HFNL Weekly Netball Wrap: Fresha Finals Series – Week 1

HFNL Weekly Netball Wrap: Fresha Finals Series – Week 1

26th August 2022

A Cap of Last Week’s Results

In the final home and away round there were no real surprises with the results.  Hamilton defeated Port Fairy 64 – 36.  Tilly Balmer produced a great game for the Seagulls and Kellie Somerville played well for the Kangaroos.  

Portland were very competitive against the ladder leaders with the final margin 55 – 44.  Holly Phillips once again shot well for the Roosters and Jaclyn Piergrosse was best for the Tigers.  

Cobden looked to be in top form when they defeated Terang Mortlake 71 – 42.  Emily Finch was top scorer for the Bombers with 41 goals and Jacqui Arundell played well for the Bloods.

Koroiot were comfortable winners over the Blues with Nell Mitchell scoring an incredible 64 goals for the Saints.   Eva Ryan had another great game in attack chipping in 36 goals for the Blues.

Camperdown and North Warrnambool fought out a close contest with the Eagles coming from behind to claim a 2 goal victory.  Lily Eldridge tried hard in defence for the Magpies and Maddison Smedts had a best on court performance for the Eagles.

Milestone Games

Emily Rose Dobson – 100 Open Games

Congratulations to Emily Rose Dobson (nee Finnigan) who will play her 100th game for the Koroit FNC this Saturday.   Emily Rose first started playing for the Saints in 2014 and has since played in 3 Premiership Teams.  Emily’s teammates describe her as being a great fun player to have on the team and is a great support to the Coach and her other team members.  Emily Rose sets a great example for the younger Saints around the Club.  Congratulations Emily – a great effort!

Victoria Grundy – 100 Senior Games

Congratulations to Victoria Grundy who will play her 100th Senior game for the North Warrnambool FNC on Sunday at Port Fairy.  Victoria started her Junior netball with the Eagles and then played a few games with the Roosters before returning to Bushfield a few years ago.  Victoria is very active around the Club taking on several different roles for the Club including Coaching.  Victoria is also a great support to her father Shane, who is the Netball Co-ordinator at the Club.  Congratulations Victoria – Well Done.  

Umpire Accreditation

Congratulations to Hannah Van de Camp who was awarded her C Badge Accreditation last Saturday.  Hannah has been working hard to develop her umpiring over recent months and has now been rewarded for all her hard work.  Congratulations Hannah!

Interrupted Seasons over the past two years have limited opportunities for player development, particularly Juniors but the opportunity to develop and mentor umpires has also been affected.  Umpire development has been a priority for our league this season and we are pleased to report that we have managed to successfully gain 10 C Badge accredited Umpires and 2 B Badge Accreditations during the 2022 Season.

The following Umpires were all awarded their C Badges this year:-

Ava Nolan and Ella Sadler (Camperdown); Eloise Chivell (Cobden); Natalie O’Dea (Hamilton Kangaroos); Gemma Rentsch (North Warrnambool); Bree Fox and Hannah Van Der Aa (Port Fairy), Charley Samson (Portland), Emily Veale and Hannah Van De Camp (South Warrnambool).  

We also had two Umpires successfully gain their B Badges – Leo McGrath (Port Fairy) and Lauren Westhorpe (South Warrnambool).   

This year has been very rewarding with so many Umpires being awarded their Badges and I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of our Mentors and Testers who have been so willing to share their knowledge and expertise.  THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH.  I know our league will benefit from this for many years to come and all your work is very much appreciated.   

My Predictions for This Week

Cobden will take on Koroit at Victoria Park on Saturday.  Player availability may be a challenge for the Saints as some of the players will have Basketball Commitments in Melbourne.  Cobden have been in great form in recent weeks and are looking strong at this stage of the Competition.  I think they have too many strengths which Koroit will struggle to cover if they are missing key players.  Cobden should get the win here.

On Sunday in the Elimination Final at Port Fairy, North Warrnambool will come up against the Warrnambool Blues.  Both teams have lost key players to injury over the past couple of weeks and have no doubt been working on rotating players to reassess their best combinations.  I think North Warrnambool go in as slight favourites but could easily be rattled if they don’t bring their A game.  I do think North can win – just.

BEST OF LUCK TO ALL TEAMS COMPETING IN THE FRESHA FINALS SERIES THIS WEEKEND.

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