By RUSSELL BENNETT
ELLINBANK AND DISTRICT NETBALL ASSOCIATION
ROUND 4 REVIEW
KOOWEERUP has signalled its arrival as a potential A Grade premiership threat with its first big scalp of the season – a five-goal win over Nar Nar Goon, 49-44.
Both sides entered the contest on the back of three straight victories, with the Goon’s last win coming in a 99-8 thumping of Garfield at Beswick Street.
But the Demons, who finished fourth in the EDNA West last season, loom as this year’s biggest improvers and jumped out of the gates at Toomuc Reserve on Saturday – taking an eight-goal lead into the first change.
They extended that out to double digits in the second and third quarters before the Goon came roaring back – as all champion sides do.
Impressively, though, the Demons held on for a win that could yet prove to define their season.
The Bell girls led the charge for Kooweerup, offensively, with Mariah Bell scoring 34 goals and Alexis nine.
Hollie and Georgia Keysers, and Maggie Riley, meanwhile, loomed as real difference-makers for the Goon and Lexie Riley had a huge final term. Meg Evans also made her presence felt on the scoreboard with 35 goals.
Arguably the game of the round on Saturday took place at the showgrounds in Lang Lang between two of last season’s league powerhouses.
The Tigers were runners-up to the Goon in the EDNA West decider last year but they’ve been slow out of the blocks so far this season.
And on Saturday it looked to be more of the same as they could only muster seven goals to Poowong’s 10 in the first quarter.
But they sprung to life in the second with 13 goals to take a three-goal lead into half time.
There was a back-and-forth arm wrestle in the third before Poowong came home with a wet sail in the last, falling short by the narrowest of margins, 38-37.
Jordan Reynolds was stellar for the Tigers with 23 goals, while Eliza Attenborough, Nicole Vamplew and Jess Hancock were the Magpies’ best.
Meanwhile at Bunyip the home side inflicted the Dusties’ first loss of the season in an impressive 21-goal win, 48-27.
Bunyip, which finished fifth in the EDNA West in 2014 with just five wins, has now won two of its first four games this season.
Taylah Roberts (27 goals) and Claire Ablett (21) were lethal in the goal circle for the home side, which extended its eight-goal half-time lead to 17 after three and grew that margin even further in the last.
Catani enjoyed a 21-goal win of its own at home over Nilma Darnum 47-26.
Georgi Williams was the star of the show from a shooting perspective for the Blues with 39 goals while Sophie Louden also had a monumental impact.
The Bombers were kept to just four goals in the first quarter and could never recover but wing defence Madison Miller, centre Erin Price and defender Hanna Williamson maintained a never-say-die attitude throughout the contest which should hold them in good stead for the rest of the season.
In the remaining games of Round 4, Hayley Stringer netted 45 goals as Neerim South proved far too strong for Longwarry 68-23, Ellinbank cruised past Cora Lynn 44-25 on the back of standout performances by Sam Hodge and Steph Milner (28 goals), and Buln Buln more than doubled the Saints’ score in a big 49-24 win in Nyora.
