Bond baptism of fire
Bull Sharks bullied in Sapphire Series debut
THE Bond University Bull Sharks have emerged battered and bruised from their first Sapphire Series netball match, going down to the USC Thunder 53-44 in Brisbane yesterday.
After trading goals for much of the first quarter, a heavy clash late in the first quarter saw young wing attack Rylee Burns leave the court with a bloody nose, scans later revealing a break for the 17-year-old.
The Bull Sharks steadied the ship to go into quarter time one goal down before the Thunder put on an unbeaten run of 11 goals to lead 21-10.
Goal shooter Olivia Dijkstra piled on four straight to bring the deficit back to six points before Burns returned to the court just before half time.
The Thunder struck early in the third and extended their lead once again before a Bull Sharks surge brought the scores to 32-all just before the final break.
The Bull Sharks’ chances of pegging back a three-goal deficit were hit early in the fourth when South African defender Jeante Strydom was forced from the court with an ankle injury, allowing Thunder-listed Firebirds goal attack Abigail Latu-Meafou to break free and extend the Thunder’s lead to nine points come the final siren.
“The physicality of the game was very intense,” Bull Sharks coach Sheryl Burns said.
“We’ve got a lot to work on but to come back from 11 points down and level the scores was a huge effort.”
Despite training for months, it marked the first time Burns had access to her full playing squad in a match.
“We just need to focus on playing consistently and sticking to our patterns because we got some really good ball when we did but sometimes we were playing more as individuals,” she said.
The Bull Sharks Ruby’s team also went down by 10 points.