The National Netball Championships in Hobart has officially started with Day 1 and 2 bringing plenty of heat and excitement out on court. Our Victorian 17/Under and 19/Under sides got off to a hot start claiming victories
17/Under - Victoria (56) defeated Northern Territory (8)
The Under 17’s got off to a dominant start in their first match of the National Championships with the Victorian side having a 48 goal win over the Northern Territory (56-8). Victoria got off to a fast start with a turnover in the NT’s defence allowing Victoria to transition the ball quickly down to the goalers with Lily Graham converting.
It was a strong defensive performance in the opening quarter with Victoria limiting the NT to only one goal. Wing defence Montaya Sardi played a huge role winning plenty of ball back with deflections and intercepts.
Charlotte Morey came on into wing defence in the second quarter, injecting that element of speed into the Victorian front line, which allowed for those quick feeds into Graham and Emma Winfield. In the third quarter it was another strong defensive effort from Victoria keeping NT goalless for that third quarter, with Morey and Tara Watson combining in the midcourt to feed nicely to a strong goaling combination of Graham and Winfield.
17/Under - Victoria (28) defeated by South Australia (34)
Victoria was dealt their first loss of the Nationals tournament going down by six goals to South Australia (34-28). After an even first quarter a turnover allowed South Australia to get the lead and swing the momentum their way, getting out to a two goal lead early in the first quarter. Sardi picked up where she left off getting hand to ball early.
Victoria was strong on the second phase midway through the first with Millie Hogg providing a great drive onto the circle edge. Throughout the first quarter the Victorians were forced to go back to the transverse line after extreme pressure from South Australia making it hard for the Victorian side to get the ball into the goal circle.
Sardi had a nice pick up late in that opening quarter which allowed a quick transition down court into Graham to trim the margin to a goal. Despite getting lots of opportunities in the second quarter to bring the margin back, the Victorian side couldn’t capitalise.
There were lots of positives in the final quarter with Victoria able to capitalise on turnovers. A strong rebound from Kahlan Tanoi allowed the Victorian side to get back to back goals to chip away at the deficit. Another intercept from Tanoi further reduced the margin, with the speed of Charlotte Morey in centre allowing a quick transition down to the goal circle but it was too little too late.
17/Under - Western Australia (29) defeated by Victoria (41)
Victoria bounced back to claim a dominant win over Western Australia on Day 2 to kickstart their day in style (41-29).
Led by Lily Graham under the post and Emma Winfield the pair proved to be a handful with their crafty ball movement and accuracy to post worrying Rebekah Aynsley and Scarlet Jauncey.
Captain Mia van Wyk was a strong defensive presence for the Vics combining nicely with Eliza Molino to quell the influence of Aitaua Enari and Georgie Cleaver for Western Australia. Victoria worked in overdrive to cover the court and reduce the speed of play to create turnovers and enhance their lead on the scoreboard.
19/Under- Victoria (43) defeated ACT (19)
Despite a slow start from Victoria, it was a dominant display in the 19/Under first match of the National Championships reigning victorious against the ACT 43 -19.
Victorian defenders, Sussu Liai and Melissa Oloamanu were busy early with ACT getting off to a fast start. An important pick up from Liai saw the Victorian side quickly transition the ball down the other end to level the score.
Melbourne Vixens training partner Emily Andrew provided the Victorian side with a strong option under the post. Her baseline drives opened up the goal circle as well as creating a formidable partnership with goal attack Olivia Wilkinson early.
Victoria ran away with the game in the third quarter scoring 12 goals to ACT’s three. Andrew forged a strong connection with DeDe Lambert, who came onto court in the second quarter. Captain Zara Walters was crafty with ball in hand, feeding into the goal circle for the Victorian side as well as winning ball back.
19/Under - Victoria (28) defeated by South Australia (48)
The Victorian Under 19’s fell short in their clash against South Australia in Game 2 of the National Championships. South Australia got off to a flyer, going up 3-0 to start off the first quarter.
It didn’t stop Sussu Liai from making her presence known early with great defensive pressure in at wing defence. There were a few too many turnovers in the opening quarter for Victoria, with South Australia able to quickly capitalise down the other end to stretch the lead to seven goals..
Kiahna Fallon started the third quarter nicely with a clever intercept which led to Emily Andrew converting down the other end. Melissa Oloamanu started to get into the game in the third quarter with the defender really capitalising on those cross court passes.
Despite a positive third quarter, Victoria gave a lot of ball back to the opposition with South Australia quick to capitalise down the other end. Charli Nicol and Charlee Kemp provided a few headaches to the SA goalers when the pair were injected into the game late in the match, taking that defensive pressure to a new level in the final quarter.
19/Under - Queensland (39) defeated Victoria (31)
It was a tight battle between Queensland and Victoria with the former securing the four points thanks to a dominant second and third quarter.
Elsa Sif Sandholt was in dominant form under the post nailing 23 goals for Queensland despite the work of Charli Nicol and Melissa Oloamanu. Emily Andrew and Olivia Wilkinson starred under the post for Victoria while the work of Zara Walters through the midcourt was impressive but not enough to get Victoria over the line.
