By David Nagel
It may have been won all the way back in 2019…but Tooradin-Dalmore is showing great resilience as it looks to defend its West Gippsland Football Netball Competition (WGFNC) crown.
The Gulls – who have had a target on their backs for the best part of five years now – staved off another determined challenger on Saturday with a gritty 46-38 victory over Nar Nar Goon at a wet and gloomy Spencer Street.
The grinding victory sees the Gulls leap-frog the Gooners into second place on the ladder and be perfectly poised for an assault at this year’s title.
The Gulls set up the victory in the first half, taking a 10-7 lead to quarter time and then exploding away from the home side with a 15-9 second term.
Nar Nar Goon won the second half, 22-21, and closed to two goals in the final term, but the Gulls opening salvo proved the difference between the two teams in the end.
The Gulls are always up for a challenge, and delivered again when the game was at its hottest early.
Alex Maher (GS) was the dominant figure in the first half, scoring 22 of her side’s 25 goals, while Alex Duff (GA), Kayla Bratic (WA) and Stacey Sawyer (C) made sure supply was of the highest quality.
Holly Gillespie (WD) made transition from the defensive end of the court look easy, while the two dynamos in defence – Ebony Mason (GK) and Ebony Dolan (GK) – once again blew the pressure gauge to pieces.
The game was effectively over at half time, but the Goon girls never gave up certainly lifted after the break.
Zoe Parker restricted Maher after pulling on the GK bib for the third quarter, while Hollie Keysers (GD) and Bec Cox (WD) also raised the intensity to new levels.
Chantelle Dale (C) also made a difference, moving from WA to C in the third, while Grace Keysers (WA), Ash Coombes (GA) and Laura McLaren (GS) played key roles in the mini third-quarter revival.
But the Gulls were too good, staving off the late challenge from the Goon, and will look for an easier time of things against bottom-placed Kooweerup this week.
Things don’t get any easier for the Goon…who head to Inverloch this week to take on the chart-topping Sea Eagles…who were again super-impressive in a commanding 67-23 display against Warragul Industrials.
The Sea Eagles pushed aside the absence of star-defender Tayla Smith to play some blinding netball in the first half.
Rahni Mann (GK) took care of the key defensive post, while Renee Pilkington (GD), Kelsey Buxton (WD) and Lanni Pryor (C) made sure the back third of the court ran like absolute clockwork.
And Ella Sadler (WA) and Tayla Robb (GA) proved great providers to Kelly Boyd (GS), who swished 27 goals in the first half alone.
The Eagles seem to have class players on every line at the moment.
To their credit, the Dusties battled things out well after half time with Laurie Meaker (GK) suring things up in defence and Abbey (GA) and Lara Commadeur (GS) eventually finding their range.
But 18 and 21 goals from the Sea Eagles in the first half was the main talking point out of the match.
The Dusties travel to the Cora Lynn Cobras this week for another tough encounter.
The Cobras continued their charge at the top-six with a 52-22 victory over Kooweerup.
The Cobras have now banked points in four of their last five games and are definitely on the rise with a 15-1 opening burst setting the tone for Saturday’s impressive win.
Gemma Stacey (GA) had the radar dialled in early, scoring 10 first-quarter goals, while Bianca Douglas (GS) was happy to take a backseat and watch Stacey shine.
Karla Brook (C) and Ellie Keen (WA) continued their great form through the midcourt, while Emily Brook (GK) and Rhi Haines (GD) took care of business in the circle.
The Demons are still chasing that elusive first win, and the efforts of Taylah Simpson (GK), Mikaela Stokkel (GD) and Logan Dickson (C) are certainly keeping that dream alive.
Phillip Island has made a significant down payment on a place in this year’s finals series with an upset 43-35 victory over Bunyip.
The Bulldogs have been competitive recently in a tough run of matches against Dalyston, Nar Nar Goon and Tooradin-Dalmore and finally banked a thoroughly deserved four points.
The Bulldogs – currently sixth – face Korumburra-Bena (8th), Warragul Industrials (9th) and Cora Lynn (7th) over the next three rounds in a vitally important part of their season.
Bunyip, who drops to fifth, will look to avoid back-to-back losses this week when it hosts third-ranked Dalyston…who received a forfeit against Garfield on Saturday.
Korumburra-Bena had the bye against Kilcunda-Bass.
WGFNC RESULTS – ROUND 10
A GRADE: Dalyston def Garfield (forfeit), Inverloch-Kongwak 67 v Warragul Industrials 23, Kooweerup 22 v Cora Lynn 52, Nar Nar Goon 38 v Tooradin-Dalmore 46, Phillip Island 43 v Bunyip 35, Kilcunda-Bass 0 v Korumburra-Bena 20.
B GRADE: Dalyston 55 v Garfield 37, Inverloch-Kongwak 77 v Warragul Industrials 19, Kooweerup 27 v Cora Lynn 29, Nar Nar Goon 37 v Tooradin-Dalmore 36, Phillip Island 41 v Bunyip 40, Kilcunda-Bass 34 v Korumburra-Bena 30.
C GRADE: Dalyston 38 v Garfield 25, Inverloch-Kongwak 84 v Warragul Industrials 8, Kooweerup 24 v Cora Lynn 29, Nar Nar Goon 33 v Tooradin-Dalmore 11, Phillip Island 20 v Bunyip 32, Kilcunda-Bass 23 v Korumburra-Bena 17.
D GRADE: Dalyston 45 v Garfield 15, Kooweerup 21 v Cora Lynn 18, Nar Nar Goon 38 v Tooradin-Dalmore 17, Phillip Island 12 v Bunyip 53.
17 UNDER: Dalyston 64 v Garfield 5, Inverloch-Kongwak 43 v Warragul Industrials 9, Nar Nar Goon 17 v Tooradin-Dalmore 46, Phillip Island 38 v Bunyip 26, Kilcunda-Bass 12 v Korumburra-Bena 36.
15 UNDER: Inverloch-Kongwak 38 v Warragul Industrials 14, Kooweerup 20 v Cora Lynn 17, Nar Nar Goon 20 v Tooradin-Dalmore 17, Phillip Island 31 v Bunyip 17, Kilcunda-Bass 21 v Korumburra-Bena 18.
13 UNDER: Dalyston 3 v Garfield 11, Inverloch-Kongwak 14 v Warragul Industrials 17, Kooweerup 15 v Cora Lynn 25, Nar Nar Goon 14 v Tooradin-Dalmore 9, Phillip Island 42 v Bunyip 5, Kilcunda-Bass 4 v Korumburra-Bena 24.
11 UNDER: Dalyston 8 v Garfield 0, Kooweerup 7 v Cora Lynn 1, Nar Nar Goon 24 v Tooradin-Dalmore 4, Phillip Island 26 v Bunyip 3.
WGFNC NETBALL LADDERS
A GRADE W L D F A % PTS
Inverloch-Kongwak 9 1 0 487 253 192.49 36
Tooradin-Dalmore 9 1 0 456 341 133.72 36
Dalyston 8 2 0 357 266 134.21 32
Nar Nar Goon 8 2 0 439 340 129.12 32
Bunyip 7 3 0 548 309 177.35 28
Phillip Island 6 4 0 468 375 124.80 24
Cora Lynn 4 6 0 346 338 102.37 16
Korumburra Bena 4 6 0 324 365 88.77 16
Warragul Industrials 3 7 0 335 522 64.18 8
Garfield 1 9 0 307 456 67.32 4
Koo Wee Rup 1 9 0 229 531 43.13 4
Kilcunda Bass 0 10 0 0 200 0.00 0
B GRADE W L D F A % PTS
Nar Nar Goon 9 1 0 495 277 178.70 36
Tooradin-Dalmore 9 1 0 604 353 171.10 36
Bunyip 8 2 0 505 286 176.57 32
Phillip Island 8 2 0 508 392 129.59 32
Inverloch-Kongwak 7 3 0 465 336 138.39 28
Dalyston 6 4 0 475 404 117.57 24
Kilcunda Bass 3 7 0 404 441 91.61 12
Korumburra Bena 2 7 1 340 427 79.63 10
Koo Wee Rup 2 7 1 300 450 66.67 10
Cora Lynn 2 7 1 312 477 65.41 10
Garfield 2 7 1 271 469 57.78 10
Warragul Industrials 0 10 0 271 638 42.48 0
C GRADE W L D F A % PTS
Bunyip 10 0 0 452 130 347.69 40
Dalyston 9 1 0 387 209 185.17 36
Nar Nar Goon 8 2 0 314 192 163.54 32
Garfield 8 2 0 337 246 136.99 32
Inverloch-Kongwak 7 3 0 395 204 193.63 28
Cora Lynn 4 5 1 229 268 85.45 18
Phillip Island 4 6 0 268 273 98.17 16
Tooradin-Dalmore 3 6 1 199 254 78.35 14
Koo Wee Rup 3 7 0 193 298 64.77 12
Kilcunda Bass 2 8 0 187 381 49.08 8
Korumburra Bena 1 9 0 205 313 65.50 4
Warragul Industrials 0 10 0 137 535 25.61 0
D GRADE W L D F A % PTS
Inverloch-Kongwak 8 0 0 353 135 261.48 32
Bunyip 7 1 0 358 143 250.35 28
Dalyston 7 1 0 331 143 231.47 28
Nar Nar Goon 6 2 0 300 152 197.37 24
Kilcunda Bass 3 5 0 196 229 85.59 12
Tooradin-Dalmore 3 5 0 195 303 64.36 12
Garfield 2 6 0 186 269 69.14 8
Phillip Island 2 7 0 186 375 49.60 8
Koo Wee Rup 2 6 0 138 340 40.59 8
Cora Lynn 1 8 0 182 296 61.49 4
Korumburra Bena 0 0 0 0 20 0.00 0
Warragul Industrials 0 0 0 0 20 0.00 0
17 UNDER W L D F A % PTS
Dalyston 9 0 1 447 181 246.96 38
Korumburra Bena 9 1 0 395 187 211.23 36
Phillip Island 9 1 0 509 241 211.20 36
Inverloch-Kongwak 7 3 0 410 232 176.72 28
Bunyip 6 4 0 346 264 131.06 24
Cora Lynn 5 4 1 270 223 121.08 22
Tooradin-Dalmore 5 5 0 331 304 108.88 20
Koo Wee Rup 4 6 0 225 260 86.54 16
Nar Nar Goon 2 8 0 238 351 67.81 8
Kilcunda Bass 2 8 0 219 367 59.67 8
Warragul Industrials 1 9 0 159 475 33.47 4
Garfield 0 10 0 76 540 14.07 0
15 UNDER W L D F A % PTS
Phillip Island 10 0 0 348 147 236.73 40
Inverloch-Kongwak 9 1 0 268 145 184.83 36
Korumburra Bena 8 2 0 283 181 156.35 32
Bunyip 7 3 0 246 177 138.98 28
Dalyston 7 3 0 219 201 108.96 28
Nar Nar Goon 6 4 0 252 217 116.13 24
Koo Wee Rup 4 6 0 215 224 95.98 16
Tooradin-Dalmore 3 7 0 186 215 86.51 12
Kilcunda Bass 3 7 0 176 260 67.69 12
Warragul Industrials 2 8 0 193 320 60.31 8
Cora Lynn 1 9 0 154 253 60.87 4
Garfield 0 10 0 0 200 0.00 0
13 UNDER W L D F A % PTS
Phillip Island 9 1 0 357 107 333.64 36
Nar Nar Goon 8 2 0 287 121 237.19 32
Warragul Industrials 8 2 0 258 131 196.95 32
Koo Wee Rup 8 2 0 292 153 190.85 32
Cora Lynn 7 2 1 227 109 208.26 30
Tooradin-Dalmore 5 4 1 145 113 128.32 22
Korumburra Bena 4 4 2 162 140 115.71 20
Inverloch-Kongwak 5 5 0 148 133 111.28 20
Garfield 2 8 0 110 223 49.33 8
Kilcunda Bass 1 9 0 64 327 19.57 4
Dalyston 1 9 0 45 235 19.15 4
Bunyip 0 10 0 43 346 12.43 0
11 UNDER W L D F A % PTS
Inverloch-Kongwak 8 0 0 160 29 551.72 32
Nar Nar Goon 7 0 0 201 13 1546.15 28
Tooradin-Dalmore 6 2 0 80 44 181.82 24
Phillip Island 5 3 1 113 104 108.65 22
Dalyston 4 4 0 71 69 102.90 16
Koo Wee Rup 3 4 1 57 95 60.00 14
Kilcunda Bass 3 5 0 56 108 51.85 12
Cora Lynn 2 6 0 57 118 48.31 8
Bunyip 2 7 0 58 147 39.46 8
Garfield 0 8 0 16 122 13.11 0
Korumburra Bena 0 1 0 0 20 0.00 0
Warragul Industrials 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0
