Sport
1 April, 2024
Netballers secure season opener in A res
Maryborough’s decision to step down to the A reserve competition for 2024 only looks like being a successful one if their Good Friday win over Castlemaine is anything to go by, scoring a dominant start-to-finish victory by 18 goals. The decision...
Maryborough’s decision to step down to the A reserve competition for 2024 only looks like being a successful one if their Good Friday win over Castlemaine is anything to go by, scoring a dominant start-to-finish victory by 18 goals.
The decision was made with their younger cohort in mind, and without the pressure of A grade, the likes of Tali Chadwick and Millie Cassidy were able to thrive throughout the game, putting in excellent performances across midcourt.
Maryborough was able to unleash new recruit Megan Kelly, who played a brilliant role at goal shooter in her first game after moving across from Kangaroo Flat, immediately slotting in alongside the experienced Jordan MacIlwain.
A strong start from Maryborough saw them open up an eight-goal lead in the first quarter, scoring 17 goals, while their miserly defence, complete with Maggie Tranter on debut as playing-coach and Eliza Roughead returning, conceded just nine goals for the quarter. Kelly scored 11 goals for the quarter, while MacIlwain added six.
In the second term, Maryborough faced a lot more resistance from Castlemaine, but were still able to extend their lead to 11 goals thanks to a 13-goal to 10 term, with Kelly adding a further eight goals, while MacIlwain added five.
It was a similar story in the third quarter, with Maryborough again proving to be just a little cleaner than Castlemaine across all areas of the court, and again added another 13 goals to 10, with Kelly scoring five and MacIlwain eight.
The final quarter saw Maryborough score their lowest amount of goals for the afternoon, with 12, but they were also pleasingly able to win every quarter in the process, conceding just nine goals as they completed a terrific afternoon’s work. Kelly scored eight goals to take her tally to 32 for the day, while MacIlwain’s four goals took her to 20 for the day.
Elsewhere on the netball court on Good Friday, all four Maryborough teams had competitive outings, suggesting a more competitive season is on the horizon for Maryborough’s cohort.
The B grade team were right in the game, leading at half time, before they were eventually overrun, going down 34-29, while B reserve were unable to stop a Castlemaine onslaught in the second and third quarters before losing 48-41.
After conceding an enormous lead early, sitting as much as 12 goals down during the early stages, Maryborough’s 17 and under squad showed enormous heart to fight back into the game, and eventually overran Castlemaine to win by eight goals, scoring a 61-53 victory as they seek another finals appearance for 2024.
