Roos hold on in thriller, Lions eye second chance

It was a low-scoring stunner at the North Wangaratta Recreation Reserve, but King Valley were the ones ahead at the end of the hour, downing the Hawks 24-23. While neither side is in the window to make finals, it was an important match in gaining some confidence and finishing the season on a high. The Roos hit the front early, taking a 12-3 lead at quarter time, but North Wangaratta produced a stunning second term to limit King Valley to just three goals for the quarter while hacking away at the margin. With a three-goal gap at half-time, it was anyone’s game, and the defensive pressure on display from every player went up another level in the third quarter. Turnover after turnover was made as each team scrambled to gain the upper hand, the margin whittled down to two goals in favour of the Roos heading into the final 15 minutes. Ultimately, King Valley had enough left in the tank to hold onto a one-goal win. Elsewhere, Whorouly is just one win away from a ticket to the second week of finals after a spirited showdown with Bright on Saturday. In a tight tussle between the two finals-bound squads, it was the Lions who came out ahead in the 46-43 showdown. It was the Lions who drew first blood, shooting out to a four-goal lead after 15 minutes, before the tenacious Bright brought the margin back to a solitary goal by the half. The defensive pressure was sky high across the court, as the two sides battled hard, matching turnover with turnover and steely execution under the post. Whorouly again piled on the goals to forge a five-goal advantage through the third quarter, with their quick passing helping carve through the Bright defence. A fourth-term goal fest saw a combined 26 goals scored, and while Bright won the quarter, it was the Lions who took the four points. Whorouly coach Kelly Cousins said the high-quality netball was a perfect tune-up before the cutthroat postseason. “It was a fantastic test heading into finals,” she said. “It was a tight win against a really competitive Bright side who challenged us until the final whistle. “Our attacking end really withstood Bright’s full court defensive efforts and I was particularly happy with our third quarter where we pushed ahead by five goals for the term. “Defensively, we were strong again with Laura [Keighran] and Eb [Allen] being quite disruptive in the goal circle with lots of tips and touches. “I think going into finals we need to continue to work on our consistency and composure in attack. “The team is working hard to deliver a full 60 minutes of cohesive netball. “We have a great structure, and the team is really hungry to compete deep into the finals series - I think we have a bit of momentum going our way and we are building nicely so hopefully that should serve us well in the weeks ahead.” In other matches, Tarrawingee all but put the nail in Moyhu’s finals chances with a 55-39 win, the Bombers replicated last year’s grand final result with a 48-37 victory over Greta, and Goorambat had the better of Benalla All Blacks by 10 goals, 49-39.

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