EUROA JUNIOR NETBALL

UNDER 15s MAGPIES

By CAROLINE KEENAN

IT was only ever a matter of time, but it was a mixture of relief and joy when the Euroa Under 15s SNA side recorded its first win for the season against the Shepparton Saints on Saturday.

After last week’s narrow loss to the classy Mooroopna outfit, the Magpies were confident going into the match.

But bad habits and sloppy play by Euroa meant the Magpies trailed by a goal at the first break.

A disastrous start to the second quarter saw the Saints stretch their lead to five goals just minutes into the quarter.

A couple of key position changes saw Zahara Johns move to GK where she locked down the Saints’ shooter and kept her goalless for the remainder of the quarter.

She worked effectively with new GD Sissy Davey, who fed the ball beautifully to GA Grace McKellar who shot six goals late in the quarter to have her side trailing by one at half-time.

In the third quarter, WA Sophia Williams and Mariah Dunning were ever present as options to the attackers and were used effectively by GS Immy Baker, who had a great quarter to shoot five goals.

Shelby Baker and Heidi Taresch shared WD duties and contributed to the complete shutdown of the Saints attackers who only managed three conversions to Grace McKellar’s five for the final term.

Central to the Magpies’ win was promising passages of play by Willow Timperley at centre, who is growing in confidence each week.

FINAL SCORE - Euroa 25 defeated Saints 22.

Award - Zahara Johns.

13 UNDER PINK

By MELINDA WATSON

OUR under 13 team, made up of year six girls, had spent the grading phase in the morning competition and had easily defeated all their opponents with little effort.

This left the club, their coaches and parents with an unexpected dilemma.

Do we keep the talented team in a competition where they would largely go unchallenged?

It was decided, after much deliberating, in order to develop the players, they needed to move up to the afternoon competition.

It wasn’t an easy decision, but one that was best for the long-term development of each individual.

It was a very nervous start by the girls in their first afternoon game and the game was controlled by the Shepparton Saints team.

There were patches of great play by the magpies, but these didn’t result in points on the board.

The players took a while to adjust to the longer arms, faster play and longer quarters, but their intent on the ball and their willingness to give it their best shot was evident.

A strength of the Magpies is their full court defence and Lylah Hamill was ‘stuck like glue’ to her player.

Leila Thompson, although playing on taller defence, was making it hard for the Saints goalers.

Isla Moore elevated her game to another level and provided a lot of run out of defence.

Issy Gordon was tough all over the court and used her speed to pressure her player.

Ava Gordon was moved into centre as other players tired.

Zara Hill started to move out and provide options, which gave Evie Buchanan more space near the post.

Tully Watson looked lively and provided some linkage through the midcourt.

The last quarter was even between the teams, with glimpses of their potential starting to show.

The young Magpies fought hard and goaled accurately through Zara and Evie.

Even though the score was one sided, the girls played a better game, worked much harder and showed more skill than they had in the previous games where they won without challenge.

We look forward to watching their development through the rest of the season.

Saints 44 defeated Euroa 13.

Awards – Lylah Hamill and Isla Moore.

13 UNDER BLACK

By GERRI EMBLING

EUROA 13 and under Black played Tatura Lightning for the second time this season in chilly weather conditions.

The first quarter was fairly even with both sides going goal for goal, Euroa slightly in front at the first break.

Minimal changes in the second quarter and the girls settled into some nice netball.

Euroa goalers Ellie Robinson and Lara Saxon working hard to convert every opportunity to a goal.

Our defenders Grace Hill, Asha Embling and Daisy Cameron were as solid as ever keeping Tatura to just two goals in the third.

The Euroa goalers Maisy Wilson and Ellie made use of well-fed balls into the ring from our mid courters Grace Eddy, Lara and Molly Fowler.

A few changes for the final quarter, the girls all adjusted and continued combining beautifully across the court.

Going forward the girls have a few things to work on at training but should be proud of their effort today.

Euroa finishing the game with a win.

Euroa 44 defeated Tatura 20.

Boost Juice Award: Maisy Wilson.

11 UNDER BLACK

By LAUREN BOWMAN

IT was a fast-paced game from the start on a very cold and windy Saturday.

The girls took some time to find their rhythm but eased into the game nicely.

Mackenzie Hamill and Harlow Cummins worked impressively in goals, taking advantage of every opportunity to give Euroa an early lead while St Luke’s proved to be a competitive side making for an interesting game.

First Qrt - Euroa three to St Luke’s two.

Starting the second quarter Olivia Kelly and Zoe Pretlove combined well in defence taking some solid intercepts and moving the ball to Euroa’s attacking end seamlessly, this allowed Euroa to break ahead just slightly before the half, Skye Cameron proved extremely valuable in centre moving at pace throughout the mid court gaining plenty of possessions for Euroa.

It was a tight tussle up until half time.

Second Qrt - Euroa five to St Luke’s four.

St Lukes turned the pressure on in the third, but Euroa had settled well into the game and the intensity only made them pick up the pace.

Isla Healey was unreal taking some amazing intercepts and getting involved in some important passages of play while Chloe Harvey-Bredden looked at home in goals stretching Euroa’s lead to sit very comfortably moving into the last quarter.

All girls were really striving and fighting for everything, providing an entertaining show for the many who came to watch.

Third Qrt - Euroa nine to St Luke’s four.

Harper Timperley was having an amazing game, never far from her opponent but also attacking every loose ball on the court with determination to win Euroa some handy turnovers.

Lilly Cakebread took advantage of her height in goals adding some impressive rebounds into the mix which gave St Luke's a challenging quarter in defence,

The quality of netball week on week for these little magpies has been a delight to watch, it’s amazing to see their improvement, team work and the happiness they get from gaining a few wins under their belt - this week was no exception, adding another win to their total.

Well done girls - great game.

Euroa 14 defeated St Luke’s eight.

Award - Harper Timperley.