LAKE Boga will enjoy a well-earned week off and await the winner of this Saturday’s A grade qualifying final between Swan Hill and Balranald after claiming an eight-goal win over the Mallee Eagles.
It was a significant day for the finals campaigns of both clubs, with the 45-37 loss seeing the Mallee Eagles fall from the top three and face the prospect of playing knockout netball for the remainder of the season.
For Lake Boga, the win ensured they went through the home and away season undefeated to claim the minor premiership for the second season in a row.
The win also sees the Magpies enter this year’s finals as premiership favourites as the only team to have beaten all other finals contenders throughout the season, with Lake Boga coach Anne-Marie Stewart sounding confident her team can replicate their strong form once again at the business end of the season.
“We’ve been preparing all season for this and it’s the same as last year:, the other teams have to beat us,” Stewart said.
“We’re fit, ready to go and pretty confident with where we sit.
“The girls are committed and I’m certain they’ll leave everything out on the court, plus it helps that we have good depth sitting on the bench too.
“Our goalers (Sarah Hepburn and Katie Carmichael) played very well on the weekend – our bookends in general were and are very strong.
“We have two strong shooters and two strong defenders.
“The two sets of sisters at each end are very tough and they just have a connection that others don’t have, especially Katie and Sarah.”
Along with Hepburn and Carmichael, the Magpies were well served by the Peacock sisters in defence, Emma and Sophie combining well to make the Mallee Eagles’ passing into the ring difficult, according to Stewart.
“Emma (Peacock) played an amazing game at goal defence,” Stewart said.
“In the first half she was in everything and she played amazingly well.
“She played on Megan Thorneycroft and did a tremendous job, but everyone played pretty well.
“Katie Carmichael played beautifully at goal attack and ‘Taigs’ (Taigan O’Shannassy) in the centre and Sophie (Peacock) at goal keeper were very good as well.
“She (Peacock) locked down the high ball and made it very difficult for them to pass into the ring.
“It was a good win and now we’ve got the week off, which will be good for the girls to freshen up, especially our travellers.”
While the Magpies were strong at both ends of the court, the Mallee Eagles’ better players came from their defence, who worked tirelessly to repel the constant attacking entries the Lake Boga midcourt were sending their way.
Nevaeh Roberts, Leah McKenzie and Laura Sheahan were all among the Eagles’ better players, according to Mallee co-coach Alicia Harvey, with her team now needing to regroup ahead of an elimination final encounter with Tyntynder.
“We’re disappointed not to come away with the four points but overall Jess (Jobling, the side’s co-coach) and I couldn’t be prouder of the girls for the fight they put up against an undefeated side,” Harvey said.
“It was a brilliant game, with excellent match-ups across the court.
“We put in a four-quarter effort and stayed with them the whole 60 minutes, but I think it came down to a simple loss of focus or a lapse in consistency during the second quarter which caused us to make a few unforced errors, which they (Lake Boga) capitalised on and gained some momentum.
“Playing catch-up netball is never easy, particularly against a side like (Lake) Boga.
“Credit to them, they are a beautiful side and have been the benchmark all season and they showed that on Saturday.
“We felt that our defenders did a stellar job slowing down their attacking end and keeping them to 45 goals, which is their second-lowest score for the entire season.
“That’s testament to our defensive pressure that we applied across the whole court, which was the main goal for our girls.”
Final Score
Lake Boga 45
Mallee Eagles 37
