There was plenty of thrilling Picola District League A-grade netball action at the weekend, with round seven producing a number of exciting contests.
In what might be the closest round of the season so far, four games were decided by eight goals or less, with two contests going down to the wire.
One game that is sure to have entertained supporters this weekend was Mathoura’s clash against the Deni Rovers, with the Timbercutters picking up a two goal win, 45-43.
Played at Mathoura, this game could have gone either way and with Deni in front by five goals at one stage of the match, it took a resilient Mathoura to stay in it.
Mathoura coach Rita Howard said it was a very tight game.
“We were down at one stage by I think five goals or so and then we came back and then it was even,” Howard said.
“It was a very close game and both sides played very well, I thought.”
Howard said once the Timbercutters drew level, the match started to see-saw, with the lead moving from side to side.
She said that in order to get her side over the line, she reminded her players to put on the court what they did at training, trust each other and not to hesitate or second guess.
She wanted them to “trust in the process we’ve been working on and just give it a crack” and that is what they did.
It was a real team effort for Mathoura on the day, with centre Casey Parsons and wing attack Blaize Hearn both putting in good shifts.
Howard said that with COVID-19 still around, it had been a difficult start to the season.
“We have had weeks where people have got COVID-19 at the last minute, so they’ve got to isolate for seven days and do what they need to do, so it has been difficult,” she said.
“It is challenging but at the same time when you see how the girls are going and that they’re willing to give it a crack and put what we’ve been working on onto the court and it working, it’s quite rewarding at the same time.”
In one of the other exciting round seven matches, Picola United picked up an impressive eight-goal win at home over Katunga.
United, which sits on four wins and two losses after seven rounds, has had an up-and-down start to the year, with Saturday’s win a much-needed one.
United faced two of the league’s strongest sides in round four and five, falling to both Katamatite and Jerilderie, with Saturday’s 38-32 win helping to steady the ship.
In other round seven action, Tocumwal bounced back from a big loss last week to upset Jerilderie by eight goals.
Tungamah and Katamatite battled out a nail-biter, with Tungamah winning by two, while Strathmerton defeated Blighty by 34.
Waaia, Rennie and Katandra all had a week off.