Joeys host Eagles in showdown between ladder leaders

THE SCENE is set for a tantilising top-of-the-table battle between St Joseph’s and the undefeated Newtown and Chilwell on Sunday (June 8) at 1.40pm in GNL A grade.

Joeys have the home advantage this time after the Eagles narrowly beat them 43-41 in round 0.

They also played off in last year’s grand final with the Eagles taking a 38-34 victory.

St Joseph’s co-coach Tracy Howard talked down the importance of the clash, noting “you don’t win finals midway through the season”.

She talked about the strength of St Joseph’s depth in 2025 after mostly rolling with the core seven players last season.

“We’ve got 10 players and we have all our 10 players take court and actually it changes the whole line-up of everything,” she said, before noting how the new-look team settled in the second half in Round 0.

Joeys finished strong against the Eagles, outscoring them 27-18 after half-time.

Howard said St Joseph’s would be without goal keeper Brooke Allan and midcourter Elli Leydin who are away.

St Joseph’s beat St Mary’s 48-28 last weekend after leading 17-6 at quarter-time.

“The girls went in with a really strong mindset,” Howard said.

“It’s something that we’ve been working on and making sure that our defensive pressure all over the court, whether they’re attackers or defenders, is gold in that first quarter.”