JUNIORS OUT OF RACE

The Drouin Hawks 17&Unders faded in the last quarter of the preliminary final against Sale to bow out of the premiership race.

Sale went on to win 4224.

When the two sides met in the second semifinal the Hawks were slow to start and chased for most of the game.

On Saturday they came out firing and applyed great full court pressure to force Sale into error.

Drouin capitalised on the turnovers to keep the scoreboard pressure on Sale.

After was an extremely even first half only one goal separated the teams.

In attack Ruby Pratt (WA) was a constant driving force and fed goalers Jemyma Lieshout and Tay MarshIrwin beautifully.

Both gaolers, having to work hard to find good shooting position, stood up to the physical Sale defence.

For Drouin, Gemma Shaddock (WD) got lots of deflections and intercepts and created outstanding pressure.

She and April Bethune (C) assisted circle defenders Nat Sloan and Chelsea deRiter to pick off balls.

At the end of the third quarter Drouin was only three goals down and a chance to play in a grand final.

However, they were unable to sustain the effort as Sale lifted their intensity to win by 16 goals.

While disappointed with the final result the Hawks should be proud of their efforts for the entire season to finish third in a high quality competition.

Saturday’s awards winners were Ruby Pratt and Gemma Shaddock.