Arrows’ big win cements top spot

AYC-FRIENDS Arrows had a dominant 70-28 win over St LukesHealth Karana, cementing top spot on the State League netball ladder ahead of finals next week.

Both teams started frantically creating turnovers as St LukesHealth crept out to a 3-1 lead, before Arrows settled to take control of the match. Kate Marr picked up several intercepts in defence as Arrows quickly opened up a 10-5 lead.

St LukesHealth couldn’t penetrate the circle as Tiena Meaclem, Emily Sharp, Zoe Gough and Marr picked off ball after ball to seal a 30-13 lead at halftime.

StLukesHealth started the third quarter with increased intensity, with Zanna Jodlowska moving into centre and providing much-needed drive. The young St LukesHealth front end battled hard early, but as with previous quarters Arrows’ experience wore them down and they piled on the goals late to extend their lead to 52-22 heading into the last quarter.

Arrows coach Andrew Jackson is looking ahead to finals.

“It was nice to finish off the season on top of the ladder,” Jackson said. “It’s a positive to have the least goals scored against us defensively for the year. It’s a good result at the end of the year, but it’s a stepping stone on the way to the finals.”

St LukesHealth coach Matthew Charlesworth said: “We were outclassed by a more experienced side, but there’s positive signs for the future of the club with such a young group.”

In other matches, Cripps Waratah upset Kingston Blues with a 40-36 win.

Kingston took an 11-8 lead into the first break before Cripps were able to the close the gap at halftime. A low-scoring third quarter from both teams saw Cripps take a 28-25 lead heading into the last and Kingston just wasn’t able to close the gap as Cripps took the four-goal win. Cavaliers had a 83-38 win over Devon. Final ladder standings for the season see Arrows finish on top, ahead of Northern Hawks and Cavaliers on percentage, with Kingston finishing fourth. Cripps’ win saw them finish fifth ahead of StLukesHealth on percentage.