By: Joseph Arthur
Bendigo Bank proudly presents the Round 10 Netball EFL Wrap…
2019 Bendigo Bank Netball EFL Premier Division
Wantirna South continued its dominance of Premier Division, defeating Boronia Hawks 50 – 27. The Hawks put up a good fight in the first half, taking Wantirna South by surprise and only trailed by one goal at the first break. However the Devils asserted their dominance in the third quarter and broke the match wide open, running away with a big win. L. Woodgate scored 28 for the Devils, outscoring the opposition on her own, whilst R. Crompton top scored for the Hawks with 15 goals of her own.
In a big match for the standings South Croydon Red upset the Heathmont jets to keep its top 4 hopes alive, now only trailing the Jets by 8 points on the ladder with a game in hand. The game was hard-fought and after Heathmont led by 7 goals at quarter time, but South Croydon Red took over in the second and led for the remainder of the match. South Croydon’s dynamic duo of S. Stubbs and J. Sands was in fine form, with the pair pouring in 19 goals each, while R. Goulding led the Jets with 19 as South Croydon came out 6 goal winners (38 – 32).
The Lilydale Falcons narrowly avoided a huge upset at the hands of last placed Blackburn Red in a back-and-forth affair. Lilydale started strong before Blackburn took over and it took an excellent fourth quarter comeback for Lilydale to escape with the win. K.Luiyf dominated for Lilydale (31) whilst A. Moore did her best to keep Blackburn in touch (21). The Falcons walked away with a 5-goal win (45 – 40).
2019 Bendigo Bank Netball EFL Division 1
In a bottom of the table clash, Park Orchards White defeated North Ringwood Black in a relatively low-scoring affair. North Ringwood were jumped in the first quarter and found themselves down 7 at the first break and failed to wrestle it back, losing by 5 goals as Park Orchards White secured its first win of the season (39 – 34). A. Ryan shot well for Park Orchards (25) and J. Sommers never stopped trying for North Ringwood (7).
Kilsyth asserted itself as a contender with a good win, holding off a competitive Ferntree Gully by 5 goals (39 – 34). The Cougars took the lead early and despite some close calls, managed to stay in control for the remainder of the day. A. Lennie had 28 for Kilsyth and both C. Morgan and A. Moxham were good for Gully scoring 18 and 16 respectively.
Knox proved itself as the team to beat with a dominant performance against the Scoresby Swoopers, winning by 15 goals (40 – 25). The battle between two of the competitions best sides was less competitive than many would have predicted as Knox lead by a good margin for most of the day. J. Isles was far too good for her opposition, scoring a game-high 34 goals while B. Williams was the Swoopers biggest threat with 20.
Montrose really took it to second place Coldstream in a match that was neck-and-neck nearly all the way, with Coldstream coming out eventual winners in a nail-biter. An upset win may have turned the Devils season around but it wasn’t to be, going down by only two goals in a low-scoring match (35 – 33). T. Collette had 18 for Coldstream Grey but J. Elwood of Montrose top scored for the match with 19, playing well in her team’s loss.
2019 Bendigo Bank Netball EFL Division 2
Division 2 had a few notable results in round 10, highlighted by a draw between Norwood Purple and Park Orchards Red. Norwood fought back after being down early and D. Krenn led them with 16 goals while E. Buckland led Park Orchards with 15 (29 – 2p).
Round 10 saw another draw occur between Knox Black and North Ringwood Red at 32 apiece. J. Harfield poured in 22 for Knox while T. Luiyf of North Ringwood led all scorers with 28 of her sides 32 goals. North Ringwood is a likely finals contender and will be hunting a win next time out to help make certain it gets a finals birth.
Second on the table Lilydale Gold snatched a 1 goal victory (25 – 24) from the jaws of defeat against North Ringwood White in a scrappy contest with plenty of strong defence on show. The win keeps Lilydale in touch with Croydon at the top of the ladder, only one game behind the competitions current ladder leader. R. McNay scored all 25 for Lilydale and E. Salmon top scored for Ringwood with 18.
2019 Bendigo Bank Netball EFL Division 3
Forest Hill White put on a strong performance, upsetting the Chirnside Panthers who currently sit one spot above them on the table. Forest Hill came to play and have a convincing 12 goal win to show for it. A. Morris had 19 of Forest Hills 29 and Chirnside shared the scoring around with A. Grigg top scoring (11) for them. Final score was 29 – 17.
A season to forget continued for Whitehorse White, as they were routed by Ferntree Gully Eagles 42 – 15. Gully was way too good, winning out with ease. S. Graffen had 18 for the Eagles whilst A. Russian led a struggling Whitehorse with only 9.
It was a week with few close games for Division 3, as Heathmont White staked its claim as one of the league’s best with a dominant win over a lacklustre South Croydon White (38 – 14). S Sheehy was too strong for her defenders, scoring a game high 17, backed up by 16 from her partner in crime J. Hall. E. Brown was South Croydon’s best on offence with 10.
2019 Bendigo Bank Netball EFL Division 4
Division 4 saw some close matches, with South Croydon Purple defeating Park Orchards Black 36 – 30 behind 20 goals from C. Hoskin and Upper Ferntree Gully won a nail-biter thanks to 15 from K. Wilson (24 – 23).
Yet another draw occurred across the EFL’s netball, with the Basin Green and Boronia Brown unable to be separated, finishing at 31 each. E. Williams had 19 for Boronia and D. Walsham had 25 for the Basin to lead all scorers.
Mitcham Yellow and Coldstream white played a hard-fought game, S. Billingham scored 25 for Coldstream who won by a narrow 5 goal margin at 38 – 33. G. Fairbairn scored 27 for Mitcham and was top scorer across both teams.
2019 Bendigo Bank Netball EFL Division 5
Glen Waverley White defeated the Norwood Woodettes behind a monster 29 goals from K. Davey, the final score ended up being 39 – 13 and Glen Waverley’s hopes of a finals birth are starting to look a little stronger.
Mitcham Black got a little too close for comfort, only managing to defeat a lowly Wantirna South Green by 6 points (21 – 15). M. Mitchell had 12 for Mitcham.
The Nunawading Lions remained undefeated after defeating South Belgrave Black 26 – 15 and Ringwood Black stomped all over the Forest Hill Zebras who had no answer for A. Jordanov, scoring 34.
2019 Bendigo Bank EFL Division 6
South Belgrave Red moved to 10 – 0 after repelling a plucky Ringwood White. The division leaders were simply too strong and 24 goals from C. Moody was enough to give South Belgrave a 12 point victory despite 15 from K. Ryan for Ringwood. Final Score was 35 – 23.
Meanwhile, A. Mazzarella scored 29 as she led Glen Waverley Hawks Yellow to a 25 goal win over Mulgrave Blue (40 – 25). While Balwyn Tigers held on against Coldstream Black who just refused to quit, Balwyn took the win 31 – 25 and O. Clear led all scorers with 25.
2019 Bendigo Bank EFL Division 7
Glen Waverley Black retained top spot on the ladder with a win against Norwood White (30 – 16), E. Armstrong has 18. While Lilydale Yellow kept in touch with the leaders by defeating The Basin Bears 32 – 17. J. Young had a big game for Lilydale, scoring 25 points on her team’s way to victory. The fight for top spot will be really interesting between Glen Waverley and Lilydale for the remainder of the season.
Across the division, Coldstream Red suffered yet another loss, this time at the hands of Ferntree Gully White 22 – 14. A. Falvey had 15 for Gully.