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7 September, 2023

MCDFNL Finals — Week Three Netball Previews

Week three of the finals sees the final four have everything to play for, with Carisbrook playing Natte Bealiba and Avoca playing Lexton. Preliminary Final 1 — Carisbrook V Natte Bealiba An exciting preliminary final awaits between the top two in...

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MCDFNL Finals — Week Three Netball Previews - feature photo

Week threeof the finals sees the final four have everything to play for, with Carisbrook playing Natte Bealiba and Avoca playing Lexton.

Preliminary Final 1 — Carisbrook V Natte Bealiba

An exciting preliminary final awaits between the top two in the competition when Carisbrook and Natte Bealiba face off on Saturday.

Carisbrook are just two games away from completing an unbeaten season, while Natte Bealiba have heard this story before — a tough loss in week one to the third-placed team, bouncing back in the semi-final, then coming up against an unbeaten unit in the preliminary final. Does 2022 ring a bell?

If recent history is any guide, expect this to be a heavily defensive battle. Just 214 goals have been scored in their past three meetings stemming back to last year — an average of 71 goals per game.

For reference, Natte Bealiba average just under 63 goals per game themselves, while Carisbrook have scored just under 58 goals per game.

However, to say it will purely be a defensive battle would be a disservice to both teams’ structure in their defensive third.

For Carisbrook, the combination of Sherriden Byrne and Elise Mottram continues to be the best by the numbers this season.

In the qualifying final, they conceded 40 goals for just the third time this season, underlying how well they have been able to stop teams from entering the goal third throughout the season.

In particular, holding Natte to just 28 goals in round eight was a high point.

However, Natte’s Naomi Medlyn and Maddi Farrell are also an excellent defensive combination — the second best in the league, and that’s come despite conceding an average of 56.5 goals per game in the finals so far.

However, it’s also worth noting that they have played Avoca, the second best attacking unit in the competition, and Maryborough Rovers, who are the fifth best.

It will be a fascinating battle between the mid court combinations, both of which love to play contrasting styles.

Carisbrook love to play a slower brand, a controlled brand which allows them to dictate terms with the amount of experience between the combination of Anika Munn, Lauren Jones and Laura Hurse.

They’ll look to keep the ball moving at a constant pace this week and will look to frustrate Natte Bealiba’s mix, who love to move the ball at a high-octane pace.

Natte are led by a younger midcourt, Ella Tranter, with Chloe Ross and Demi Cossar running the wings.

In the goal third, two capable combinations will look to break the other’s defensive prowess.

Again, both teams are vastly different in terms of their approach to the game.

Carisbrook have more of a shared approach, with Andrea Schafer and Paige McLean both devastating in front of goal.

Schafer and McLean both rank in the top six in the competition for goals scored, with Schafer sitting in fourth with 542 goals, while McLean sits in sixth with 385.

On the other hand, Natte’s offence consists of Emma Ryan, who leads the goalscoring count with 844 goals for the season, while Shannae Mills has also provided elite spacing and the ability to get the ball into Ryan’s hands, helping it become a formidable combination.

Preliminary Final 2 — Avoca V Lexton

Sunday’s preliminary final pits an intriguing encounter between third-placed Avoca and fourth-placed Lexton for the second spot in the grand final.

Avoca come in having enjoyed a week off after coming from behind to defeat Natte Bealiba — just their third loss since the start of 2022; while for Lexton, they have made it to the prelim the adventurous way, having lost their qualifying final to Carisbrook, before bouncing back to defeat Trentham last week.

The Bulldogs have been dangerous all season long as they have simply relished being the hunter instead of the hunted. As a result of that, as well as the form of Carisbrook and Natte Bealiba, it’s almost been a perfect storm for the Bulldogs, who waited very patiently until the finals to make the biggest statement of all.

Their second quarter, in particular, against the Swans was brutal, outscoring them by eight goals and ensuring that they would dictate terms instead of chase the game.

They have had the wood on Lexton this season, winning their two encounters by 27 and 14 goals respectively.

However, if Lexton are able to show the same sort of improvement that they were able to between meetings, this one could yet go right down to the final siren.

Both teams are built on an experienced core, with younger players who are starting to make a mark.

The battle between Bulldog goalscorer Maddy Egan and Lexton’s chief defender Jenna Field will be an exciting one, with both players best on court in their respective wins in their last game.

Egan led from the front to ensure that the Bulldogs would beat the Swans, and she has enjoyed an exceptional season, scoring 644 goals to rank second in the goalscoring charts.

Field, for her part, was outstanding against Trentham, and used her size and reach to her advantage to deny Trentham many goalscoring opportunities with her intercept game.

The midcourt battle will be worth the price of admission, with Avoca’s trio of Lucy Howell, Stacey Blair and Elisa Pica one tough unit to crack, as they love to play physically and move the ball extremely well.

However, Lexton will also have the experience and know-how to combat this, in particular with Julia Parkin and Kimberley Roberts, who were both enormous factors in the Tigers’ run to the grand final last season, while Linley Eastick and Evelyn Reid will share responsibilities at wing defence.

The battle between Avoca’s defensive unit, which has been strengthened by the mid-season arrival of Keisha Tonzing to complement Caitlin Drummond, and Lexton’s high-scoring, free-wheeling goal third of Rachel Phelan and Leesa Donhardt looks set to excite.

In truth, expect this to be a high-scoring game. All four attacking options on the court rank in the top 10 in the competition, with Egan and Phelan (579 goals) second and third respectively, while Donhardt ranks eighth in the competition with 339 goals and Gina Beavis ninth with 332.

The Tigers will most likely need to score over 50 goals to win — in their two encounters this season, they managed 35 and 45, which wasn’t enough to combat Avoca’s high scoring, as they were able to finish with 62 and 59 goals respectively.

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