All out war of titans

Nar Nar Goon wing defence Taylor Beck and Bunyip centre Nicole Bryce fight for possession. 104921 Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS

By RUSSELL BENNETT

Ellinbank and District netball review – semi finals

IT’S not like a clash between the two titans of EDNA top-tier netball could have been any different.
Poowong and Ellinbank produced a down-to-the-wire thriller on Saturday at Nar Nar Goon in just the latest chapter in a now famous local sporting rivalry.
It was the Magpies who managed to just outlast a gallant Eagles outfit 34-33, winning the all-important psychological battle and going some way to winning the war.
It is clear Poowong is spurred on by one main motivator – the painful memory of fading badly in the 2012 decider against Ellinbank and being on the wrong end of a 47-22 hiding.
A large and vocal crowd gathered at the Spencer Street courts on Saturday, with an air of inevitability surrounding the clash.
There are four certainties in life – births, deaths, taxes and an Ellinbank and Poowong thriller.
To say it was the usual suspects who stood tallest in the latest instalment is a huge understatement, and an unfair one at that.
Though the likes of Nicole Vamplew, Candace Page, Amy Hodge and Abbey Bowman would have had more than an inkling that they might meet again later in this finals series – perhaps even on 14 September – they still went all-out in search of victory. These two sides just don’t know any other way.
Poowong moved Sarah Hogan from wing attack into the centre at half time, with her side clinging to a 19-16 lead. The move worked – she was relentless in her direction of play through the mid-court.
But Ellinbank’s strategists were busy during the final break and came out with numerous positional changes for the all-important last quarter. With a spot in the grand final still within grasp, the intensity somehow lifted again.
The final quarter was a bruising, physical encounter, with no player giving an inch. The Bankers fought to bring the scores level, before going a goal ahead in the final minutes. But never to be written off, Poowong fought back and shot two incredible goals to steal the win, 34-33.
Sam Hodge and Akayla Peterson were brilliant in defence for Ellinbank but Vamplew (19 goals) and Page (15) led the Magpies superbly. Ultimately, it was Hogan who proved to be the difference-maker. She was adjudged best-on-court, while superstar Janis Mackay lifted the crowd all day with a series of stunning intercepts. Hodge (17 goals), Bowman (12) and Jaimi Byrne (4) were gallant for the Eagles.
The weekend’s other semi-final – between Nar Nar Goon and Bunyip on Sunday – was a much more one-sided affair, with The Goon continuing its ominous form in a 44-24 win.
It was on the defensive end, this time, that they really showed their class – holding Bunyip to just three final-quarter goals. The Goon, by contrast, scored 17 of its own – finishing off the hard work of the first three quarters and filling them with confidence for a blockbuster preliminary final with Ellinbank this Saturday. Kathryn Williams and Christie Edwards combined for all of The Goon’s goals, while defensive linchpin Meg Evans was adjudged best-on-court.