Image supplied by The Standard
After the Good Friday Match, if we needed to be reminded that Football and Netball are a Winter Sport the weather conditions last week certainly made that clear. In freezing, wet and windy conditions there were some close contests across all grades of netball.
Last Week’s Wrap
Koroit easily accounted for Portland at Victoria Park. Nell Mitchell once again, dominated in the circle shooting 40 goals for her team while Emily Batt kept Portland’s scoring opportunities to a minimum.
The clash between Warrnambool and South was, as expected, a close contest with South going on to win to make it two from two. Carly Watson was able to alleviate Amy Wormald’s dominance with Best on Court honours.
Hamilton Kangaroos would be pleased with the performance of their new recruit, Kyra McKinnis, but it wasn’t enough to get them over the line. Alicia Moloney who returned to the netball court after a long break made her presence felt and was the best for Port Fairy.
Krystal and Chelsea Baker combined well in attack to help score a convincing win over Terang/Mortlake.
Congratulations to Lara Taylor (Cobden) and Amelia Kline (North Warrnambool) who both played their first Open game for their respective teams last week. Amy Hammond and Jess McGlade put in a strong performance to help overcome the Eagles and take the four points.
My thoughts for Round 2
In this week’s matches Terang/Mortlake take on Koroit at Victoria Park. The Bloods will struggle against a more experienced and consistent Koroit who are making the most of their opportunities up forward.
Camperdown versus Cobden in the close town rival at Leura Oval. Cobden are still waiting for the return of 2 key players from injury in Sophie Hinkley and Nadine McNamara. This certainly creates a much more level playing field and it should be a great contest. I predict Cobden to win a close one.
Warrnambool take on Hamilton in their first home game at Deakin. The blues experience will be a big advantage and they should score the win.
North Warrnambool play South Warrnambool at Bushfield. Annie Blackburn will be keen to perform well against her former Club and North with their versatility are still finding their best combinations. I think the Roosters will win a tight game.
The Portland Tigers travel to Port Fairy to take on the Seagulls. This will be another closely fought match and I expect Lauren Hockley to put in another strong performance for Portland. However, I don’t think this will be enough and Port Fairy will get their second narrow win.
On April 24th Nathan Begley, an AA Netball Umpire from Melbourne was to travel down to Terang and umpire an Open Match for us. Unfortunately, due to Suncorp Super Netball commitments, he is no longer able to come. Whilst we are disappointed that Nathan is no longer able to make the journey, we wish him all the best as he prepares for a busy season with the SSN.
We have been fortunate enough to secure the services of Barb Cox for a Rules Discussion session on Friday, May 28th – venue still to be confirmed. Barb will also be assisting with some mentoring on Saturday 29th, as part of our Umpire Appreciation Round. The Rules Discussion will be beneficial to anyone involved in the game of netball including players, coaches and Umpires and I encourage everyone to come along and hear some of the best advice and rule clarification from a very experienced Umpire and Mentor.
From the Rule Book
After witnessing an incident last week during a Senior game, it appears there is still come confusion with the Injury/Illness and Blood Rule. If the Umpire holds time for a player with blood or is requested to hold time for an injured/ill player the player concerned MUST leave the court. The player’s team can choose to replace the injured/ill/bleeding player or leave the position vacant. If no substitution is made for this player the player may return to the court after a goal is scored, a stoppage for injury/illness or blood, or at an Interval.
Good Luck to all teams competing this Weekend.