Shepparton United has delivered an ominous warning to its fellow Goulburn Valley League A-grade contenders, dismantling minor premier Seymour 68-44 at Deakin Reserve on Saturday.
Reeling off the first eight goals of the match, the Demons were on-song from the opening whistle as they looked to make quick amends for a shock loss to Echuca the previous week.
Jessie Barnes was at her clinical best in the goal ring for the home side, feasting on a Seymour defence missing key stalwarts Sarah Szczykulski and Nakita Singe, while the likes of coach Kara Blizzard and fellow attacker Sophie Garner were also prolific.
A perfect way to finish the home and away season, Blizzard she was incredibly proud of her team’s efforts.
“It feels really good (to come away with such a big win), we went out there today and all the girls were just in such a great head space to attack this big game,” Blizzard said.
“Last week was last week, we couldn’t change the past, so the focus was to just come into this game with a lot of energy and enthusiasm and I thought the girls did a fantastic job with that.
“This win gives us great confidence, it shows at our best we can beat the top teams in the competition, the challenge for us is just to maintain that consistency as we move into finals.”
After getting off to a quick start, United momentarily lost control of the game as a determined Seymour fought its way back into the contest to close the lead to three goals at the first change.
As the crowd settled in for a thrilling top-of-the-table clash, the Demons would once again come out swinging to start a quarter, piling on a rush of goals to unsettle the inexperienced Lions defence.
And unlike the first term, the home team maintained its intensity throughout the entire quarter to extend the lead to a commanding 13 goals at the main break.
“Starting off strong was really important for us, so to put in the first half we did was just excellent from the entire squad,” Blizzard said of her team’s ability to set up the win early.
“We really put pressure on them early, forced them into mistakes and then capitalised in our attack end which was great.”
With the game well and truly in its control, United’s focus leading into the second half was to not let up and finish the job.
And with that in mind, the likes of Blizzard and Barnes really stepped up the tempo in the third term, as the home side produced arguably the best netball we have seen all season.
Operating in perfect sync from defence to attack, the Demons added another 18 goals to Seymour’s 12 as the margin pushed to a whopping 19 by three-quarter time.
But with the game well and truly sewn up, United didn’t relent.
Pushing hard until the final whistle to record a comprehensive 24-goal victory under the late winter sun at Deakin Reserve.
Blizzard spoke glowingly of the consistent production of her team across the court.
“We had Sophie Garner play in goal attack today and I thought as an 18-year-old she really stood up, with her maturity and composure crucial for us in the attack end,” she said.
“And our defensive end was enormous, I was so proud of those girls today, they forced so many turnovers and created so many scoring opportunites for us and combined so well together.”
Finishing third on the ladder, Shepparton United now prepares for an elimination final against Shepparton this week.
And despite the loss, Seymour still claimed the minor premiership and will be desperate to bounce back in a qualifying final against Mooroopna.