EFL Media’s Jessie Hare dissects all the previous round’s Netball EFL action, all thanks to Eastland.
By: Jessie Hare
Twitter: @JessieHaree
Netball EFL just keeps on delivering every round with strong displays across all the divisions. After the divisions had their shuffle around, it’s now time to really knuckle down and see just how much competition there is out there every Friday night.
Starting with Premier/Premier Reserve, both Fairpark and Boronia showing why they were in the grand final last season as they still remain undefeated. Thanks to the shooting of Van Dreumel with 40 goals that led to the Fairpark win over Scoresby, 49-26. Boronia’s Rush shot 41 of their 53 in their win against Blackburn. Lilydale worked hard all game to keep its steady lead to defeat Wantirna South Devils reserve, 50-34. Mulgrave versus Norwood both had star shooters, Edwards for Mulgrave with 28 and Cant for Norwood with 30. Mulgrave came away with the win, 51-45. A huge first half by Wantirna South Devils gave it the win over Montrose, 67-31.
Moving over to Division 1 which saw South Croydon show it is a serious contender this year with its win over Scoresby, 34-24. Heathmont defeated Kilsyth in a close one, 29-25 and Blackburn beat North Ringwood with Black scoring 27 of their 34 goals. After an even first half Knox was able to stop Forest Hill’s come back, 34-25. A comfortable win for Fairpark over Coldstream led by Leeson in the goal circle, 37-28.
In Division 2, Forest Hill walked away with the four points against The Basin, 40-37. Vermont Eagles came up from Division 3 and came away with the win against Ringwood, 32-23. Croydon is having a strong start to its season recording another win, beating Lilydale 32-26. A one-goal win went to Knox over Norwood despite Norwood’s efforts at a comeback. Ferntree Gully was able to stay strong and come away with the win against Kilsyth, 36-26 and another one-goal win went to Park Orchards over Wantirna Devils.
Division 3 saw a big win by Scoresby against Norwood, 25-10 and a comfortable win for Whitehorse Pioneers over Ringwood, 33-17. Heathmont’s strong start to the season kept going with a six-goal win against Waverley Blues. Despite a good comeback, Boronia wasn’t able to get on top of Mulgrave in its loss, 31-37. Upper Ferntree Gully defeated Rowville, 27-16 and in a close one Knox was able to get the win against Kilsyth, 24-22.
In Division 4, Glen Waverley Hawks snuck into the top four with their win over Heathmont, 33-14. Wantirna South came into the division with a point to prove and defeated South Belgrave, 27-16. With both teams relying on one goal scorer Hutchinson for Upper Ferntree Gully and Kemp for Boronia, Upper Ferntree Gully was able to come away with the win, 29-21. Ferntree Gully remains undefeated with its win against North Ringwood, 39-26, Mitchell scoring 29 of their goals. Forest Hill defeated Coldstream, 29-22 and Lilydale had an easy win over Nunawading, 28-12.
Division 5 started with a close one between Heathmont and Mitcham, Heathmont took the win by just one goal. M. Jakobs and E. Jakobs keeping their shooting form up in Coldstream White’s win against The Basin, 40-26. After a slow start, Norwood ran over the top of Wantirna South, 26-14 and a close between South Croydon and Coldstream Black saw South Croydon take the four points, 20-17. To finish out the round, South Belgrave was too good for Ringwood, 26-15.
In Division 6, Glen Waverley Hawks kept Coldstream to two goals in the second half in its 30-7 win and remain undefeated. Montrose came out strong against The Basin and took the win, 37-21. Scoresby had a seven-goal win over Norwood and Mulgrave defeated Nunawading, 29-34. Park Orchards had a huge win over Ferntree Gully, keeping it to just eight goals for the game, 32-8. The last and closest game of the round saw Lilydale defeat Knox by one goal.
Looking ahead, Netball EFL has a bye round on the 18th due to Interleague which gives our netballers a break to rest and recover. Round 6 will be played on the 25th and Premier/Premier Reserve looks set for a showdown between third-placed Scoresby and second-placed Boronia. No doubt Scoresby will be looking to get the upset against Boronia. Looking across the board at the other divisions, the round is shaping up to have a fairly even playing field for all the teams.