Sport
23 June, 2026
First quarter surge sees Redbacks vanquish Tigers
A sensational 17-9 first quarter powered Carisbrook to a magical eighth consecutive victory, overcoming fellow contenders Lexton 54-40.
Placed in an eight-goal hole after the opening term, the Tigers were unable to claw back their early deficit as the Redbacks maintained a noticeable gap throughout Saturday’s hotly contested affair.
The victory has moved Carisbrook ahead of Navarre in the standings before their much-anticipated encounter with Avoca, while Lexton will look to end their four-game losing streak this weekend against Trentham.
The Tigers added to their ambush with midcourter Ebony Howell making her debut on Saturday, allowing Caitlin Howell to start at goal defence for a team looking to replace the absence of Sarah Griffin.
Those alterations were unable to slow Carisbrook’s in-form shooting tandem of Jordan Macilwain and Abbey Nalder, who were causing major headaches right from the opening centre pass.
Even with superstar midcourter Laura Hurse unavailable, the Redbacks’ midcourt was firing on all cylinders, with veteran Lauren Jones slotting in seamlessly alongside Charlotte Cain and Katie Bilton.
With Cain and Bilton routinely finding Nalder and Macilwain in the goal circle, Carisbrook stormed to an eight-goal lead at quarter time.
Despite the disappointing start, Lexton player-coach Cindy Teggerth showed faith in her starting lineup, leaving it relatively unchanged.
That belief proved warranted following the opening break, with Caitlin Howell, Shanae Hepworth and Eliza Bell slowing Carisbrook’s breakneck offence.
While Lexton’s defensive trio limited their team to 11 goals, Elise Mottram and Finley Wagstaff were equally exemplary in the Redbacks defensive third, helping the visitors increase their lead to double digits at half time.
Nalder and Macilwain regained most of their early scoring touch after a low-scoring second term as Carisbrook threatened to make the game a blowout.
However, the Redbacks weren’t the only team to generate an offensive upswing in the third quarter, as Darci Berry and Ebony Howell began to find Lexton shooters with more regularity.
Despite being hounded by Chloe Egan, who came off the bench to replace Mottram at goal defence, reigning MCDFNL 17 and under best and fairest Charlize Kennedy was finding space under the net with support from fellow shooter Rachel Phelan.
While victory seemed virtually impossible, trailing by 11 goals at three-quarter time, the Tigers looked to showcase they can compete with the competition’s elite after their 40-goal defeat to Navarre.
With Lexton battling to keep in respectable distance to the Redbacks, the fourth quarter followed in a similar vein as the second, with goals coming at a premium.
With a combined 12 goals in the fourth quarter, Macilwain and Nalder coincidentally ended with an identical 27 goals as Carisbrook added another impressive victory to their resume.
Kennedy top-scored for the Tigers with 24 goals while Phelan netted 16 goals for the match.