Euroa trumps Tatura in the wet during slick and slippery Goulburn Valley League split round

In a game between two genuine finals threats, in greasy conditions, Euroa prevailed.

Magpies playing coach Ellie Warnock, who directed from the sidelines, watched on as her side quickened its pace after half-time to run away with a 51-37 victory at Tatura Park.

It was like splitting hairs trying to pick a winner before the main break.

From the first whistle, Tatura was on it as Julia Clarke and Jasmine Fraser drilled the first three goals of the game.

However, it was clear Bulldogs defender Molly Boyle would have her work cut out as Euroa’s Olivia Morris stood head and shoulders above the pack under the attacking ring.

With feeds up and under from Holly Reid and Mia Sudomirski, Morris got to work.

The rangy shooter drilled 12 of Euroa’s 13 first-quarter goals to provide the traveller with the barest of leads and, despite the slick conditions, slight drizzle did not affect the quality of play one bit.

Both teams adopted a fast, frenzied style of netball as Tatura remained on Euroa’s heels, yet the Magpies’ pressure game kept them 26-22 ahead at the half.

Euroa doubled down on its physicality, and as Morris grew in confidence, the scoreline began to balloon.

Morris splashed 12 goals in the third term — the exact leading margin the Magpies held at three-quarter time — while Sudomirski offered some support in the last to quell Tatura’s retort and see Euroa run away a 14-goal victor.

“I was most impressed with how the girls stepped up and played their role despite two players injured and unavailable to play,” Warnock said.

“Usually we make the most of rolling subs through the midcourt to adequately rest our girls, but with Kellie Davidson currently sidelined, our midcourters all played a solid four quarters and it looked like they did it with ease.

“Grace Warnock stepped up into A-grade’s defence yesterday and performed brilliantly alongside Tylah Marchbank.

“I’m really proud of the depth we have amongst our squad and how well the girls gel together no matter the team they are playing in.

“Wet weather netball is always messy, so the girls adapted to that style of netball accordingly and came out and played short, sharp, smart netball which was exactly our goal for the day.”

Warnock — one of the two out injured alongside Davidson — also praised Eliza Hoare and Sophie Owen in the wing positions, labelling their second quarter switch a “game changer”.

Now, with a week off to ponder the run into finals, for Warnock it’s all about playing each game on its merits and slowly building towards hitting their peak come September.

“We are really impressed with our season so far, but we know there’s always room for improvement,” she said.

“Each week comes with its own challenges and despite maybe winning the game by a large margin, it never feels easy. The loss we had against Mooroopna was a great reality check, and one we needed.

“Our aim is to just keep recognising the small tweaks and room for improvement so we can continue to better ourself come finals.”

In the split round’s other matches, Shepparton Swans couldn’t capitalise on a first-quarter lead and instead was barrelled out by an in-form Seymour side.

The Swans led 13-8 at the opening break, but Seymour was able to follow a lacklustre first involvement with three 12-goal quarters to beat Jana Riordan’s side 44-33.

And at Deakin Reserve, Echuca made it eight games undefeated after pushing past Shepparton United 53-25.