While no Kyabram players featured in the open interleague match between Goulburn Valley League and Ovens and Murray, two Bombers featured in the 15-and-under and 17-and-under fixtures.
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The GVL tore shreds off Ovens and Murray League in Saturday’s interleague stand-off at WJ Findlay Oval, Wangaratta, shooting the lights out to clinch a 37-goal triumph over its country rival.
A largely unchanged starting seven to last year hit the court in the 12.30pm time slot and, apart from conceding the first goal, the GVL led at every other moment to snare a comprehensive, clinical and carefree 68-31 win on enemy territory.
“Look, they did really well considering that it was their first run together. I think it was a great combination,” coach Bree Hanslow said.
“Ovens and Murray came out very fast to begin with, so we had a couple of passages through the court to begin with that didn’t quite go as smoothly as we would have liked.
“But we were able to get those connections starting to work pretty quickly in the first quarter, which was great.”
GVL captain Sarah Szczykulski started rolling down the shutter doors early, winning a ton of ball inside the defensive circle and stitching moves together from the back.
The synergetic Euroa trio of Hollie Reid, Mia Sudomirski and Olivia Morris began to crank the handle in attack, racing Hanslow’s charges out to a 15-4 advantage at quarter-time.
O&M introduced Emily Stewart to the shooting circle, which added some pep to her side’s step, but with GVL displaying crisp passing into the circle that had heads spinning, the lead gunned out past 20 goals as Morris splashed them in like every other Saturday.
During the third, the O&M found some groove as pocket rocket centre Madi Lieschke darted around the asphalt, but it was far too late to change the game as the GVL steered ahead 48-20 at the final change.
Despite a late O&M revival in the final five minutes, the GVL closed out the last quarter 20-11 and was home and hosed at the hooter.
Reid was bestowed best-on-court honours for a pace-setting performance in wing attack, but it was another Magpie who caught Hanslow’s eye alongside a Seymour star.
“I thought Mia (Sudomirski) played an exceptionally good game today,” she said.
“But having that combination who play together every Saturday meant they knew a bit more about each other’s games — it was very handy, they all did really well.
“(Szczykulski) was pivotal down the back end.
“She would have got numerous turnovers and rebounds and also her guidance for all the rest of the young girls out there today was fantastic.”
17-and-under
In a 17-and-under clash that twisted, turned and, ultimately, erupted into one of the day’s most compelling storylines, the GVL’s rising stars snatched victory from what had looked like a sure defeat: a 52-50 triumph carved from resilience.
For almost the whole game, the narrative leaned O&M as the host started slick, structured and, seemingly, a step ahead.
Make no mistake, the GVL was hot on the host’s heels as Echuca’s Rose Byrne popped them through every minute — but despite staying close, the girls in purple were a step behind throughout the first 25 minutes.
When Mooroopna’s Rhani Hendy whacked on the centre bib, it allowed Kyabram’s Ava Pell to bomb up the wing and increase the frequency of feed into Byrne, who levelled the game up moments before the half.
The GVL stole a lead at the break, but the O&M started harder and faster, seeing only one or two goals separate the sides for the duration of the quarter before the host punished it for not building on an earlier lead.
Down by four goals with one term to play, it looked like the GVL’s luck had run dry.
But then something shifted.
Bit by bit, goal by goal, the GVL began chipping away at the deficit as the purple wave began to crest, seeing intensity — and the travelling supporters’ voices — rise elementally.
And if Hendy lit the spark, Byrne brought the fire.
She made pressure her playground in the dying minutes, killing the deficit dead before Jinaya Nurse gave the GVL its go ahead goal.
One more followed, then the siren, the scoreboard reading 52-50 — a result wrestled, not handed.
It was the kind of win that lingers in the minds of those watching and one who sure won’t forget any time soon is coach Matt Healey.
“I spoke to the girls before the game about simplicity today, executing the things that we wanted to execute as well as we possibly could, and to be the higher intensity team for the whole game,” he said.
“I think that they were able to execute that today against a really, really good team.
“There was no gap in terms of the intensity between the two teams, but we were able to stay where we wanted to be, be in the game when it mattered, and be able to sneak over the top at the end.”
15-and-under
They may have been the youngest on show, but Saturday’s 15-and-under interleague netball clash between the Goulburn Valley League and Ovens and Murray League was anything but child’s play.
Despite the GVL keeping pace for the first 10 minutes of the game, the O&M was too strong — in both senses of the word — as it snared a physically dominant 69-38 win in the second iteration of the 15-and-under bout.
“It was a tough game; they were a really strong, physical, skilful side and I think our girls were a little bit overawed by that,” coach Kelly Hill said.
“But having said that, as I said in the speech after the game, it's a great learning opportunity for our girls.
“You learn so much off your opposition when they’re putting physical pressure on you, the efforts that it takes to, you know, make one effort, make a second effort, make a third effort, which at this level is what you need to do.
“It's a really good lesson for our girls and I'm sure they'll take a lot out of being able to play against such a skilful team.”
Kyabram young gun Maggie Guinan was the lone Bomber in action during the 15-and-under match.
The first few exchanges of the game had the chaotic pulse of nerves and anticipation, but O&M’s ability to clean up the mess and turn chaos into control gave them the early ascendancy.
A tense first quarter saw turnovers aplenty on both sides, the O&M just edging ahead off the back of some mid court pressure finished off by star shooter Lucy Tinkler.
Down but not out, the GVL rallied to restore parity through their own attacking threat, Ellie Robinson, but her service was starved throughout the next two terms.
Meanwhile, Tinkler’s ruthless rule on the circle remained as Layla Ratcliffe and Lexie Howard tried to contain the evasive O&M goaler as the hosts broke the buffer out past 10, then 20, then 30.
Kyabram young gun Maggie Guinan was the lone Bomber in action during the 15-and-under match.
Despite O&M winning by 31 goals in the end, it proved to be a pivotal and steep learning experience for the young GVL stars.
Sports editor