By DAVID NAGEL
NEW Narre Warren coach Jade Heinrich is delighted that her unsung heroes got a chance to shine in the Magpies’ impressive 46-28 victory over Berwick at Edwin Flack Reserve on Saturday.
The Magpies had Tayla Shannon, Kara Hargrave, Elly Stewart and Brittany Mashado all sitting on the sidelines but still found a way to win all four-quarters of netball.
“I was really happy with the girls, who haven’t had much court time this season,” Jade said.
“It was great that some of the girls had the opportunity to play a half, and others a full game of netball.
“Courtney Phelps played three quarters, Demi Brettoner played a full game in wing attack, and Caitlin Stephens, she’s an under-17 player who came up and played half a game in goal defence. She turned the ball over a couple of times and ran the ball out of defence really well. She was quite impressive.”
The Magpies, who bounced out of the blocks with a 16 to 10 goal first term, also had Erin Clark and captain Leigh Taylor in fine form through the midcourt.
Doveton has bounced back from a topsy-turvy start to the season, reminding everybody of its true premiership credentials with a dominant 25-goal victory over Beaconsfield at Holm Park Reserve.
The Doves, who triumphed over the Eagles in last year’s grand final, were slow to begin with, trailing by two goals at quarter time, before unleashing their full force in the second and fourth quarters.
They piled on 21 goals to 10 in the second term, to take a nine-goal lead into half time, before extending an eight-goal three-quarter-time lead into a comprehensive victory with a 25-goal final term.
Beaconsfield will be happy that it outscored the Doves in two quarters, but disappointed that its defence fell apart when the Doves applied the screws. Hannah Blair, Kaela Hughes and Erin Tippett all tried their hearts out for the Eagles.
In this week’s games, two premiership fancies, Doveton and Hampton Park, go toe-to-toe at Robinson Oval.
The rise of these two sides has been well documented, the Doves rising from the ashes in 2013 to win last year’s title, while the Redbacks have taken a similar approach, investing heavily in what looks to be a similar campaign.
The Redbacks have Chloe Birch, Cathy Leeves and Zoe Ryde-Coad providing a solid foundation this season, while the Doves have Cara Humbert, Liz Edwards and Kate Murphy doing likewise at Robinson Oval.
In other games, Narre Warren hosts Tooradin, Cranbourne welcomes Beaconsfield to Casey Fields and ROC and Berwick does battle at Starling Road. Pakenham has the bye.
