KOONDROOK-Barham will go into this Saturday’s qualifying final against Kerang full of confidence following their hard-fought 11-goal win over Swan Hill.
The 52-41 victory further solidifies the Raiders stunning turnaround in 2025, having gone from wooden spooners just 12 months ago to now finishing second on the Central Murray ladder.
With the club’s senior footballers also qualifying for finals, the River Raiders are buzzing for what’s ahead, according to Koondrook-Barham co-coach Emma Peacock.
“It’s very exciting, to finish as high as we have wasn’t quite what we expected,” Peacock said.
“I remember when we spoke at the start of the season we were all thinking it would be a great achievement for us to play finals, but to finish as high as we have is fantastic.
“The whole club’s excited, we have a few football and netball teams that have qualified for finals and the whole club is really buzzing at the moment.”
However, the Raiders didn’t have things all their own way, with Swan Hill holding a one-goal lead at quarter time after a highly competitive first term.
That would be where the joy ended for the Swans however, with Koondrook-Barham retaking the lead in the first minute of the second term and never relenting.
For Peacock, Saturday’s contest was the perfect finals lead-in for her team, who showed poise and control against a hardened and experienced Swan Hill outfit.
“They (Swan Hill) certainly didn’t hand it to us and we had to play the full four quarters to get the win,” Peacock said.
“We needed to play really well and even though Swan Hill may not be the dominant team this season that they have been in the past, it’s been an awfully long time since we have been beaten them twice in one season.
“Our goalling end and the way we managed to feed the ball into Erin (Moerenhout) was really good and I’ll be very confident going into finals with those sort of feeds.
“Everyone contributed and I don’t think anybody really stood, out with the exception of young Ella Hall at goal keeper.
“She (Hall) changed the game completely and played phenomenally well, especially being a junior and she certainly has an exciting ahead of her.”
Erin Moerenhout led the way in the goal ring for the Raiders with 34 goals, while Miela Roberts and Mollie Quin were among Swan Hill’s better players.
The loss ended Swan Hill’s faint hopes of playing finals, with the Swans heading into Saturday’s match needing a monumental victory over Koondrook-Barham as well as other results to go their way.
“We were with them for most of the game and they got away from us in the last quarter, which has been the story of our year sadly,” Swan Hill coach Casey Frame said.
“We took some risks, some paid off, some didn’t, but I’m proud of the effort our players put in.
“It’s disappointing we couldn’t finish the season off with a win, but Miela (Roberts) played well.
“She fed amazingly and stood up strong against tough opponents and our defenders worked hard all game, but we simply got beaten by a better and more consistent team.”
FINAL WHISTLE
| Koondrook-Barham | 52 |
|---|---|
| Swan Hill | 41 |
