By David Nagel
One scintillating quarter of sparkling netball is all it took for Inverloch-Kongwak to overtake Tooradin-Dalmore as ‘premiership favourites’ on Saturday.
It’s a title that Tooradin has held since day one of its journey in the WGFNC, which began with a premiership in 2019.
Even all the way through those dastardly Covid-years of 2020 and ’21, the Seagulls were widely regarded as the best team going around.
But things changed at a blustery Inverloch Recreation Reserve on Saturday, with the home side producing a staggering start to what was expected to be a very close contest.
At 17-6 at quarter time…this one was effectively over!
The Sea Eagles burst out of the blocks with Tayla Robb (GA) scoring 11 first-quarter goals and Kelly Boyd (GS) six, but it’s what was happening in the other two-thirds of the court that was most impressive.
Rahni Mann (WD), Lanni Pryor (WA) and Kelsey Buxton (C) were outstanding through the midcourt, while Tayla Smith (GK) and Renee Pilkington (GD) refused to concede an easy goal in defence.
The Seagulls scored just six in the opening term, with Alex Maher (GS) and Kayla Bratic (GA) unable to break the shackles.
The Sea Eagles then inflicted further damage on the reigning champs, scoring 11-7 in the second term to lead 28-13 at half time…before cruising home to a 48-31 victory.
Inverloch coach Jarrad Walker was understandably thrilled with his team’s performance, particularly the fast start.
“We just spoke about what we wanted our netball to look like, and spoke about how this game in particular was a real statement around what our team culture is, what our club culture is, and what we want to put out to the league,” Walker said.
“They just really responded to that, they clicked into gear early and took off from there.”
Walker has been working hard in recent times to improve an already lethal defence, with Smith and Pilkington two of the best defenders in the league.
“They are experienced and they know exactly what they’re doing, but over the last few weeks I’ve worked with them on what I’d like to see against the likes of Tooradin and Bunyip and those types of teams,” he said.
“For them to put out a performance like that, to keep them to single digits in all four quarters, was testament to the work done with those girls and the effort they have put in.
“We’ve worked really hard on what we want it to look like, and what we want to restrict, so it was pleasing to see it play out the way it did on the weekend.
“The girls are all learning new things, they’re being challenged, and I think they’re enjoying that environment.”
Despite the ease of the victory, Walker knows Tooradin will hit back hard.
“I do expect them to bounce back, they’ve got a great coach (Kelly Haynes) who has worked at VNL level for a long time and really knows her netball, so she’ll be picking apart the game and working on ways to improve,” he said.
“We’ve trained for other options, so the next few weeks for us is now about running different scenarios around what could happen in finals.
“There’s still Covid hanging around, so things could change quite quickly and we need to make sure we’ve got all bases covered.”
Inverloch has the bye this week, while Tooradin faces a tough home game against Bunyip.
Nar Nar Goon produced one of its best performances of the season on Saturday, walking away from a dangerous trip to Phillip Island with a 58-40 victory.
The Goon defeated the Bulldogs by just one goal at Spencer Street in round eight, but upped the ante on the weekend with a super-impressive win.
The Goon was back to its free-flowing best, with 58 goals its third-highest score for the season.
The Goon hosts the Dusties this week; while Phillip Island will start underdogs against Dalyston – who had a 65-45 win over Warragul Industrials.
The fourth-placed Magpies just keep winning of late and are applying real pressure on Tooradin and Bunyip in the battle for second place.
In other games, Garfield is enjoying back-to-back wins for the first time this season after the Stars proved too strong for Kooweerup, winning 55-32.
It’s great reward for Garfield, who has had a better season than what its 4-12 record might suggest.
The Stars will look for a third-consecutive win against Cora Lynn this week, while Kooweerup hosts Korumburra.
And Bunyip has taken its record to 11-3 with a 48-21 triumph over Korumburra-Bena.
The Bulldogs are an explosive team to watch and will be keen to replicate their incredible 69-35 victory over Tooradin when the two teams collide at Tooradin this Saturday.
The winner will likely earn the double chance in finals, while the loser will have to win the flag the hard way.
Cora Lynn had the bye.
