WEDDERBURN sits three games clear on top of the North Central netball ladder after Boort’s loss to Sea Lake Nandaly on Saturday.
The Redbacks are carrying all before them, remaining unbeaten after 11 rounds this season.
Wedderburn made short work of Charlton on the weekend, winning by 57 goals on the back of a consistent four-quarter effort.
Boort, on the other hand, struggled to score against the Tigers, losing 44-28 after trailing all afternoon.
Indeed, the Magpies struggled to field a team, with coach Carly Isaac saying the club was close to forfeiting the match.
Illness, holidays and other reasons meant that only 12 senior players were available for selection.
It was comfortably Boort’s lowest goals tally of a season in which it has easily disposed of struggling sides but has battled to overcome the better teams, also losing to Calder United and Wedderburn.
The scoring disparity was particularly stark in the third quarter, when the Magpies could only muster four goals to Sea Lake Nandaly’s 13.
The two teams halved the last term, but the game was already decided.
Isaac took some of the blame for the lack of scoring, as she was forced to play as a goaler because of the personnel issues.
“That’s how short we were,” she quipped.
On a positive note, Isaac said the absence of senior players gave the club’s juniors a chance to play at a higher level, with some 13- and 14-year-old netballers getting a run in D Grade. The Magpies are still second on the ladder ahead of the league’s final bye weekend but are ahead of Sea Lake only narrowly on percentage and 12 points behind the runaway Redbacks.
Top two means the all-important double chance in the finals, so there is much riding on the remaining games.
In bad news for the other clubs, Wedderburn’s A Grade coach Susie Lockhart believes her team still has more to give.
“They’re improving every week and really starting to gel,” she said.
“They’re getting better and better each week, which is nice to see.”
Goal attack Holly Lockhart was named best for the Redbacks, but the victory was based on a solid performance by the whole team.
Aliza Lockhart, the 2022 league best-and-fairest winner, has returned to play in B Grade after recovering from an ACL tear and knee reconstruction last year.
She has been added to the A Grade squad for the rest of the season, giving the Redbacks even greater depth approaching finals.
In other matches, Calder United defeated Birchip Watchem 55-42 in their battle for fourth spot and a finals place.
The Bulls hold fourth position over the Lions by a tiny percentage margin after their loss.
Playing on its home court, Donald beat bottom side St Arnaud 69-39 for its third win of the season.