Kangas near finals
COHUNA have taken a giant step towards breaking their finals drought with a 14-goal win at home over Tyntynder on Saturday.
A 13-8 opening term helped the Kangas establish the early advantage, which they maintained for the remainder of the match.
The 47-33 win moved Cohuna a game clear of sixth-placed Woorinen in the top five.
Kangas coach Georgia Anderson was ecstatic with her team’s performance.
“I was very happy with the combined effort, everyone played their role and we’ve been able to show our potential again,” Anderson said.
“We were already so happy with our season and accomplishments, but that win has really given us more drive and plenty of confidence heading into the next few rounds.
“Our defence again was dynamite, they kept us alive all day and our attacking end played the best they have all season.”
Carly Geary earned best-on-court honours for Cohuna, along with Delainey Holmes and Kobie McIvor in goals, highlighting the Kangas’ strong performance in their attacking third.
For Tyntynder, their better players were defenders Nichola Miliano and Monica Ellis, with the loss a bitter blow to the Bulldogs season and their coach Kelsey Rowe.
“We were very disappointed with Saturday’s result,” Rowe said.
“We didn’t adapt well to the poor conditions and different combinations, but credit to Cohuna who capitalised on that.”
Swans back on top
SWAN Hill returned to the top of the Central Murray A Grade ladder by recording a dominant 27-goal win over rivals Woorinen at a blustery Alan Garden Reserve.
After Lake Boga’s bye at the weekend, the Swans are in first with a superior percentage but having played one more game.
With heavy winds making conditions difficult for both teams, the home side were quickest to adjust, with Woorinen only managing 14 goals for the entire match against the well-drilled Swan Hill defence.
“It’s always hard to know what to expect with those sorts of conditions and the game could have gone either way,” Swan Hill co-coach Madeleine Nalder said after the 41-14 win.
“The girls adapted really well and we were pleased with our game.
“Obviously with the wind, it was a short and sharp game and we just tried to get the ball as close to the post as we could to give ourselves the best chance to score.”
It was a similar story for Woorinen coach Tayla Bennett, who acknowledged how difficult scoring was in the conditions.
“The weather was very tricky and our goals just didn’t fall,” Bennett said.
“It was great to give all our junior players court time against a great side.
“We know we have work to do after the game, but we’ll put that to the back of our minds and look forward to our next few games ahead, and we’ll continue to grow and develop our younger generation along the way.”
Casey Frame and Karli McIntyre were the better players for Swan Hill, while Rachel McLaughlin and Ava Crow were the best for the Tigers.
Demons protect lead
NYAH-Nyah West United were made to work for their fifth win of the season, with the Demons recording an 11-goal win over Koondrook-Barham.
The win was set up by a dominant first quarter, with the home side taking a 10-goal lead into the first break.
The Raiders rallied from then on, however, and kept pace with NNW United to eventually go down 49-38 in an encouraging performance.
While her team was made to work after quarter-time, NNW United coach Madi Jones was ultimately happy with her team’s performance.
“The girls performed well under the pressure of some team changes this week,” Jones said.
“I felt we also handled the weather well, which was really difficult at times and settled in very quickly.
“Overall, I was happy with the whole team’s efforts, they all knew their role for the game performed it well for the four quarters.”
Eagles rise up
THE Mallee Eagles returned to the winners’ list, with a dominant 27-13 first half helping set up a 29-goal win over Tooleybuc-Manangatang.
The 54-25 win, combined with Balranald’s shock loss to Kerang, raised the Eagles back inside the top three, with the percentage boost putting them in pole position in the race for the final double chance spot in the upcoming finals series.
Mallee Eagles co-coach Alicia Harvey was full of praise for her team’s ability to handle the windy conditions, with the Eagles delivering the highest score of the round, despite a game-ending injury to goal attack Kasey Torr early in the match.
“We played some very strong, consistent netball, shooting 12 to 15 goals a quarter, which Jess (Jobling, Eagles co-coach) and I were super happy with considering the weather,” Harvey said.
“Goals were always going to be hard to drop on a windy day like that, but we couldn’t have asked for any more from our shooters.
“Mikayla O’Meara stepped in for Kasey (Torr) and played an extremely consistent game in just her second A Grade match, dominating the GS position.
“Megan Thorneycroft provided excellent direction, accuracy and strong rebounds and I felt she was our clearly our best on court.”
Jess Jobling was also among the Eagles better players, along with defenders Laura Sheahan and Nevaeh Roberts.
The Saints were well served by defenders Olivia Fowler and Ella Foley, with the latter making several key intercepts, according to Tooleybuc-Manangatang coach Mel Wait.
“Saturday was tough, we had a very, very young side, who were patchy,” Wait said.
“The wind didn’t help us, we got the ball into the circle a lot, but we just had trouble shooting in the wind.”
