Hawks start day with a win

Drouin netballers started the day with a win and followed shortly afterwards with a thrilling draw against Morwell on Saturday.

However, Morwell finished with the better overall result, winning four games.

A grade: Drouin 38 lost to Morwell 52

What a fast paced game the league’s A grades displays this year.

For the Hawks, Kym Diston showcased her good footwork around the goalers’ bodies and took up space, making it hard to feed into the ring.

Together with Lucy McKellar in the circle, the defensive pressure was amazing.

The Hawks had lots of the ball - all over the court. Ella Henderson, playing in wing defence, put on lots of pressure. She also drove down the court out of defence and fed into the goalers.

April Bethune was a great target in goal shooter, posting up nicely. The combination of April and Karina Healy is building and shows great promise.

The Hawks will continue working on centre pass structure and mixing things up. Awards: Kym Diston and Ella Henderson. B grade: Drouin 47 lost to Morwell 59 Chelsea De Riter was given an opportunity for leadership in this game, and she delivered.

Her voice and direction through the court was remarkable, as well as her defensive pressure.

The defenders worked hard to implement what they’d worked on at training, getting around the body and attacking the front ball.

April 18 2023

When they got a turnover, the Hawks were great at letting the ball quickly out of defence and down the court.

The new combination of Ruby Pratt and Brooke De Riter in goals built over the four quarters, with Brooke nailing some difficult shots.

Holly Cheyne came on at half-time, and provided some great drive and confidence too. All in all, some good things, but the win escaped them.

Awards: Chelsea De Riter and Brooke De Riter.

C grade: Drouin 25 lost to Morwell 33

The Hawks showed their versatility on Saturday, with a lot of new combinations. It was a tough match against a strong side, but they fought hard to stay in the game.

Kelly McMillan posed a big threat, getting lots of clean intercepts with Allanah Jagoe dominating the rebounds. The defenders worked hard all game to give their goalers plenty of chances to score.

Zali Metcalfe showed great speed into the ring, with Emily Bethune using her smarts and experience to feed into the ring against Morwell’s tough defenders.

Awards: Kelly McMillan and Allanah Jagoe.

17 and under: Drouin 37 drew Morwell 37

What a nail biting game, with the lead not being more than three goals at the end of any quarter.

Drouin got off to a strong start, but Morwell kept fighting back, not letting the Hawks get any easy goals. Some accurate shooting by the goalers allowed the Hawks some breathing space, but it was not enough for the tough Morwell defenders.

Using her speed, Matilda Carroll flew up and down the court. She fed goaler Kaylee Nalder who shot 32 goals. Kaylee used her body well and her own speed in the ring to capitalise on each shooting opportunity.

Alice Waddell and Kaylee Nalder.

Awards:

15 and under: Drouin 17 lost to Morwell 41

Looking at this Gippsland League competition, it offers an impressive line-up of young talent - the Hawks included.

Saturday showed how the girls can keep fighting and making the most of every opportunity.

Emmy Kneebone showed her tough body work against very good opponents and managed to get several key intercepts.

Awards: Emmy Kneebone and Fiona

Nalder.

13 and under: Drouin 26 defeated Morwell 7

It was another strong game by the Baby Hawks, who came out firing.

Leading the way were the goalers, who capitalised on every opportunity.

What really made the game a great one, was the teamwork and pressure from one end of the court to the other. Accurate passing, strong arms and chasing any loose ball gave the girls a strong edge.

Awards: Libby Walsh and Makayla Monckton.