Blues put Bombers’ title defence in jeopardy; ‘Dogs survive one-goal elim thriller

Greta firmed in many pundits’ eyes as legitimate chances to reclaim their crown as queens of A grade netball after knocking off reigning premiers Bonnie Doon 51-43 in Saturday’s qualifying final. Played in gorgeous conditions at the North Wangaratta Recreation Reserve, the Bombers were doing a lot right early, leading by six goals after the opening 15 minutes of play. However, the experienced Greta team started to whittle away at the margin as the match wore on, trailing by three goals at the half before gaining the lead in the third term. Sensing an opening, the Blues exploded, piling on defensive pressure and shooing accurately, winning the final term by four goals to run out winners. Goal attack Taylah Reidy was impressive, shooting 43 goals at 76.80 per cent, while Milly Mathewson and Amanda Cleeland performed well. For the Bombers, defender Bec Watson and shooter Amy Starzer did everything they can to drag their team over the line. The Blues will face off against the undefeated Whorouly this weekend, with the winner to sail straight through to the decider, while Bonnie Doon will utilise their double chance to keep their season alive. Meanwhile, Sunday’s elimination final between Tarrawingee and Goorambat went down to the wire, with the Bulldogs managing a goal to snake the win in the dying seconds of the match, 40-39. There was barely a goal in it for most of the match, with Tarrawingee defender and coach Tegan White happy to come out on top in a stressful and thrilling match. “It was such an exciting game - it definitely took some time to settle down after that one,” she said. “We were expecting a close match coming into the game, and that’s exactly what it was for the full 60 minutes of play. “We took turns in the lead throughout the match and coming into that final quarter it couldn’t get any closer. “The ball went up and down the court a fair few times before either team was able to score, so for everyone, keeping possession was vital. “The Bats’ defenders are always strong, we got a good insight into that when we played them a few weeks ago. “Our midcourters had been working on overcoming this during the week and they were able to execute some really strong drives and accurate feeds into our shooters.” With just one goal between the teams at three quarter time, capitalising on chances through the final quarter was of vital importance. Thankfully for Bulldogs fans, the ball ended up in the experienced hands of shooter Kaylee Allan (33 goals at 82.5 per cent) as the clock ticked down. “The last few minutes were a bit chaotic with the ball going from end to end a lot before scoring for either team,” White said. “On the court we were a bit unaware of how much time was left, and just focused on each play as it happened, so we were in a bit of disbelief when Paige Warner made a beautiful feed into the ring from high on the court into Kaylee Allan who scored right before the siren. “A good close game is always good. “It gets everyone prepared to play hard and confidently, so hopefully we can take some of that determination into Sunday’s match [against Bonnie Doon].”

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