Roos ace another big test against reigning premier

AFTER going undefeated through the first round of BFNL A-grade netball matches, Kangaroo Flat coach Jayden Cowling knew the challengers would be gunning for his side in the second half of the season.

Against Gisborne last Saturday, the Roos got a taste of just how hard sides will be coming for them.

But importantly for the Roos, it was another test answered as they overcame the reigning premiers by eight goals, to extend their record to 7-0 ahead of a round nine clash against Eaglehawk.

The game was robbed of a fair bit of star power with Super Netball Reserves-affiliated players Teal Hocking (Kangaroo Flat), Claudia Mawson and Zoe Davies (Gisborne) all missing.

The Roos were also unable to call on defender Ingrid Hopkins, who was also absent in the teams’ earlier season clash in round one.

A blistering 17-7 first quarter by the Roos proved the difference in 51-43 victory that Cowling described as hard fought and physical.

“It was a cracking start. Credit to the girls, Gisborne threw everything at us throughout the whole game but we kept our composure and kept the lead,” he said.

 

“They did peg it back to six in the last quarter, but we were able to chip away and push it out a little and get the win.

“It was a tough game – physical. You need games like that before finals.

“Those tough games are what you play for.”

Given their 7-0 start, Cowling is bracing for plenty of tough challenges in the lead-up to finals.

“Each week, we’ll be coming up against a team that wants to knock us off, but that’s a great challenge for us,” he said.

“There is that pressure of not having lost a game, but I feel that can make us better and that is what we will be working on – getting better.”

Cowling praised the wide spread of contributions from his players.

“Ash Ryan played probably her best game for the year – she was pretty level-headed and fed some nice balls into the attack line,” he said.

“Chels (Sartori) was again pretty consistent and is having another good year and I thought Megan Wilson back in goal keeper got plenty of hands to ball.

“It was good to see her have a good game. She has been very good the last couple of weeks at Kangaroo Flat.”

The Roos will again be without Hocking next week as the Super Netball Reserves seasons draws closer to an end.

Cowling is expecting Eaglehawk to carry plenty of confidence into next week’s clash after scoring a solid 14-goal victory over Golden Square.

 

While some clubs will play each other three times during the home and away season, the Roos and Bulldogs will not meet again until finals.

Gisborne coach Tarryn Rymer said she could not have been happier with her side’s effort.

“Obviously, we were down at three-quarter time, but there wasn’t much that we did wrong – we just missed a couple of crucial shots and turned over a few balls,” she said.

“They are pretty quick in transition and can hurt you.

“Once we adjusted not that we were fine.

“We’ve matched it with them for the last three quarters. The effort was certainly there.”

Rymer praised the performance of Amity Drayton – promoted from A-reserve – in the midcourt, while Charlee Kemp and Tori Skrijel shone respectively in defence and in the goal circle.

“Tori was really solid – she looked like a natural goal attack and did a great four quarter job,” Rymer said.

The Bulldogs will again be without Mawson and Davies for their clash this weekend against South Bendigo, which is coming off a 10-goal win over Strathfieldsaye.

Gisborne won the teams’ earlier season battle by 16 goals.

The Bloods’ win over the Storm was only their second of the season, but has them six points clear of Golden Square and Strathfieldsaye in fifth spot on the ladder.

In this weekend’s other game, Sandhurst hosts the Storm in what will be the Dragons’ first game since their May 31 win over Eaglehawk.

Round 8 recap:

Strathfieldsaye 49 lost to South Bendigo 59; Gisborne 43 lost to Kangaroo Flat 51; Eaglehawk 54 defeated Golden Square 40; Sandhurst bye.

Round 9:

South Bendigo v Gisborne; Sandhurst v Strathfieldsaye; Kangaroo Flat v Eaglehawk; Golden Square bye.