Dynamic Werribee dominate from go to whoa
WERRIBEE led from start to finish in a dominant win over East Geelong in Saturday’s GDFL netball clash. Meg Noonan and Natasha Dimkovski were dynamic in the middle; their triangles on the ring and feeds to Ellie Tubbs (25 goals), who held strong in GS, were on point. East Geelong ended the first half trailing 26-9, but got its game together with a 14-7 last quarter to stave off a blowout. Claudia Cook was strong in centre court, and Tahlia Billows and Holly Robinson were strong in defence. DOWN at every change, North Geelong stormed home in the last quarter to complete a memorable win over Inverleigh. Trailing 29-36 at three-quarter time, the Magpies shot 17 goals in the final quarter to win by three in a stunning turnaround. The final quarter belonged to North Geelong, with great court cover from Shae Rowbottom and Jaymie Lowe. Sigrid Mills and Brittany Chapman worked hard and controlled the ball well, as the Magpies finished strongly to keep their finals hopes alive.
BELMONT hung on for the narrowest of wins in a game where little separated the teams all day. Courtney Leith, along with Tamika Mrkogaca-Marks, moved the ball with accuracy for the Lions, with Naomi Edwards (GS) and Caitlyn Evans (GA) demonstrating their ability to perform under defensive pressure and get the shots in.
THOMSON was slow off the mark, trailing by a goal at quarter time after Anakie applied plenty of pressure. Even at halftime, Thomson edged ahead in the third quarter, with Jess Lowe (21 goals) and Allie Drake (34) combining well. Imogen Bennett and Calsey Wolak worked tirelessly to get the ball into the goal ring against Anakie’s tight defence, giving Thomson a four-goal lead at the last break. The Tigers edged further clear in the final term, as Bek Lebish forced many turnovers in defence.
Rachael Sherriff, Rhiannon Williams and Jady Brkic were Anakie’s best players and, as always, defensive duo Bridget Byrnes (GK) and Clare Sutton (GD) were resolute in their drive for the ball.
WINCHELSEA claimed a thrilling win over Geelong West. Down 28-37 at threequarter time, the Blues shot 20 goals in the final quarter to win by two. The Blues started poorly, down by seven goals at the halftime break, after Geelong West’s physical defence caused some Winchelsea errors. The Blues made some positional changes at halftime and slowly edged back into the contest; piling on the pressure, Winch took the lead with three minutes to go to snatch the win. Sarah Todd drove well all game and kept it together when confronted with tough decisions, while Eliza Cole’s cool head in goals kept them in the game for the four quarters. Winch’s full court defence allowed Connie Royal to snap up pivotal intercepts in the last half.
BANNOCKBURN continued to show its increasing form as finals approach. Excellent ball movement from Abbie Avery (C), Celeste De Munari (WA), Georgia Duncan (GA) and Georgia Connors (GS) set up the win. Abby Loughhead (WD), Erin Dillon (GD) and Tegan McNamara (GK) held their own against the lively Corio attacking end.