fleming and Krystal Coghlan created plenty of turnovers and Tiarna Verbena proved unstoppable on the attacking wing as she continually found Nicole Domaschenz and Bek Millowick in space.


North reacted swiftly to their slow start in the opening quarter, with Ava Norman starting to cause headaches for the Saints defence, while Allison Anderson used her speed to great effect and delivered the ball with good accuracy to Norman.


North’s combined shooting effort of 12 from 16 saw them right back in the contest by the main break, trailing by only six goals.


The injection of Kaylah O’Loughlin to goal keeper, Fleming to goal defence and Coghlan to wing defence saw the Saints really start to make life tough for the North frontline and the errors started to flow as the turnovers came thick and fast.


Millowick and Domaschenz had a quarter to remember, combining for 20 from 22, including a perfect eight from eight from Domaschenz.


It saw the six goal half time lead extend to 21, with North only able to generate 10 scoring shots for the quarter.


North won the last quarter but the damage had been done and Millicent, who were the minor premiers, advanced to the title decider against South Gambier with a 52-35 victory.


C GRADE


North Gambier has advanced to the C Grade grand final with a 19 goal victory over Millicent.


The Tigers extended their lead at every break – setting up a six goal quarter time advantage that became 11 by the half, 14 at three quarter time and the eventual 19 goal margin.


The match was set up early by some tight defence from Tara Fleming and at the other end of the court for the Tigers Jess Dempster was on song, netting eight from nine as North worked its way to a six goal lead.


North consolidated its position in the second quarter with mid courters Sarah Brown and Keeley Quinn moving the ball with great accuracy into the shooting circle and this time it was young gun Milly Allen who positioned strongly and converted eight from nine, seeing North head into the main break with an 11 goal lead.


There is no doubt Millicent upped the ante in the second half but North still won every quarter to run out 19 goal victors.


Keelie Lindner worked her way into the contest for the Saints in the second half and her 13 from 17 helped keep the Saints in touch but they just could not find a way to eat into the deficit.


One of the battles of the day was Millicent’s Kate Patten and North’s Brown in the centre, while Dempster and Allen made sure their scoring opportunities ended up on the scoreboard more often than not, ensuring their team advanced to the 2024 C Grade grand final to take on South Gambier.


17 & UNDER


The 17 & Under clash between South and Millicent was predicted to be one-sided with the Saints having key players across the court.


South battled hard all game, but Millicent’s quality all over the court saw them run out winners by 44 goals.


Played in perfect weather the game was a highly skilled contest and it was the Saints midcourt in Mia Gysbers, Piper Paul and Eva Crowe who set the pace and created scoring opportunities for Mylee Lynch and Poppy Venn.


Lynch finished with 13 for the quarter to be the dominant goaler on court.


South’s Gracie Dalton battled hard for South, however Edie Easterby was in fine form, intercepting any loose balls and the Saints went into the first change up by 15 goals.


Both sides made changes at the break with Emily Walker entering for the Saints and for South Lily Milich on the defensive wing.


The Saints continued their good form with impressive ball movement in attack and accurate shooting from Lynch and Venn.


Paul worked overtime in attack, hitting circle edge and feeding with precision.


Easterby continued to take intercepts all over the court and provided her team with more opportunities.


The score blew out to a 30-goal margin by half time.


More changes were made at the main break with the Saints bringing on Asha Gysbers, Jeda Hibberd and Tahnee Grosser.


South’s Dalton played her best quarter with some good movement in the circle and accurate finishing to shoot nine for the stanza.


Milich matched Gysber’s speed through the midcourt to find Dalton at the post.


Grosser entered at GA five minutes into the quarter and finished with 10 without a miss.


The last quarter was a one-sided affair with the South side continuing to work hard all over the court, but the Saints were too skilful with Mackinlee Alcock best for the Saints in the last, with her side running out winners by 44 goals.


They will now look to challenge the undefeated North Gambier in the grand final.


15 & UNDER A


Eager to earn another crack at Millicent, North Gambier came out firing in the 15 & under A second semi final and with goalers Mischa Human and Lila Pearson combining for 11 from 13, the signs were promising for the Tigers.


At the other end of the court Raine Darimaani, Mia Griffith and Winnie Zadow denied West any easy ball and Darimaani dominated the air in the rebounding department.


The Tigers had a six goal quarter time lead but the Roos rallied strongly in the second.


Lara Murdoch started to find more ball and her connection with Swaye Lindner and Brydee Starick saw West scoring more frequently.


Human was still dominant for North and her accurate eight from nine ensured North still had the edge on the scoreboard, but Claire Hunter certainly started to have an impact defensively and the deficit for West at half time was only seven.


The tight quarter clearly sparked something in the Tigers and they dominated the third quarter, winning it by eight to take an almost unassailable 15 goal lead into the final term.


Human was again dominant with her 14 from 16 and while West’s Murdoch and Sara Richards also finished accurately, they just did not get enough supply as North’s full court defensive pressure kept forcing the Roos into errors.


North’s Lila Pearson did not take as many shots but she fed Human with great precision and Jenna Baron and Lacey Hunter did the same as North dominated every position on court.


The Tigers made some minor positional swaps for the last quarter, with Pearson taking the goal shooter bib and netting 11 from 12 and despite the switching of bibs at the defensive end, the result was the same – it was tough for the Roos to find the ball in good shooting position.


Again Richards and Murdoch made the most of their limited opportunities, converting nine from 11 as a combination but the weight of numbers fell well and truly with the Tigers who now have that rematch with Millicent in what will be one of the most fiercely fought of all the title deciders next weekend.


15 & UNDER B


It was a physical opening quarter to the 15 & Under B preliminary final as both teams contested hard and the pressure applied forced a number of errors.


In the end, it was North Gambier who fared better on the scoreboard, generating more scoring shots than Casterton Sandford, as both sides struggled to convert accurately.


The Tigers held a two goal lead at the first change but it was the Cats who had the better of the second.


Casterton Sandford goal attack Ylana Grigg started to find a lot of ball and her height loomed large as a match defining factor.


She converted 12 from 16 with Adele Murphy proving to be a key link player with her precision feeding into the circle.


Makayla Rees impacted at both ends of the court with some key defensive touches as well as precision delivery in attack.


Some strong rebounding from Chloe Kurzman and tenacious work from Marlee Robbins saw the Cats dominate the quarter and turn that two goal deficit into a three goal half time lead.


The Tigers were certainly stung into action with Lacey Hunter, who started to be prominent in the second quarter, stepping up even more in the third and her 12 from 13 rewarded her teammates for their strong defensive work down court.


Jenna Baron and Lacey Allen also stepped up in this quarter, lifting their work rate and delivering the ball with better accuracy into the circle and Hunter did not let them down as North went into the last quarter seven goals clear.


The last quarter was a real arm wrestle and again it was the respective goal attacks doing the scoreboard damage, but the Cats just could not eat into the Tigers’ advantage.


Every time they looked to score successive goals, Ava Halloran and Amelie Adam were able to create turnover ball courtesy of their tight one-on-one checking.


Grace Collins also influenced the final quarter as she and Baron pressured the Cats feeders into errors with Halloran and Adam happy to pick off the errant passes.


Hunter, Adam and Baron were best for North, while Murphy and Robbins did the damage for the Cats.


13 & UNDER A


South Gambier has earned a rematch with the undefeated Saints in the 13 & Under A grand final after a tense victory over West Gambier.


The Demons narrowly held sway for much of the contest, leading by as many as seven goals at some stages.


However, the Roos came out hard in the last and force it back to a one goal game before the Demons steadied and created some critical turnovers.


Elsie Merchant, who had been the key target all game for South, was able to make them count on the scoreboard.


The South victory was built on a consistent first three quarters, leading by four at quarter time, five at the half and seven at three quarter time.


But missed shooting opportunities and some errant passing soon saw the Roos well and truly back in contention and with Hannah Jackson netting five from six for the quarter, West had the upset in their sights.


Savannah Riddoch and Claudia Vorwerk produced some key turnovers in the frenetic final quarter, while Harper Lindner found good space on the circle’s edge to find Eva Povey and Jackson in space.


Fortunately for South, Annalie Peucker, who was her team’s best in the second semi final as well, was able to get some important deflections and in combination with Lucy Noonan and Addy Green, created enough turnover opportunities for South to secure the two goal victory.


In the first half it was the good chemistry between Merchant and Harper Bowering that saw the Demons scoring easily with Tegan Sims and Zara Cole connecting well with their shooting duo.


In the end, it was the strong start that set up the grand final berth for South with Cole and Merchant named best, while Povey and Vorwerk were best for the Roos.


13 & UNDER B


The 13B clash between South and Millicent was expected to be a close contest and played in perfect conditions it proved to be just that.


It was Millicent who got off to the better start and a late fightback from South meant a close contest.


However, it was Millicent who held on to win by two goals and advance into the grand final.


The Saints scored the first four goals through the long-range shooting from Kira Madden and the hard running of Raven Johnson in the centre.


South’s GD Lara Agostinelli battled hard for her side, but the Saints were too strong with Olivia Hales rebounding any missed goals and they went into the first change six goals in front.


South made changes at the break and this had an immediate impact as they scored the next eight goals after moving Ellie McCracken from C to GA.


The South defenders Zara Harten and Ellie Scotland worked well in the goal circle shutting down the space of the Millicent goalies, and with a couple of late goals from the Saints the scores were tied at half time.


Millicent made changes at half time with Maggie Buhlmann entering at GK, Hales moving out to GD and Bridie Douglas to WD.


The three worked hard to create turnovers and restrict South to just two goals for the quarter.


Harten continued to work hard for South, however, the Saints continued to score well through Madden to take a seven goal match-winning lead at the last change.


The final quarter was dominated by South as they ran hard and moved the ball well in attack.


Lacey Howard scored eight for the quarter and Willow Bowering ran hard at centre, controlling the attack line.


South’s late charge had the crowd on the edge of their seats, but they ran out of time and the Saints won 26-24 to advance into the grand final.