Lasts Week’s Results
Hamilton Kangaroos were able to score their first win for the season over Terang Mortlake 50 – 38. Kellie Sommerville was a welcome return for the Kangaroos with a best on court performance and Ellen Rose Lee played well for the Bloods.
South Warrnambool asserted their dominance again with an impressive 27 goal win over the Blues. Holly Phillips chipped in with 41 goals for the Roosters, whilst Jordi Bidmade had another great game for the Blues.
Portland fought hard all game to score an upset win over North Warrnambool Eagles. The Eagles struggled to find answers for the Tigers dynamic attack, and the Tigers were able to score a 9 goal win. Mikaila Pitt was elusive in the circle for the Tigers and Nakiah Thomas played well for the Eagles.
Camperdown played some of their best netball against Port Fairy with Krystal baker scoring well for the Magpies and helping her team to a 17 goal win over the seagulls. Tessa Allan tried hard for Port Fairy.
And in the final game of the round Koroit and Cobden played out a thriller at Victoria Park. Cobden were up by 3 at half time but Koroit, after making numerous changes clawed their way back and were eventual winners by 3 goals. Laylka Monk was amongst the best for the Saints and Jess Bouchier, playing her first Open game played well and went on to score 20 goals for the Bombers.
Milestone Game
This week we Congratulate Sarah O’Meara from the North Warrnambool Eagles FNC who will play her 250th Club Game this week. Sarah first came to the Eagles in 2008 as a 17/U player and won the 17/U Premiership in her first year. She has since won Premierships in Open and Div 1. She won the League Best and Fairest Div 1 Award in 2018 and was Runner Up League Best and Fairest in 2019. She has also won numerous Club Best and Fairest and Runner Up Best and Fairest Awards in the Div 1 grade. Sarah has also taken on Coach/Assistant Coach Roles for 13/U, 15/U and Div 1 Teams and has coached a 13/U Premiership Team.
Sarah is a valued member of the Netball Community at North Warrnambool and has contributed a great deal to the Club over the past 15 years. Congratulations Sarah. This is an awesome achievement. Well Done!
Unavailability resulting in opportunities for younger players
We all understand the impact COVID and more recently influenza has had on player availability. One thing’s for sure, these diseases are not discriminative, Players, Coaches, Umpires and Volunteers are all being affected. Whilst it is great to be back playing the football and netball that we have all missed so much over the past two years, please do not discount the tremendous efforts of all clubs, their officials and volunteers navigating their way through a season like we’ve never experienced before.
As I think about the upcoming round and who might take home the premiership points, if you are fortunate enough to have a full team list to select from you are in with a chance and as has been the case in the earlier rounds, so many of the younger players have had an opportunity to play at a higher level than what they would normally.
The benefits of extra court time for the younger players will no doubt be beneficial for the Clubs down the track and perhaps towards the end of the season we might see more Clubs vying for a spot in the Top 5.
With these factors in mind my selections for this week are:-
With strengths all over the court, Koroit will be too strong for Camperdown. Portland are capable of scoring a win over Port Fairy. South Warrnambool will comfortably account for Hamilton. Cobden and Warrnambool will be a great contest but Cobden will be keen to make amends for last week’s loss and will score a narrow win. North Warrnambool Eagles and Terang Mortlake will also be keen to get back on the winners list but I think North will steady and get over the line in another close game.
