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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s premier netball competition.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Not to be outdone, the Blaze levelled the scores with two-and-a-half minutes to play with their centre pass to follow.<\/p>\n
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\u2019a with support from Charlotte Sexton.<\/p>\n
A force all night, star goaler Teal Hocking\u2019s goal with 47-seconds on the clock broke the deadlock, with the Strikers getting the ball straight back.<\/p>\n
They were successfully able to wind down the clock, capping a nail-biting and frantic 49-48 triumph.<\/p>\n
Coach Tracey Brereton lauded her side\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I said to our girls, it didn\u2019t matter that we finished fifth, as anywhere from three to six is an elimination final,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we showed heaps of resilience.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt one stage, five out of the seven (players) on the court could all still play 23s.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo see our composure throughout the game with those players on court, that was something I was particularly proud of.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we also executed the game plan for the majority of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t have too many lapses of concentration, and if we did, it wasn\u2019t for too long.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome weeks, our concentration wanes and comes in and out for too long, but tonight it didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo get one back on them, we\u2019re extremely happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the relative youth of Hocking, Howard, Shae Clifford, Harriet Gall and co was an undoubted bright spot and deserving of Brereton\u2019s praise, so too was the elite-level experience of Sexton, Manu\u2019a and skipper Elle Nexhip.<\/p>\n
It proved invaluable in the dying minutes as the Strikers put the brakes on the Blaze.<\/p>\n
\u201cElle, Chris and Char all really stood up for us in our last quarter,\u201d Brereton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the experience of SSN-level players, and look what they did in the dying stages.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen someone had to put their hand up and say we\u2019re going to win, they put their hands up, and in the big moments they got some crucial ball for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Playing her fourth game since returning to the line-up after a whirlwind first SSN season with Melbourne Mavericks, Sexton highlighted the team\u2019s great final quarter composure.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just stuck to our structures. We\u2019ve been practicing for those moments,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cKris and I were lucky with some of those turnovers, but I\u2019m just proud of the girls for getting the job done.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we\u2019ve really hit our full strength at the right time of the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially against a clinical team like Falcons (next week), it\u2019s great to have a win like this under the belt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brereton insisted she had \u2018no hesitation\u2019 in swinging the fourth quarter change in the goal circle, despite Howard\u2019s massive contribution during the first three quarters.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just felt we were getting a bit bogged down in our attack end, so we needed to change something,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe swung the change and in the last half of that last quarter it really paid off.<\/p>\n
\u201cHayley was excellent though \u2026 and she is one of those players who can still play 23s.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne-hundred per cent shooting \u2026 she really stood up to the physicality of the game, and that\u2019s one thing the team as a whole did.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Standing in the way is the Falcons, aiming for a slice of history of their own with a fifth consecutive championship.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo go another step by winning a semi-final I guess is the blueprint of what we are trying to do,\u201d Brereton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s right there in front of us, and it\u2019s not just words, it\u2019s action.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are moving forward every year.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The Strikers were beaten 61-49 in last year\u2019s elimination semi-final by Boroondara Express.
\n<\/b><\/p>\n
Wednesday night\u2019s results:<\/b>
\n1v2: Hawks defeated City West Falcons 77-68.
\n3v6: Casey Demons defeated Geelong Cougars 61-47.
\n4-5: North Blaze lost to Bendigo Strikers 48-49.
\nNext week:<\/b>
\nHawks v Casey Demons.
\nCity West Falcons V Bendigo Strikers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 […]<\/p>\n