Kyabram District League netball contenders continued on their steady path, while some late season bolters notched big wins in a busy round 12 on Saturday.
Rushworth v Violet Town
In a miraculous turnaround spearheaded by coach Sheree Starling, 2024 wooden-spooner Rushworth has found itself in third position on the ladder through 12 rounds.
It’s most recent scalp, Violet Town, is currently off the pace to make the finals, but the battle at Ironbark Stadium proved to be anything but a walk-over.
Controlling the game for the first quarter, the Tigers jumped out to an early lead, but a slump through the middle quarters made staying in front a challenge.
However, a savvy change made by Starling, putting herself in goals to add variety to Rushworth’s scoring, bared fruit, with the Tigers able to notch a 49-24 win.
Starling reflected on the match, acknowledging her side played well despite the absence of regular goal defender Ashlyn Materne, but pointed to inconsistency across four quarters being an issue.
“We didn’t know what to expect from Violet Town, but as it turns out, we played quite well even though we were very inconsistent,” she said.
“We probably should have won by more, but that has been our biggest downfall this year is our lack of consistency across four quarters, so we’ll be addressing that.
“Our first quarter was great, but we took the foot off the pedal in the second and third quarters, they were pretty average, we only went up by four goals.
“Because we didn’t have Ashlyn in goal defence, I put our regular wing defender Kacey in there, and she was brilliant, she was definitely the best-on-court on the weekend.
“We can mix it around, in terms of our versatility of players, but losing one in our key positions does change the dynamic of our team, so it was good we were able to adapt and get over the top.”
The Tigers should be in for another victory in round 13 when they travel to Longwood to face the bottom-dwelling Redlegs.
Girgarre v Undera
The Kangaroos travelled to Undera Recreation Reserve to take on the struggling Lions, where the visitors downed the host by 42 goals.
In a match that wasn’t particularly competitive, Girgarre strutted its defending premiership stuff to get back onto the winner’s list after last week’s loss to Nagambie.
The final score was 67-25.
Libby Pangrazio and Chloe Byrne were named best-on-court for the Kangaroos in the win.
Girgarre will return home in round 13 to host Tallygaroopna.
Lancaster v Tallygaroopna
Speaking of the Redlegs, they were defeated by a Lancaster side looking to make a late season push into the finals frame.
Venturing to Tallygaroopna Recreation Reserve, the Wombats put the hosts to the sword in relatively dominant fashion, securing a 19-goal victory.
The final score was 46-27.
Renne Ashmore, Lexi Thomas, Jadeja Davies and Emma Roberts were highlighted as Lancaster’s best in the win.
Sitting just outside the finals picture, The Wombats will have a great opportunity to double up in round 13 when they play a struggling Murchison-Toolamba side.
Merrigum v Murchison-Toolamba
The Bulldogs have rounded into form nicely over the last few rounds, with their latest scalp coming against the Grasshoppers at Murchsion Recreation Reserve.
Merrigum is another side that, if they keep winning games down the stretch, will be in a good position to sneak into the finals.
In a close battle, the Bulldogs managed to get over the top to secure a 51-40 victory and move into eighth place on the KDNL ladder.
Georgia Wilson and Rae Elrayah were named best-on-court for Merrigum in the contest.
Merrigum will get the break in round 13, which will allow them extra time to prepare and rest for a date with Stanhope in round 14.
Stanhope v Nagambie
In a contest that was always going to be a challenge, Stanhope gave Nagambie a run for its money in round 12.
The tenth place Lions gave the contending Lakers quite the scare at Nagambie Recreation Reserve.
Ultimately, the Lakers were able to get into the clear and secure a 13-goal victory.
The final score was 44-57.
For a side that only has four wins to its name, to go that close to taking down the second place Nagambie are good signs for the Lions when they host Undera in round 13.