General News
16 August, 2024
State of play: local netballers head into final home and away round
NORTH CENTRAL WEDDERBURN and Boort will play off in the second semi-final in North Central A Grade netball next month after their respective wins last Saturday sealed first and second place on the ladder. The two Loddon Valley-based clubs will meet...
NORTH CENTRAL
WEDDERBURN and Boort will play off in the second semi-final in North Central A Grade netball next month after their respective wins last Saturday sealed first and second place on the ladder.
The two Loddon Valley-based clubs will meet at Donald on August 31 to decide which goes directly into the grand final, to be played on the Redbacks’ home courts.
Charlton will finish third, but the last finals spot is still up for grabs. Birchip Watchem is fourth, but has the bye in the last round, setting up an intriguing battle.
Nulliwil, now fourth, will face Wycheproof Narraport, eighth – the team it will merge with next season to form Calder United.
An upset win for Wyche in its last game as a stand-alone club would prevent its future partner from playing in the finals, and mean Nullawil would also have played its last match as an independent entity.
Wycheproof’s 17-and-under side will represent the Demons in the finals despite losing to Birchip Watchem on the weekend.
They defeated Boort on Thursday night in the game postponed from round 14 in July. It was played after the league allowed the game to go ahead despite Wyche’s senior teams being made to forfeit after the club’s courts were declared unsuitable for play.
LODDON VALLEY
MITIAMO has secured the Loddon Valley netball A Grade minor premiership after a thrilling two-goal win over Bridgewater confirmed the Superoos would finish the home-and-away season on top.
The Mean Machine pushed their opponents all the way after trailing by eight goals at half-time, but never got closer than two goals before time ran out.
The narrow loss, and Bears Lagoon Serpentine’s 58-38 win over Maiden Gully, dropped Bridgewater to fifth, but victory on Saturday over strugglers Calivil will see the Mean Machine rise to fourth as the Bears have the final-round bye.
In any case, Bridgewater and Serp will face each other in the elimination final on August 25 at Pyramid Hill.
Newbridge will finish third on the ladder behind Mitiamo and Pyramid Hill after overcoming a brave Calivil side. The Demons, with only two wins for the season, were much better than the 62-38 final score suggested, pushing the Maroons particularly hard in the first half, when they trailed by only three goals.
Newbridge has a tough task against Mitiamo in the last round, but with neither side’s ladder position able to change, the match might not be played at 100 per cent intensity, with an aim to keep players fit and fresh for the finals.
Pyramid Hill tuned up for the play-offs with a powerful 52-15 win over bottom of the ladder Inglewood.