NETBALL
In their second last round of the normal season, the Waves lost to the Falcons (49-56) by seven goals as they tried to keep their finals dreams alive.
While the Falcons gained the crucial points needed to jump into fourth place, they’ll still need to score a victory over second-placed DC North East Blaze in round 18 to ensure that the Waves can’t reclaim their top four position.
The Waves will also have to score a win over the 10th placed Melbourne University Lightning in the final round of the season in order to progress to the semi-finals on Wednesday 22 August.
While the rest of the Waves and Southern Saints sides are unable to make the finals, there were still some positive signs for both clubs on Wednesday night.
In the championship game, the Waves competed in a hot contest against the City West Falcons but were eventually worn down as the Falcons (48-73) continue to fight for the final spot in the semis.
Victorian Fury teammates Jacqui Newton and Rahni Samason went head to head against each other, while former shooter Maddie Morrison was faced with the tough task of defending Falcons’ star goaler Jane Cook.
Morrison gained three consecutive intercepts against Cook, despite the shooter’s noticeable height advantage. However, the Falcons came back fighting as Cook singlehandedly scored 21 goals for the Falcons in the final quarter.
Waves Shooter, Rahni Samason, was also called up to play for the Melbourne Vixens in the Suncorp Super Netball League two weeks ago. The young netballer was filling in for Vixen’s shooter, Mwai Kumwenda, who tore her ACL the week prior.
For the Southern Saints championship side, they competed in an exciting game against the Geelong Cougars and despite the known strength of the Geelong lineup, the Southern Saints weren’t intimidated and forced the Cougars to fight for possession throughout the game. The Cougars eventually claimed a 13-goal victory (66-53) over the young Southern Saints side.
In division one, Peninsula Waves are determined to finish their season on a high, defeating City West Falcons by a convincing 18 goals (55-37). The Waves took a 12-goal lead after just one quarter and continued to flaunt their improvement through the season.
Waves captain Bridgette Barry Murphy was thrilled with her team’s performance, and said that it was great to be able to “put everything together and flow well” throughout the game.
For the Southern Saints division one side, the 2017 premiers Geelong Cougars were too strong in the mid-section of the match and claimed the victory by eight-goals (54-46). The Southern Saints were able to control the court in the first quarter and lead the Cougars by three goals at quarter time but the Cougars quickly made amends for their slow start. The Southern Saints remained consistent throughout the game and managed to match the Cougars’ 14 goals in the final quarter.
For the Southern Saints under-19s side, they suffered a 20-goal loss (56-36) to the reigning premiers, Geelong Cougars, who are looking to make it back to back premierships, but had Melissa Webster back on court after sustaining an injury earlier this year.
The division one and championship sides for the Peninsula Waves, and the senior sides for the Southern Saints will compete in their final game for the season on Wednesday night while the under-19s Peninsula Waves team will attempt to jump back into fourth place.
Peninsula Waves will verse Melbourne University Lightning while the Southern Saints will face the Selkirk Sovereigns.
