Sport
31 August, 2023
MCDFNL Finals — Week Two Netball Previews
Week two of the finals sees action return to Princes Park, with Lexton, Trentham, Natte Bealiba and Maryborough Rovers fighting to keep their season alive. Semi-Final 1 — Lexton V Trentham Lexton and Trentham do battle on Saturday with a spot in...
Week two of the finals sees action return to Princes Park, with Lexton, Trentham, Natte Bealiba and Maryborough Rovers fighting to keep their season alive.
Semi-Final 1 — Lexton V Trentham
Lexton and Trentham do battle on Saturday with a spot in the preliminary final against Avoca at stake.
Hark back to 2022, and it was a match-up between fourth and fifth in the first semi-final. Lexton came in as the slight underdogs, given Harcourt had enjoyed a very spirited performance against the Bulldogs the week before, yet the Tigers defied that to win their way through to the preliminary final, and eventually the grand final, all the way from fifth.
Back to the now, however, and they’ll be wary of going out in straight sets themselves after their own spirited performance last week against Carisbrook.
The Tigers are a very good team, however, and despite going down last week, they were able to ask some serious questions of Carisbrook in the second half, even despite having Kimberley Roberts on the bench throughout the entirety of that period. Ebony Howell deputised throughout the second half in wing attack, and was able to acquit herself well in trying to help the Tigers breach the competition’s best defensive unit.
There are still plenty of players that the Saints will need to quell on Saturday, such as Julia Parkin, Rachel Phelan and Leesa Donhardt, who are always busy on the court, while Caitlin Howell and Jenna Field did a good job of making it a tense battle against Carisbrook duo Andrea Schafer and Paige McLean, particularly in the third term where they held the Redbacks to just nine goals from 16 attempts on goal.
On to the Saints, who showed that they were able to get on top of Navarre last week and put in their own impressive offensive performance to eliminate the Hoppers, and keep their own season alive.
Their 55 goals was their second best tally of the year, only eclipsed by their 69-goal tally against Newstead, and considering the Hoppers had only held them to 28 goals in round one, it represented a mighty improvement from the Saints.
The Saints are a team that are unpredictable and versatile, with playing-coach Sharna Ford able to rotate between providing some spark in the midcourt, while also proving to be an excellent option in front of goal, in which she was able to provide 23 goals last week, while Hayley Bourke was also excellent, scoring 32 goals.
Ford heaped praise on Jessica Walker last week, who held her own against the Navarre duo of Erin Chisholm and Darcy Crawford as the Hoppers tried desperately to keep themselves in the game.
Trentham will be hoping to avoid a repeat of their last meeting with Lexton, which saw them lose by 11 goals, yet found themselves as many as 22 goals down during the game.
On that occasion, Field was dominant, while Evelyn Reid also had a good outing, while Walker was also named in the best players.
It was a tight game to start with, as Lexton held a four-goal advantage in the first term, before taking complete control, scoring 15 goals to four in the second to lead by 15 goals at the main break, before adding another 13 goals to six in the third term, before the Saints were able to save face somewhat with 14 goals to three in the final term to add respectability back to the scoreboard.
Donhardt scored 22 goals, with Phelan 16 and Roberts seven, while for Trentham, Ford scored 21 goals, Zahlia Turton seven and Prue Higgins six.
Semi-Final 2 — Natte Bealiba V Maryborough Rovers
The reigning premiers find themselves in the exact same position they were in last year, as Maryborough Rovers, pent up with emotion, come to play on Sunday, with a date with Carisbrook on the line.
This will be a tricky encounter for Natte, knowing that Rovers have no tomorrows. That emotion could yet play a big part in Rovers playing at their best on Sunday, although it is a mammoth mountain to climb.
Natte were left to rue their second quarter last week against Avoca, especially after enjoying a good start which saw them establish a five-goal lead at the first change.
Instead, the Bulldogs were able to go on a furious 17-9 run of their own in the second term to eventually take control of the game and booked their place in the preliminary final by winning 57-52.
However, it’s most certainly not panic stations for Natte. As mentioned before, they were in this very position last season, having lost a qualifying final they were favoured to win by many against Carisbrook, before bouncing back against Maldon.
Of course, as history shows, the Swans then went on to defeat the Bulldogs, followed by Lexton to end their premiership drought, stretching back 11 years.
Regardless of the loss last week, playing-coach Emma Ryan still played exceptionally well, scoring 42 goals as she tried to will the Swans home, while of course, there’s still the likes of Ella Tranter, Naomi Medlyn, Maddi Farrell and young gun Chloe Ross giving their all in the team, which is still very much a scary proposition to many teams in the competition.
If any team outside of the top four are able to give Natte a run at their best, however, it might just be Rovers — the highest scoring team outside of the top four, and one that can fight fire with fire with Natte.
Indeed, Rovers look like they are bringing in their best team at the right time of the season, with Tegan Maddern and Abbey Raven forming a dynamic goalscoring duo, while Ebony Raven, Ebony Cain, sister Charlotte and Bethany Fitzpatrick form quite a deep midcourt for Rovers.
There were a bundle of nerves last week as they almost let slip a big lead to Dunolly in their elimination final, but they were able to turn around their 11-goal loss to the Eagles earlier in the season to hold firm by four goals.
Now, they will be out to turn around two losses to the Swans earlier in the season. Do that, and it would be arguably the upset of the year, and also perhaps one of the most emotional wins Rovers will ever have in their last season. Time will tell if they have one last special moment in them.
Natte, however, have been clinical in their two wins this season.
In round two, Rovers gave Natte a scare at quarter time, leading by two goals, before Natte put the foot down in the next two quarters, scoring 38 goals to just seven, including a 24-1 second quarter, to take the game away from Rovers and eventually win by 38 goals, with Ryan scoring 56 goals.
In the return meeting in round 15, Rovers were a bit more competitive, sitting just 12 goals behind at half time, before the Swans flexed their muscle, scoring 20 goals to 10 in the third quarter to sit 22 goals up, before eventually winning by 24. It was a shootout between Ryan and Maddern, with Ryan finishing with 52 goals, and Maddern 35.