Championship Strikers survive epic to advance to semis

Bendigo Strikers are within one victory of their best-ever season finish in the VNL Championship division, after surviving an elimination final thriller against North East Blaze at the State Netball Centre on Wednesday night.

The Strikers, who qualified in fifth-place, advanced to a knockout semi-final against perennial powerhouse City West Falcons, outlasting the Blaze for an epic 49-48 win.

A gutsy victory, which reversed a four-goal loss to the Blaze in round 9, propelled the Strikers into the semi-final round for the second consecutive season.

If they can get past a powerful Falcons, the Strikers will play in the preliminary final for the first time in their three seasons in the state’s premier netball competition.

With no second chance, the Strikers showed tremendous fight, grit and spirit to get past the Blaze in what was an arm-wrestle all contest.

They led by one goal at quarter-time and trailed by two at half-time, before the teams went into the final term locked together at 39-apiece.

The Blaze seized the early momentum to lead by three goals four-minutes into the quarter, with a persistent Strikers able to fully bridge the gap with six minutes remaining.

The introduction of Ruby Barkmeyer into the goal circle in the final term, replacing Hayley Howard, who had been a key at goal shooter during the first three quarters with 31 goals at 100 per cent accuracy, slowly but surely paid dividends, as the Strikers worked their way to the front by two with four minutes left.

Not to be outdone, the Blaze levelled the scores with two-and-a-half minutes to play with their centre pass to follow.

The Strikers then produced one of their best minutes of defence for the season, denying the Blaze a shot and culminating in a game-changing intercept by Kristiana Manu’a with support from Charlotte Sexton.

A force all night, star goaler Teal Hocking’s goal with 47-seconds on the clock broke the deadlock, with the Strikers getting the ball straight back.

They were successfully able to wind down the clock, capping a nail-biting and frantic 49-48 triumph.

Coach Tracey Brereton lauded her side’s resilient nature, both in-game and coming off a 16-goal loss to Hawks in their final home and away round game seven days earlier.

“As I said to our girls, it didn’t matter that we finished fifth, as anywhere from three to six is an elimination final,” she said.

“But we showed heaps of resilience.

“At one stage, five out of the seven (players) on the court could all still play 23s.

“To see our composure throughout the game with those players on court, that was something I was particularly proud of.

“But we also executed the game plan for the majority of it.

“We didn’t have too many lapses of concentration, and if we did, it wasn’t for too long.

“Some weeks, our concentration wanes and comes in and out for too long, but tonight it didn’t.

“I feel we match up quite well on Blaze as a team. They got the win over us during the year, but it was only by four.

“To get one back on them, we’re extremely happy.”

While the relative youth of Hocking, Howard, Shae Clifford, Harriet Gall and co was an undoubted bright spot and deserving of Brereton’s praise, so too was the elite-level experience of Sexton, Manu’a and skipper Elle Nexhip.

It proved invaluable in the dying minutes as the Strikers put the brakes on the Blaze.

“Elle, Chris and Char all really stood up for us in our last quarter,” Brereton said.

“That’s the experience of SSN-level players, and look what they did in the dying stages.

“When someone had to put their hand up and say we’re going to win, they put their hands up, and in the big moments they got some crucial ball for us.”

Playing her fourth game since returning to the line-up after a whirlwind first SSN season with Melbourne Mavericks, Sexton highlighted the team’s great final quarter composure.

“We just stuck to our structures. We’ve been practicing for those moments,” she said.

“Kris and I were lucky with some of those turnovers, but I’m just proud of the girls for getting the job done.

“It was such an intense game and they (the Blaze) have such a big crowd. We were able to stay composed, which has been a weakness throughout the season.

“But we’ve really hit our full strength at the right time of the season.

“Especially against a clinical team like Falcons (next week), it’s great to have a win like this under the belt.”

Brereton insisted she had ‘no hesitation’ in swinging the fourth quarter change in the goal circle, despite Howard’s massive contribution during the first three quarters.

“We just felt we were getting a bit bogged down in our attack end, so we needed to change something,” she said.

“We swung the change and in the last half of that last quarter it really paid off.

“Hayley was excellent though … and she is one of those players who can still play 23s.

“One-hundred per cent shooting … she really stood up to the physicality of the game, and that’s one thing the team as a whole did.”

The win has the Strikers again through to the final four, with Brereton eager to put a stamp on another strong year of progression with a top three berth.

Standing in the way is the Falcons, aiming for a slice of history of their own with a fifth consecutive championship.

“To go another step by winning a semi-final I guess is the blueprint of what we are trying to do,” Brereton said.

“It’s right there in front of us, and it’s not just words, it’s action.

“We are moving forward every year.”

The Strikers are 1-1 against the Falcons this season, winning by seven-goals in round 4, but losing their most recent encounter in Bendigo in late June.

The Strikers were beaten 61-49 in last year’s elimination semi-final by Boroondara Express.

Wednesday night’s results:
1v2: Hawks defeated City West Falcons 77-68.
3v6: Casey Demons defeated Geelong Cougars 61-47.
4-5: North Blaze lost to Bendigo Strikers 48-49.
Next week:
Hawks v Casey Demons.
City West Falcons V Bendigo Strikers.