By: Jessie Hare
Twitter: @JessieHaree
Another big round of Netball EFL is done and dusted, with some nail-biting finishes across all seven divisions. We are well and truly passed the half-way mark of the season and finals will be just around the corner before we know it.
In Premier/Premier Reserve, a huge first half gave Fairpark the jump on Blackburn sealing the win 52-27 with McLellan shooting 27 and Van Dreumel with 25 goals. Wantirna South Devils Reserve were able to get the four points by just three goals against Norwood. Edmonson leading the scoring for Wantirna with 26 and Kapoglis for Norwood with 27. Scoresby had a comfortable win against Montrose, 64-27 whilst Wantirna South Devils shooters Woodgate and Subbiah led their side to a 50-goal win against Mulgrave. The closest match of the round was the one to finish out division, Lilydale had a strong start but weren’t able to seal the win with Boronia fighting back and winning the game by one goal, 46-45.
In Division 1. South Croydon kept its winning streak alive with a win against North Ringwood, 42-24. Knox defeated Scoresby by 12 goals and Fairpark went away with the win against Heathmont, 42-33. Park Orchards was able to get the win against Forest Hill despite its comeback effort, 32-31. Kilsyth defeated Blackburn 28-21 with Gill leading the way for Kilsyth with 19 goals.
Over in Division 2, The Basin’s Simpson shot 25 of 39 goals in her side’s win against Wantirna. Vermont and Kilsyth had a close game with only a couple of goals the difference at every break, Vermont’s Phillips shooting her team to victory, 27-25. Ferntree Gully held off Lilydale and took the four points, 31-23 and we saw a draw between Norwood and Ringwood, 30 goals apiece. Forest Hill defeated Park Orchards comfortably and to finish out the round, Knox came away with the win against Croydon, 35-21.
In Division 3, Scoresby defeated Waverley Blues, 34-17. A huge start from Ringwood was able to seal the win against Mulgrave despite a big comeback in the third quarter, 35-32. Boronia was able to get the win against Rowville, 32-24, while there was a cancelled game due to court conditions between Kilsyth and Whitehorse. Upper Ferntree Gully’s Martin scored 23 of her team’s 34 in its win against Knox. Finishing off the round saw a big win for Heathmont against Norwood, 32-7.
In Division 4, Forest Hill defeated Heathmont, 35-18 whilst an even first half lead to a close one between Lilydale and Coldstream, Atkins scored 20 of Coldstream’s goals in its two-goal win. Boronia’s Kemp led her side to the win with her goaling against North Ringwood, 29-22. Ferntree Gully versus South Belgrave saw a 15-goal win to the Gully. Glen Waverley Hawks played out a strong game with Anderson scoring 27 goals in their 21-goal win against Wantirna South. Closing out the round with some great shooting from both Upper Ferntree Gully’s Hutchinson and Nunawading’s Farago resulted in an Upper FTG win, 33-32.
Over in Division 5, a five-goal win for Norwood against Ringwood saw some great goaling from both teams in Camilleri and Ryan. Coldstream’s White led by E. Jakobs and M. Jakobs got the win against South Croydon, 26-11. Wantirna South nearly caused an upset to in-form Heathmont, but Heathmont walked away with the four points by just three goals. The Basin played strong netball for four quarters and defeated Coldstream Black, 41-18. Closing out the round, Mitcham defeated South Belgrave by 15 goals.
To Division 6, Nunawading kept Coldstream to just 5 goals for the whole game in their 51-5 win. Park Orchards defeated The Basin 29-17 and Glen Waverley kept Scoresby to zero goals in the first quarter to set up their 25-goal win. Norwood got the four points against Lilydale, 25-17 as did Montrose against Knox, 32-27. The final game of the round saw Mulgrave’s Bailey shoot 21 of their 26 goals in their win against Ferntree Gully.
Looking ahead, there is going to be some great match-ups ladder-wise across all seven divisions. In Prem/Prem Reserve, a classic match-up between Fairpark and Boronia – both always such strong competitors. Division 1 will see third-placed Heathmont looking to upset first-placed South Croydon. Division 2 has a 1 v 4 game between Vermont and Knox. Division 3 will see Boronia wanting to get the win against top-placed Whitehorse, along with a big game in Division 4 between Upper Ferntree Gully sitting second on the ladder against first-placed Ferntree Gully. Division 5 has both Ringwood and Coldstream Black looking to cause upsets to get off the bottom of the ladder. Finally, Division 6 will see a third-placed Park Orchards come up against Nunawading sitting in fourth.