Arrows seal top place after battle of the defences

AYC-FRIENDS Arrows have guaranteed themselves the minor premiership, overcoming Karana Flames 54-41 in their Round 16 Tasmanian Netball League match.

Karana started well with some great defensive pressure from Greta Shelton and Kaitlin Petrie, sneaking out to a four-goal lead.

But Arrows regained their composure to score five unanswered goals and retake the lead after some strong defensive work and thanks to poor ball placement from Karana.

Arrows led 12-11 at the end of the first quarter.

They started the second term with their fast ball movement, scoring the first five goals.

Karana increased its defensive pressure with Petrie and Shelton working overtime around the circle, slowing down the speed of delivery and allowing Zanna Jodlowska and Bianca Hollingsworth to make life hard for Arrows goalies Kate Prins and Natasha Shirley.

But some great offensive rebounding from the pair kept their team in front.

Karana managed to cut the lead to one and the Arrows looked unsettled in attack. This created multiple chances for Karana to draw even but the Flames could not convert and Arrows maintained a onegoal lead going into the second half with scores at 24-23.

Arrows brought on A.J. Gough to wing defence and Emily Sharp to centre with the changes having an immediate impact.

In a dominant third quarter by the reigning premiers, they tightened up defensively, moved the ball quickly and received much improved accuracy from Prins and Shirley.

They took a 40-30 lead into the final term.

In what was a great defensive game from both teams, Jodlowska continued to battle hard for Karana, but Arrows defensive pair Zoe Gough and Kate Marr improved as the game went on.

Gough picked off a number of intercepts in the last quarter, putting any chance of a Karana comeback out of reach and allowing Arrows to run away.

Arrows coach Andrew Jackson was pleased to have players returning from injury, allowing him to rotate his team.

“It was a scrappy game and took us a bit of time to find some rhythm,” Jackson said.

“We let the physicality get the better of us and threw a few passes away — but a win is a win and it cements top spot.”

Karana coach Alicia Sargent was upbeat, saying“it was a great display of defence from both teams”.

“We have taken a lot of confidence out of this match knowing that we were able to disrupt the way Arrows usually play and match them for a lot of the game,” Sargent said.

In other matches Northern Hawks defeated a much improved OHA 76-52. Cavaliers defeated Devon 52-38 and Cripps Waratah accounted for Burnie Tigers 58-38.