Teal Hocking’s 2023 Goulburn Valley league netball season went from good to great with a match-winning performance in her 100th game for the club against Shepparton on Saturday.
Hocking, who had shot 27 goals with her Victorian Netball League City West Falcons Division one team three days earlier in the mid-week competition, continued a rich vein of Saturday afternoon form.
She produced a season high 56 goals against the Bears and guided the Tigerettes to a six goal 77-71 win — keeping her ‘home-town' team in the hunt for a spot in the finals.
In the VNL competition Hocking’s Falcons sit fourth with one home-and-away round remaining and are guaranteed a semi-final spot, as they face bottom team Casey Demons on Wednesday.
Hocking’s 27 goals at 90 per cent in the team’s mid-week win came after a season high 36 goals a week earlier.
She was best on court for the Falcons in their Under 19 premiership-winning team last season, and earlier this year represented Victoria in the national titles.
Hocking’s focus, however, will no doubt be on guiding the Tigerettes into their first finals series in several seasons — her team now only one win outside the top six.
While the round 13 win was only the Tigers sixth of the season, it came against the team it is aiming to replace in the top six.
An extraordinary 148 goals were scored in the fast-flowing and highly entertaining match, Rochester topping its best goal tally of the season (55 against Mansfield) by 22.
In a high-scoring round of matches, third-placed Seymour shot 81 goals in a 61-goal win against Benalla.
Hocking’s 56-goal performance was amazingly bettered by Shepparton goaler Jane Cook, who shot 63 goals in the contest.
In partnership with Hocking, Morgan Dingwall finished with 21 goals for the afternoon.
While Hocking’s teammates stopped short of chairing her from the court, she was a celebrated figure at the final siren after a 17-goal individual third quarter contributed to a six-goal lead at the final break.
Rochester led by just two goals at half time, but a 24-18 third team blew the lead out to eight and the Tigerettes are now within striking distance of the top six, with five rounds remaining.
On current form they will consider themselves a chance to win four of those, the most difficult of the run to the finals a round 16 clash with top team Euroa.
This weekend the Tigerettes face fifth-ranked Tatura, with Rochester having lost the teams’ first clash this season by 12 goals in round five. The Tigerettes then have Benalla (second bottom), Euroa, Echuca (which they lost to by just three goals in round three) and finally ninth-placed Shepparton United, which beat them by two only three weeks ago.
Their major opposition for a place in the finals, Shepparton, confronts only one team above it on the ladder in the final five weeks — making the task even tougher for the Tigerettes.
Rochester has enjoyed a stretch of good form in the top flight, but will be ruing its 32-all draw with 10th-ranked Kyabram a week earlier.
Tigerettes defensive general Bridgette Holt had a difficult task on Shepparton’s Cook, but a few timely pick-offs provided enough respite for Rochester to claim the win.
Ella Roulston and Eloise Cuttriss were the mid-court impetus to the flow of ball into the circle, where Dingwall regularly created space for Hocking.
• Pitted against third-ranked Shepparton in the B grade match, Rochester remained in the hunt for a finals berth after the second draw in as many weeks for the club.
The A grade team drew with Kyabram the previous week and, on Saturday at Rochester, the Tigerettes fifth-ranked B grade team finished 51-all with the Bears.
A late injection of A grade defenders Bridgette Holt and Linda Rasmussen (who alternated at goal keeper in the second half of the match) shored up the defence sufficiently for the team to finish with a share of the points.
The pair partnered with best-on-court Rachel Whipp to restrict the flow into Shepparton’s goaling circle late in the contest.
After leading by two goals at quarter time, with Leila Palmer and Charlotte Gould shooting half a dozen goals each, Shepparton reclaimed the lead and led by three with a half to play.
After the break, Poppy Palmer and Jaime Dingwall worked in tandem with the A grade defensive team to restrict Shepparton to three fewer goals than its own goaling duo was able to produce, eventually securing the draw.
Shepparton and Rochester are among five teams battling for only four places in the finals, the third-ranked Bears (38 points) and seventh-ranked Shepparton Swans (32 points) all still in the fight.
Rochester, however, has only one team above it (unbeaten ladder leader Echuca) in the final five games of the season and will be favoured to finish in the play-off field.
The team directly below the Tigerettes, Euroa, faces the top two teams of the competition (Seymour and Echuca) in the next two weeks.
• Rochester is one of three teams in the B Reserve competition tied on six and a half wins for the season, but only two appear destined to find their way into the finals.
The Tigerettes, the opponent they lost to by one goal on Saturday (Shepparton) and Kyabram are all on 26 premiership points, with five rounds remaining.
Rochester has matches against four teams below it on the ladder to finish the season, while Kyabram and Shepparton play each other.
Rochester’s defeat came after five juniors were called-up for the match — Grace Moyle, Payton Tiller, Kaitlyn Joyce, Maddy Pearse and Chance Powles all involved in the 35-36 loss.
Grace Ingram held the Tigerettes’ defence together and Ella McPhee shot 15 goals as the key goaler, while Krystal Conder was the driving force of the mid-court.
Rochester used 10 players in the match, regular goaler Zali Hocking only playing half a quarter and Hannah Egglestone going from attack to defence at half time.
The Tigerettes, despite having restricted personnel, trailed by just four goals at the final change and their charge to the line fell just one shy in a brave attempt to shore up its top six position.
• Second-ranked Shepparton shook off a determined Rochester in a 38-goal-to-19 second half after the Under 17 Tigerettes produced a brave opening half against their more highly ranked opponents.
After trailing by eight after a quarter, Payton TIller shot 10 goals in the second term (27 for the match) and had support from Kaitlyn Joyce.
Rochester trailed by 12 at the half, and despite the work of Georgia Norman at centre and Charlize Weeks at wing attack the Tigerettes were no match for the Bears, who won 39-70.
Justice Powles’ work at wing defence earned her the best-on-court gong, while Grace Moyle, Tara Atley and Maddy Pearse all worked hard to stop the flow of goals.
• A brave third quarter from Rochester against the unbeaten ladder leader of the Under 15 Goulburn Valley competition was a highlight of the Tigerettes’ match.
Rochester outscored Shepparton by a goal in a low-scoring third term when Chance Powles and Maddie Howard restricted the Bears’ goalers to five conversions.
Rochester eventually lost the match 21-41 after trailing by 10 at quarter time. The players responded to face only a 13-goal deficit at the long break.
Nine players were used and only Powles remained in the same position; Lexi McKenzie going from goals to centre and Howard from keeper to shooter.
Powles’ rebounding and intercepting work was exceptional, while McKenzie was a key to the third-quarter recovery.
Shepparton shot 14 goals to six in the final term and the Tigerettes now sit three wins outside the top six, with five games to play.
They can finish the season strongly, however, as four of those games are against teams below them on the ladder.