ANC Semi Final
Victorian Fury (64) defeated Queensland Sapphires (58)
Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium | Gunaikurnai Land
Q1: 17-13
The intensity was up from the opening whistle with bodies flying everywhere and strong contests in each third. The Sapphires got the first break, creating a two goal lead with Hulita Veve proving to be a physical force in wing defence. A couple of defensive wins from Olivia Lewis and Tori Honner saw the lead switch in favour of the Fury with Emma Ryde putting on a dominant display under the post with her strong holds.
Q2: 14-15
Hannah Mundy continued her hot form in the second term picking up a huge intercept, with her workload through attack also increasing. Ruby Barkmeyer impressed both in defence and attack creating clever plays to help Fury maintain their lead. Maggie Caris entered the match and made an immediate impact as the Sapphires continued their charge to level the scores midway through the term. Jordan Cransberg’s injection into wing defence provided some fresh legs as the Fury pushed their margin back out to a three goal lead at the break.
Q3: 18-15
The Sapphires came out with a real fire in the belly quickly reducing the deficit to just two goals. But Gabby Coffey’s quick hands and defensive nous came to the fore pulling in a huge intercept while Cransberg worked in overdrive to create deflections. The shooting combination of Ryde and Barkmeyer continued to tick over while the move of Tayla Honey into centre provided a new look as the Fury established a six goal lead at three quarter time.
Q4: 15-15
Claudia Mawson generated plenty of energy in the attacking third, the goal attack using her speed and smarts to have an impact inside the circle. With the Sapphires making a late charge, Sharni Lambden was re-introduced into the match with her long arms wreaking havoc down back and Emily Andrew made a strong appearance in goal shooter to see the Fury secure a six goal win.
WHAT COMES NEXT
Fury will meet Southern Force in the Grand Final at 2.15pm AEST tomorrow, Saturday 28 August.
Watch every match of the Australian National Championships live and free on Kayo Freebies
Purchase your tickets for the Grand Final here (28 August) now
