Swans stun the Lions in netball upset

BALLARAT’S netball resurgence has hit fresh heights, with the Swans claiming their biggest scalp yet in a captivating BFNL win over Sunbury.

A young and reinvigorated Swans scored their most significant win in several years, stunning the Lions by four goals at Alfredton Recreation Reserve.

The Swans recovered from a five-goal deficit at quarter time to have their noses in front by two at half time.

Playing with poise and confidence, they were able to protect their five-goal three-quarter time lead, showing remarkable resilience to keep the Lions at bay.

Goal shooter Dakota Blade starred with 44 goals at a remarkable 93.62 per cent accuracy, as the Swans prevailed 57-53.

She was joined in the goal circle for the first time by City West Falcons VNL 23-and-under player Imogen Sexton, who was as equally accurate with 13 goals at 92.86 per cent, on permit from her Riddell league club Macedon.

Another stirring goal shooting performance from Blade came three days after she shot a perfect 41 goals from as many attempts in her VNL club Hawks’ one-goal 23-and-under win over Geelong Cougars.

A dramatic win over last season’s grand finalists, who were without Tayla Honey, Lani Fauonuku and Ruby Shannon due to representative commitments and Sarah Croft, who is out for the season, has the Swans in fifth place on the ladder at 4-3-1.

Given those absences – and with Ballarat eager to atone for a letdown the previous week against Bacchus Marsh – co-coach Lisa Palmer said the Swans had gone into the match confident of a competitive performance against the Lions.

“To be honest, we were a little bit disappointed against Bacchus Marsh; we thought we had every chance to beat them,” she said.

“A couple of girls pulled out ill on the morning of the match, which may have affected the girls psyche a bit on the day.

“But we still weren’t great. I feel we are a much better team than what we put out against them.

“We knew this week with the SNN Reserves and for other reasons, Sunbury might be a bit depleted, so we went in thinking we had a shot.”

Fully acknowledging the list of Sunbury outs, which were compounded by a final quarter injury to defender Eliza Gollant, Palmer, who along with co-coach Jane Keating, are new to the club this season, believed there was still no underestimating the importance of the win.

 

Coming against a genuine flag contender, it could well prove pivotal in what is shaping as a tight race for finals spots.

“When you look at the calibre of their team and what they have been able to do over the last few years, it’s a pretty significant win,” she said.

“We thought the draw against Lake Wendouree in (round 3) was good, as we consider them as one of the strongest teams in the competition and likely to play finals.

“That was a sign that we were building nicely and can be competitive against some of these teams that have traditionally been really strong.

“With some of their players not being available – and we’re talking quality players – we thought it was probably the best chance we’d get against Sunbury.”

The loss of Gollant, who injured her arm after hitting the deck late in the late quarter, compounded a dark day for the Lions, who suffered their second loss of the season and slipped to 5-2-1 overall.

While the win was underpinned by another brilliant shooting performance from young gun Blade, equally as influential were the midcourt exploits of Xara Burge and Ella Shannon.

“It was the most confident we have looked with our ball movement into attack,” Palmer said.

“Ella Shannon and Xara Burge were just so composed with the ball. We always looked like a threat to score off our centre passes.

“When you do that, you really reward the defenders’ efforts.

“We knew they’d come hard in the last quarter, but it was pleasing to see the girls really stand up and it’s great seeing them gel more and more with each game.”

The inclusion of state 17-and-under representative Sexton was the ideal cover for young goal attack Ava Ferrier (unavailable), with the stat line showing both shooters at over 90 per cent telling in the wash-up.

Adding to their rosy day, the Swans welcomed back Bree Lane into their defence for the first time since round one against North Ballarat due to injury.

Palmer said the Swans would embrace the challenge of playing against a rebounding Darley this Saturday, after the Devils suffered their first loss of the season against North Ballarat.

Elsewhere, a week after breaking through for its first win of the season, East Point made it two-in-a-row with a 33-30 win over Redan at Eastern Oval.

In a low-scoring game, young goal shooter Evie Roney again proved influential with 21 goals at 80.77 per cent accuracy.

Eva Manserra (21 goals) scored just over two thirds of the Lions’ score.

Redan will look to claim its first win of the season this Saturday against Melton, which was beaten 52-38 by Sebastopol at MacPherson Park.

At Maddingley Park, visiting Lake Wendouree warmed up for a huge showdown against North Ballarat with a 50-35 win over Bacchus Marsh.

The Lakers set up the win with a 12-5 second quarter to take an eight-goal lead into the main break.

A 16-7 third term from the Lakers sealed the Cobras’ fate as they fell out of the top six.

Goal attack Ebony Porter led the way for Lake Wendouree with 32 goals at 88.89 per cent.

At Mars Stadium, North Ballarat (7-0-1) claimed top spot from the Devils (7-1) with a 45-40 triumph.