Roosters win key battle as shrewd Lions loom next

A TOUGH month of netball ahead of finals for North Ballarat is off to a terrific start, after shoring up third spot on the ladder with a smart win over Lake Wendouree last Saturday.

The Roosters – without star goal attack Poppy Douglass but with her shooting partner Maddy Selmon in imposing form – overcame a spirited Lakers by eight goals to notch up their 11th win of the season.

It has thrust coach Annie McCartin’s team into another big showdown this Saturday against Redan, which stunned second-placed Darley for a 46-34 victory.

A stirring win against the Devils, who were missing goaler Olivia Cawthray, handed the Lions another impressive scalp.

 

They defeated North Ballarat by 18 goals earlier in the season and also Lake Wendouree.

Following a tough win over their neighbours, Roosters coach McCartin was pleased with all aspects of her team’s performance, highlighted by a wide spread of contributions across the court.

Standouts included experienced goal shooter Selmon (49 goals at 94.23 per cent accuracy), hard-working centre Brydi Hutchinson and goal shooter-turned goal keeper Maggie Smith, whose height in defence posed worries for the Lakers.

In the absence of Douglass, who is overseas but will be back in time for finals, Georgia Bodey performed admirably.

“What I liked was, you have to be really composed against this team; they will come at you hard and the contest will be physical,” McCartin said.

“But the girls stood up to it.

“We had the different goaling combination of Maddy and young Georgia (Bodey), and I thought Georgia did a wonderful job standing up to the pressure from their defenders.

“I thought Mads got a lot of attention in the goal circle, but she stood up to it.

“Stacey (Matthews) and Brydi fed beautifully, worked hard and were very patient.

“And in defence, Maggie, Milly (Simpson) and Emma (Trigg), and Alana (Bodey) in wing defence too, they did a great job.

“Maggie’s height was a bonus. She’s only young and still learning, so she will take a lot out of that game.

 

“The rotation through there worked really well.

“They brought Mel (Allen) on, an experienced goal shooter, but I thought they coped well trying to combat her.

“It was our girls’ defensive pressure that allowed us to get that little buffer and from there we were able to build on it.”

Aiming to avoid a repeat of their round six loss to Redan, Roosters coach McCartin insisted her side had improved significantly since that clash in mid-May.

“It’s another tricky one for us,” she said.

“Their goalers are smaller and more mobile in the ring, so we’ll need to counter that.

“But I feel improvement has come and our combinations are working.

“Now with Maggie’s height, that’s something that will change their feed into their goalers.”

Looking to rebound from consecutive losses to Darley and North Ballarat, the task for Lake Wendouree could not be any tougher against top-of-the ladder Sunbury.

Encouragingly for the Lakers, their loss to the Roosters did not come without positives for coach Courtney McLean, who celebrated a significant milestone earlier in the day when she played her 350th game for the Lakers.

 

“Our focus was to be cleaner in attack and I thought we were,” she said.

“Addi (Funcke) and Ebony (Porter) had one of their best combinations to date, so we were really happy with our attack end and our conversion rate.

“At least we improved where we wanted to.

“But (at the other end), Maddy (Selmon) is just a brilliant player and so hard to stop.

“We know what she’s going to do, but she’s still so hard to stop. She’s so strong and knows how to position herself, but she also knows her range.

“She shoots a high percentage of shots, but typically she receives it right where she wants it.

“We need to be smarter in adjusting our game earlier.”

Young guns Funcke (35 goals at 92.11 per cent) and goal defence Audrey Domaille led the way for the Lakers, alongside the steadiness of midcourter Sadie Cheesman.

As their 8-6-1 record indicates, McLean pinpointed consistency from week-to-week, and even quarter-to-quarter, as an ongoing battle for the Lakers.

“It feels like from week-to-week that one end of the court is working well, but we just need to be more consistent in having the whole court work in tune with each other,” she said.

“But credit to North, I think Georgia (Bodey) was also really solid for them.

“You can’t just double-team Maddy, as Georgia is pretty accurate and works tirelessly in attack.”

In other highlights from round 15, Bacchus Marsh officially clinched a drought-breaking finals berth with a 16-goal win over Melton, and Ballarat produced its best effort of the season in a one-goal loss to East Point.

Round 15 recap: Bacchus Marsh 47 defeated Melton 31; East Point 41 defeated Ballarat 40; Lake Wendouree 58 lost to North Ballarat 66; Redan 46 defeated Darley 34; Sebastopol 31 lost to Sunbury 64.

Round 16: North Ballarat v Redan; Sunbury v Lake Wendouree; Melton v East Point; Darley v Sebastopol; Ballarat v Bacchus Marsh.