Sport
2 August, 2024
Redbacks out to bite Cobras
Carisbrook’s last chance to earn victory in the home-and-away season arrives this weekend when the Lady Redbacks host Bacchus Marsh.
It’s a matchup that has held fond memories for Carisbrook, having taken two victories in their last two starts against the Cobras at home, which has included a come-from-behind victory in round five.
That day, Carisbrook scored the last three goals of the game to come from seven points behind to ensure they could take the win by 13 points, and another opportunity to take a win could be a big fillip ahead of the finals.
They will look to improve on their last meeting with Bacchus Marsh, which was in round 10, with the Cobras scoring seven goals after quarter time, while also holding Carisbrook scoreless, to win by 58 points.
Tara Curtis, Sarah Lynch, Tiani Jardine, Shelley Feilding, Caitlin Butler and Grace Brady were all named in the best that day.
However, the Lady Redbacks can also take solace thanks to a superb effort against Darley last week which saw them hit the scoreboard with regularity.
Although the end margin was 30 points, it’s as close as the Lady Redbacks have been to the Devils since their return to the competition.
Carisbrook have qualified by virtue of the finals being a top six system, but to say that the Lady Redbacks haven’t improved would be unfair.
Indeed, the Redbacks have halved the number of points they have given up from last year to this year — in 2023, they conceded 1738 points, whereas this year, it has been 878.
If the Lady Redbacks can score 29 points or more on Sunday, they will have also scored more points than they did in the home-and-away season last year as well.
Carisbrook’s under 16s will have one last chance to take a win in 2024 when they host East Point, in a game that will decide whether the Lady Redbacks can avoid finishing last.
The girls played well against the third-placed Darley last week, and were competitive in three quarters, with the Devils’ third quarter effort which yielded three goals proving to be the majority of the difference in a 35-point result.
Emme Johnson, Chloe Wyatt, Tori Taylor, Tess Lee-Conway, Remi Jardine and Georgina Bates all played well, and were rewarded by earning a mention in their best players.
The last meeting between the two teams was in round seven at Carisbrook.
There, the Lady Redbacks took a four-point lead into half time, but East Point were able to kick the only two goals of the second half to turn it around and win by 10 points.