The National Netball Championships ended today with the Victorian sides securing a silver and bronze medal in the 17/Under and 19/Under divisions respectively.
17/Under: Victoria (35) defeated by New South Wales (38)
Despite a strong start in the gold medal match, the Victorian 17/Under team went down to New South Wales by three goals (35-38) to claim the silver medal at the National Championships on Sunday.
Victoria got off to a blistering start with a 5-0 lead in the opening minutes of the match, but NSW got hold of the momentum and six unanswered goals saw Victoria trailing by a point. It was goal-for-goal from there with Victoria going into the first break leading by a point and all tied up at the main break.
Mia van Wyk won a lot of ball back for Victoria but her teammates couldn’t capitalise on those intercepts at the other end. NSW was able to capitalise and treasure possession, breaking away in the third quarter to hold a four-goal lead going into the final quarter.
Eliza Molino and Montaya Sardi were also strong defensively, regaining possession for the Victorian side on a number of occasions.
It was a nailbiting final two minutes of the match with a missed shot from NSW seeing Victoria regain possession and bring the score back within one point, but their pressure was too strong on Victoria’s next centre pass, seeing the margin go out to three goals.
19/Under: Victoria (40) defeated Western Australia (34)
Victoria has defeated Western Australia in a stunning six-goal victory to take the bronze medal in the 19/Under division.
The Victorians were slow to get started with Western Australia having the momentum for the opening minutes, Victoria trailing by three points (4-1). Charli Nicol and Melissa Oloamanu did well to confuse the space on the feed to regain possession which saw Victoria to level the score at six-all.
The second quarter really cemented the foundations for Victoria with the side going into the main break with a five-goal advantage. Melbourne Vixens training partner Emily Andrew took the ball strongly inside the circle and once again displayed a fierce combination with Olivia Wilkinson.
Sussu Liai brought the defensive pressure, making no pass easy and working hard to curb the impact of the Western Australian wing attack. Liai was also able to win some ball back for her team, with an intercept in the second quarter allowing Victoria to extend their margin.
Nicol and Oloamanu were strong in defence for the Victorian side all day, combining nicely with Liai in wing defence with the trio having developed into a strong defensive unit across the tournament.
Victorian captain Zara Walters set the tone in the midcourt, once again leading by example to be strong on circle edge and create a lot of the play for her side.
Replays of both matches can be viewed free and on-demand via Kayo Sports.
