Browse > Home / Netball, Sport / Millicent beaten in netball final

Millicent beaten in netball final

Posted on September 22, 2008, 1:01pm

Hamilton 46 defeated Millicent 39 in the Western Border netball grand final at Casterton on Saturday.

Millicent got the jump in the first quarter, racing to a two goal leady through the shooting of Kelsey Lewis and the tight defence of Rhianne Lewis.

Grand final pressure was taking its toll on the nerves of many players and goals came at premium cost.

By the end of the third quarter Hamilton had broken out to a 13-goal lead and its maiden A grade premiership was now just one term away, Millicent weren’t going to go down without a fight and the Saints were able to outscore the Magpies by six goals but fell short in its effort to win a third straight flag.

Hamilton, which has been judged the champion club of the WBNA for seven years in a row had one piece of silverware missing from its trophy cabinet.

That’s now been rectified.

Rhianne Lewis was voted best-on-court for Hamilton, while Millicent’s best was Elise Reilly.

A reserve

Hamilton 45 d West Gambier 42. The powerful Hamilton A reserve team was chasing its sixth successive Western Border premiership, but was pushed all the way by West Gambier, which has not won a title since 1998.

The first quarter saw Hamilton start strongly with great defensive pressure on the West goalies.

West hit back when Fiona Roach won more of the ball and scores were level at the first change.

Hamilton stepped on the gas in the second quarter and through some excellent shooting from Tessa Upstill, raced to a 26 – 20 lead at half time.

Hamilton went further ahead in the third quarter, but some tremendous defence from West’s Racheal Wilson saw the Kangaroos claw their way back into the game.

Eventually though, the Magpies held firm and took a 45 – 42 victory to achieve an unprecedented six flags on the trot.

B grade

West Gambier 57 d Millicent 40. The first quarter had both teams in top form, particularly West’s goal shooters Chloe Irvine and Kristen Dawe.

Millicent’s defence was made to work overtime by the forward thrusts from West and by half time, the Kangaroos led by eight goals.

Millicent lifted its game in the second half, but some mental lapses and silly passes late in the term let the Saints down badly.

Great running and shooting by Irvine helped West to its eventual 17-goal victory.

Irvine was clearly the best Kangaroo on court, while Bronwyn Turner was best for Millicent. It was West’s first B grade premiership since 1988, while Millicent’s last success in this division dates back to 1992.

C grade

Millicent 40 d Hamilton 29. In windy conditions the undefeated Millicent team was under intense pressure to maintain its record in the ultimate match of the year.

Ali Groves of Hamilton suffered a knee injury in the first minute of the game, robbing the Magpies of its centre player.

Millicent were strong all over the court and its goalers were extremely accurate.

Millicent shut down Hamilton in the mid-court and while the Magpies’ defence was strong, the Saints were simply too good in attack.

Jodie Reilly collected Millicent’s best-on-court award, while Suzi O’Brien was best for Hamilton.

It was Millicent’s first ever C grade title and denied Hamilton the chance to win back-to-back premierships.

Tags: , ,  

Comments

Comments are closed.