Sport
7 August, 2026
MCDFNL Round 17 Netball Preview — Carisbrook vs Maryborough Giants
Carisbrook can complete their 2026 home and away season by delivering the eliminating blow to a Maryborough Giants team needing a major upset to keep their faint finals chances alive.
The Giants will return to the Maryborough Netball Association courts with very few positives to take from last weekend’s crushing defeat to Navarre, where they allowed an astonishing 104 goals.
It’s a loss that placed Maryborough’s finals dreams from highly unlikely to close to impossible, but the Giants still have plenty to play for on Saturday.
Determined to avoid another degrading blowout, the Giants will need to improve their full-court defensive pressure and alleviate the weight off Macey Parry, Riahni Egan and Jorgia Brown to defend constant goal circle entries for Carisbrook’s elite shooting tandem.
After Newstead did a remarkable job limiting them to 11 goals in the first quarter, Abbey Nalder and Jordan Macilwain went on a scoring frenzy last Saturday, combining to net 41 goals in the second half.
With Katie Bilton and Lauren Jones providing a stellar source of entry passes, the Redbacks’ sharpshooting duo are a threat to overpower teams in an instant, demonstrated in their 75-21 round four victory over Maryborough.
Emerging defender Finley Wagstaff has also been in sensational form in recent weeks, a major obstacle Laura McStravick, Bridget Allan and the Giants attack will need to navigate with caution.