Dominant defence delivers 33-goal win
DEFENSIVE dominance from Gemma Stavenuiter and Sarah Perrott drove Portarlington to a comfortable 33-goal win over Newcomb yesterday.
Perrott and Stavenuiter continually made life impossible for the Power’s goaling circle, playing a crucial role in guiding the Demons to a 49-16 win.
Coach Abbey Middleton was full of praise for her defensive pair, but was also content with the way her attack made the most of the chances that were created from defence.
“They (Stavenuiter and Perrott) had a great game. They created heaps of turnovers for us which was good,” Middleton said.
“They combined really nicely in goal defence and goal keeper. We managed to score from most of the turnovers, which was nice.”
She said Portarlington also trialled some players in new positions with an eye to the future.
“We just looked at some different goaling combinations. We just wanted to try to find what works and it was a good opportunity to trial those different combinations,” she said.
Morgan van Leerdam stood up, while Shelby Drummond also looked good, playing in attack rather than defence.
Junior Emma Chamberlain was also given game time, playing a quarter. “She got an opportunity to step out on court and she performed pretty well,” Middleton said.
Britt Collier, Meagan Whitehead and Natasha Shirley were Newcomb’s best.
“There were a few mistakes, a few errors, but a good win overall,” Middleton said.
The victory takes Portarlington to 2-1 and Middleton said she was content with the signs her side had shown early in 2019.
“Two wins is awesome. I think we are coming together quite nicely, so it’s looking good,” she said. DEFENDING BFL netball champion Modewarre suffered its first loss of the season, going down to Torquay by nine goals yesterday.
The Tigers stunned the Warriors, 44-35, to secure their first win of 2019.
Hayley Livingston (15 goals) and Courtney Cuolahan (13) were dangerous in attack for the Tigers, while Lauren Berridge was dominant.
Jess Standfield and Krystin Trewin were also solid contributors for Torquay.
Modewarre was led by Lauren Lapsley, while Monique Pedretti and Laura McClelland also stood up.
Modewarre’s scalp was an important one for the Tigers following a narrow one-goal opening-round loss to Geelong Amateur and a Round 2 draw with Barwon Heads.