Mooroopna’s Rhani Hendy leaps through the air to claim a pass ahead of Tatura’s Elsie Boyer.
Photo by
Holly Daniel
Finals intensity arrived early in the Goulburn Valley League netball ranks, as two top-six showdowns delivered a timely reminder that the premiership race is anything but settled.
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Saturday saw Mooroopna host Tatura while Shepparton welcomed cross-town rival Shepparton Swans to play, and in the case of the former match, a maverick shooting display helped the Cats to a memorable win on a milestone day.
Ash Lancaster’s 44-goal performance thrust Mooroopna to a lead at every change and an eventual 60-39 victory, making the celebration of Bree Hanslow passing 400 A-grade games all the sweeter.
Tatura’s Charlette Gray claims the ball ahead of Mooroopna’s Chloe Meulenmeesters.
Photo by
Holly Daniel
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Tatura’s Taylor Rokahr flies to clutch a pass.
Photo by
Holly Daniel
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Tatura’s Zoe Hayes gets the ball under her spell.
Photo by
Holly Daniel
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Mooroopna’s Dayna Williams puts the heat on Tatura’s Charlette Gray.
Photo by
Holly Daniel
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Tatura’s Julia Clarke gets on the turn.
Photo by
Holly Daniel
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Mooroopna’s Dayna Williams and Tatura’s Charlette Gray duel for the ball.
Photo by
Holly Daniel
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Tatura’s Stephanie Gorrie stoops down to collect a bounce pass.
Photo by
Holly Daniel
Over at Deakin Reserve, Shepparton showed the Swans why half measures don’t cut it.
The visitors held parity with the Bears 13-all at quarter time and even led by a goal at the break before Kim Borger’s side threw the fist down.
Shepparton stole a six-goal advantage by three-quarter time and 18 at the final whistle, much to the delight of the Bears’ mentor.
“Swans are a really quality side; they're very much a team that can be somewhat annoying, I guess, because they're just constantly there with you,” Borger said.
“They're definitely a side that make you work for your win.
“Thankfully for us, we were able to grind it out, made a couple of changes that really helped us, and I think that's the beauty of the versatility that I have within my team - being able to change up what we're doing to suit the game that we're playing.”
A physically imposing Shepparton outfit, welcoming back Mackenzie O’Dwyer from Melbourne Mavericks Reserves, went toe-to-toe with the Swans early doors.
Experience at both shooting ends with Borger and Swans’ goaler Chelsea McDonald made for a hotly contested first 10 minutes, with precision and execution evident on both fronts.
Leads changed on the regular throughout the second term, but as the Swans began to falter in the third, Shepparton upped the ante.
Young defender Gabby Moore tried her utmost to stop Borger’s brilliance, but the classy Bear popped them through with aplomb following consistent service from Caitlyn Tuohey.
At the opposite post, Natasha Atkinson-Brown was shooting fine but couldn’t match Borger’s pace, and when push came to shove, the Bears ran out 64-46 victors.
“I think in the first half there wasn't really much turnover ball,” Borger said.
“Neither team was getting a lot of turnovers, so I think we were all very clinical in terms of our attack for both teams.
“Once things potentially started to fatigue in there — a bit more body, people started to tire. That's when the mistakes started to sort of creep through.
“I'm really proud to say that my girls are ridiculously fit and strong, so yeah, really proud of their efforts.”
With Saturday’s triumph taking Shepparton to 10 wins undefeated, Borger went on the laud the performances of Erin Scott on the wing, Hannah Crawley in defence, Tuohey in the centre as well as O’Dwyer’s mercurial cameo.
Around the courts, Shepparton United secured a must-win result over Benalla to keep finals dreams afloat, winning 73-42.
Elsewhere, Rochester’s dominant third quarter lifted the Tigers to a 53-37 victory over Kyabram, while Seymour had too much in the tank for Echuca, prevailing by 11 goals.
