NORTH Ballarat coach Annie McCartin says she is proud of how her players responded to their first loss of the season, after surviving a nail-biter against Melton last Saturday.<\/p>\n
The Roosters notched up their third win of the season from four games, coming from one goal down at half-time to eke out a thrilling 55-54 triumph at MacPherson Park.<\/p>\n
It was one of two epic encounters in round four of BFNL netball, as previously unbeaten Lake Wendouree and Darley played out a 35-35 draw at CE Brown Reserve.<\/p>\n
Reigning premiers Sunbury continue to set the pace at 4-0 following a convincing 70-goal victory over Ballarat, highlighted by a 94-goal haul by Lions goal shooter Rebecca Hicks.<\/p>\n
Hicks scored all but two of her side’s goals in a 96-26 victory.<\/p>\n
Lake Wendouree and North Ballarat hold down second and third spots on the ladder at 3-1, ahead of Darley (2-1-1), Redan (2-2) and Bacchus Marsh (2-2).<\/p>\n
Five-time Roosters premiership coach McCartin praised the performance of her new-look defensive combination of Emma Trigg and former midcourter Milly Simpson as instrumental in the win over Melton, as the Roosters bounced back strongly from a round three loss to Sunbury.<\/p>\n
The pair have stepped up to fill the void left by Keeley Smith now at Learmonth and Shannon Freeman working as a paramedic in Port Augusta and have handled the transition with poise and dependability.<\/p>\n
“Against Sunbury the previous week, they were up against two girls, who were very experienced in the goal circle, but I said to the girls during the week, ‘we’ll just change up a few things here that will get you working more and to defy the ball coming into where Melton want to put it’,” McCartin said.<\/p>\n
“The girl never stopped working. We applied some terrific pressure through the midcourt as well, but Emma and Milly just did a great job.<\/p>\n
“Their tenacity and fighting spirit in that last quarter helped us get a turnover at just the right time and we got it down to our goalers to get us one up with our centre pass with about 30 seconds to go.<\/p>\n
“It was a really tight tussle. Credit to Melton, they are a lovely team and really served it up to us and made us work.<\/p>\n
“We had to keep rethinking a few things, so it was a great showcase of two lovely netball teams.<\/p>\n
“It could have gone either way \u2013 we were just lucky to get our noses in front at the right time.”<\/p>\n
After four rounds and with some fresh and returning faces in the line-up, including McCartin’s daughters Stacey Matthews and Gina McCartin, the experienced coach said the Roosters’ season was still on a learning curve.<\/p>\n
They can look forward to another tough test against big improvers Bacchus Marsh this weekend, with the Cobras coming off a break, having played their round four game on Good Friday<\/p>\n
McCartin said she could not be happier to see Bacchus Marsh undergoing a remarkable resurgence on the netball court, and warned the Roosters would need to be at their best to get past the rejuvenated Cobras.<\/p>\n
“Credit to them. They had their issues when they couldn’t field a team, but they are absolutely beautiful girls and a beautiful club and now they have rebuilt to be very competitive,” she said.<\/p>\n
“Obviously we are looking forward to the game, but I’m so happy for Bacchus Marsh.<\/p>\n
“They have put a lot of time into it, so it is good to see them up and about.<\/p>\n
“We are going to have to produce our best performance to get over them for sure.”<\/p>\n
Round 4 recap:<\/p>\n
Bacchus Marsh 34 def East Point 28; Ballarat 26 lost to Sunbury 96;<\/p>\n
Lake Wendouree 35 drew with Darley 35;<\/p>\n
Melton 54 lost to North Ballarat 55; Redan 40 def Sebastopol 10.<\/p>\n
Round 5 draw:<\/p>\n
Sunbury v East Point,<\/p>\n
North Ballarat v Bacchus Marsh,<\/p>\n
Darley v Ballarat, Redan v Melton, Sebastopol v East Point.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NORTH Ballarat coach Annie McCartin says she is proud of how her players responded to their first loss of the season, after surviving a nail-biter against Melton last Saturday. The Roosters notched up their third win of the season from four games, coming from one goal down at half-time to eke out a thrilling 55-54 […]<\/p>\n