THE best sporting contest of the day, at Sale, on Gippsland League preliminary final day, was the thrilling, highly-skilled contest between Leongatha and Morwell for a place in the 2023 A Grade Netball grand final.
Morwell were the favourites with wins by 6 and 1 in the regular season and 8 in the qualifying final but it was ‘game on’ after a goal-for-goal first quarter where the players got down to the business, with no nerves, from the get-go.
A 14-12 opening was the result with no holds barred under the Leongatha ring where Kate Browne and Hannah Flanders were fighting off all sorts of pressure from Courtney Garth, the Tigers’ co-captain and Anna Solomon.
Up the other end, Laura Higgins and Lauren Redpath had a winning strategy on Claire Marks, limiting her attempts but Daisy Hill was off the chair, hitting 11 and an adjustment was needed.
Lauren Redpath went to her as her direct opponent, which rebalanced the scales, cutting their scoring to nine, while Leongatha pulled a couple of goals back to go in at half time, 23-all.
Through the centre, Nicola Marriott was getting more clear air than Morwell wanted and they made a swap at half time at half time, taking Chloe Radford off and swinging Rachel Tatterson on while also moving Saslia Eenjes to centre.
With Kate Brown temporarily out of goals, Morwell got the mismatches they wanted and they went on a game-winning run, piling on 15 to Leongatha’s 8 and looking like the only team to beat Moe during the season.
They went into three quarter time up by 7 but the Leongatha players gritted their teeth at the last change, declaring they could still win it from there… they just about did.
Immediately after the restart, Kate Browne and Hannah Flanders scored a goal each to cut the lead to five, quick as a flash, though, Morwell had them back again. Hannah Flanders dropped off the pressure to take an easy pass and goal, and up the other end, Laura Higgins and Lauren Redpath were superb against to opposition.
A great intercept by Lauren Redpath produced a goal at the other end and Leongatha were whittling down the Tigers’ lead to 5, then 4. When both Kate and Hannah dropped long bombs, the gap was down to two then one off a sensational intercept by Taylah Brown.
The teams swapped goals off the centre pass before another intercept by the Leongatha WD in midcourt and when Hannah hit the next one the scores were level and they had the chance to get the go-ahead goal, after more great work by Lauren and Laura at their end, but the shot didn’t drop.
Leongatha levelled it again a few minutes later, but they never headed Morwell who held their nerve, despite a flutter of form partway through the last quarter, scoring 10 to Leongatha’s 14 to make it a three-goal difference in the end.
