By RUSSELL BENNETT
Ellinbank and District Netball preview – preliminary final
AT THE start of the EDNA season it somehow seemed unfathomable that the reigning A Grade premier Ellinbank could enter a preliminary final clash as anything other than the red-hot favourite.
But that’s the prospect facing the Bankers this weekend as they come up against a rampant Nar Nar Goon outfit that has taken all before it over recent weeks.
Only the ladder-leading Poowong, last year’s conquered grand finalist, finished the home-and-away season with a better percentage than The Goon.
In fact, it’s The Goon that has been proven to have the more potent attack – scoring 1121 points this season to the Magpies’ 1117.
But it’s not on the offensive end of the court that Nar Nar Goon’s biggest challenges lie. Other than Poowong and fourth-placed Bunyip, Ellinbank has the most miserly defensive combination of any team in the league and Kathryn Williams and Christie Edwards will need to be on top of their game if they’re to find a way past it.
But Meg Evans has shone in her own right on the defensive end for The Goon, whose stopping power is almost as strong.
Ellinbank will come out breathing fire this Saturday but the side will need every ounce of motivation it can muster to overcome The Goon. If Amy Hodge and Abbey Bowman can’t find a consistent way past Evans, the Bankers will be up against it all afternoon.
Continuing a season that has produced the unconventional week in, week out, The Goon will continue its blistering form into the 2013 decider, winning by six goals.
