KERANG continued their unbeaten start to the season defeating last year’s grand finalists Swan Hill by 10 goals at Riverside Park on Saturday.
The Blues have now won their first three games of the season and are one of three clubs to do so, finding themselves third on the ladder behind Woorinen and the Mallee Eagles.
It has been a remarkable turnaround for a team which lost eight of their first 10 games last season, with a mixture of new and experienced players moulding together to produce three strong wins to begin their 2025 campaign.
Kerang’s new found confidence was on display right from the start, with the home side opening up a nine-goal lead by quarter time, with Katelyn Wright (23 goals) and Denise Roberts (26 goals) dominating in the goal ring in the opening minutes, scoring eight of the first 10 goals of the match.
From there, the Blues continued to extend their lead at every break, opening up a 14-goal lead at three-quarter time, before Swan Hill fought back in the last quarter to reduce the final margin in the the 49-39 result.
As impressive as Kerang were, the Swans were also able to find good elements, according to coach Casey Frame, who was equally impressed by her opposition.
“We’re obviously disappointing with the loss, but we can take many positives away from the game at the same time,” Frame said post-match.
“Kerang are going to be a big threat this year, they have lots of talent across the court, their defence was solid and they capitalised when they won the ball.
“We had a bit of a slow start and trialled a few different combinations and off the back of that, we’ve learnt what worked and what didn’t.
“We finished the game well and won the last quarter which was really pleasing and it was great to see our younger players step up and perform against a strong side.”
Although Frame was impressed with the performance of her younger players, it was the more senior Swans who were their strongest contributors, with midcourter Hayley Neuschafer, goal defence Mollie Quin and goaler Kelly Bonney, who finished the game with 23 goals, named their better players.
For Kerang, Roberts and Wright continue to improve their combination with every match and will loom as becoming a big strength of the Blues the longer the season progresses.
The same can be said for Kerang defenders Chloe Adams and Maddy Black, with the pair, along Lily Wise in wing defence, helping to intercept and restrict Swan Hill’s ability to penetrate their goal ring.
Kerang will face perhaps their biggest test this Saturday when they travel to Barham to take on the much-improved Raiders, while Swan Hill and Lake Boga will clash in a grand final re-match with a difference, with both squads undergoing several changes to this season.
Final Whistle
Kerang 49
Swan Hill 39
