Match Report | Lions perform four quarter masterclass over Donvale
- rlong69
- 22 hours ago
- 2 min read
By Elly Kirlis.
Nunawading Lions Gold secured their first win of the 2025 Ringwood Mazda netball Division 4 season, defeating Donvale Black by 24 goals in a terrific performance at HE Parker.
A 10-1 opening term set the tone for the Lions, who outscored Bayswater in each remaining quarter on their way to producing an impressive 40-16 triumph.
The victory could not have stated in better fashion with Sarah Delaney playing her 100th game for the Nunawading Lions.
It was a dominant opening half from Nunawading Lions shooter Jordan Smith that played a role in her side’s strong win on Friday night. She finished with 20 goals for the match, 10 of them coming in the third and fourth quarter.
Melanie Van Zuyden was impressive in her own right and scored 17 goals, while teammates Sarah Delaney and Hannah Maw had some great moments for the winning side through the midcourt with their attacking flow and providing energy.
Nunawading Lion’s ability to find accurate passes and options were on song, whilst the strong one on one defence was the catalyst in their strong start to the match.
Led by Vanissa Koliavu and Sarah Delaney, they didn’t allow Donvale any easy transitions down the court, while in the attacking third, the Lions also controlled things as a unit, with five-goals each from Smith and Van Zuyden seeing their side lead by nine at the first break.
The intensity didn’t fall away in the second term as the defensive unit of Nunawading Lions, ensuring Donvale only registered five goals for the term.
Nunawading continued m their work rate, gaining more possession as a result; however, the Lions would end the third term in impressive fashion to extend their advantage to 24 goals approaching the final quarter.
Despite the game out of reach approaching the last quarter, Donvale showed fight in the last quarter, levelling the last quarter, 8-8.
The Lions showed plenty of class in the last quarter, resulting in them winning their first match of the season.