Girls have mixed results at netball prelims

Victorian Schools Netball Championships

Preliminary Rounds

On Tuesday 19 August, the CMCB Representative Netball teams competed at the Victorian Schools Championships Preliminary Rounds that were played in Bendigo at the Golden City Netball Courts. On a sunny day all teams played some terrific team netball against strong and talented opposition. Although results were mixed, all teams displayed great sportsmanship and played some brilliant netball.

Year 7

The Year 7 Girls took to the courts, competing in the Junior Division against a mix of both Year 7 and Year 8 teams. The day kicked off with a dominant 21–0 win over Moama Anglican Grammar (Perricoota), setting the tone for the day with sharp passing and confident shooting. A challenging second match saw the team face a strong Year 8 Moama Anglican Grammar (Chanter) side resulting in a 17-7 loss. Undeterred, the girls bounced back with impressive wins over Girton Grammar School (16–8) and Notre Dame College (White) 19–4, showcasing depth and versatility through varied player combinations.

In the final stretch, the team battled hard against the towering St Joseph’s College (Grey), going down 10–22 to a side that would go on to win the day. The girls then wrapped up their day’s competition with a thrilling 10-10 draw against St Joseph’s College, Echuca showcasing resiliance and determination to the very end, as they fought back from an early deficit.

Throughout the day the girls displayed outstanding positivity, teamwork, and sportsmanship. Their skill, spirit and perserverence on court were a true credit to themselves and the school. Congratulations to all who participated – you made us proud.

Mrs Hannah Gretgrix (Coach)

YEAR 7 TEAM: Darcy Rodda, Emma Hietbrink, Abby Colt, Macaila Bannan, Eliza Main, Cammie Fitzgerald, Mrs Hannah Gretgrix (Coach), Colbie O’Bree, Zara Grieve, Macey Nielsen, Maggie Millar

Year 8

The Year 8 team played 7 games over the course of the day, which enabled them to work on set plays as well as rotate through their playing list. The team was very consistent over the day with many intercepts in defence, great transitional play down the court and accurate goaling. Players also showed their versatility with many positional changes throughout the day. It was a terrific team effort, as they defeated all teams in their pool and hence have qualified for the Finals Day, which is to be played in Melbourne, on Tuesday 9 September.

Results:

• CMCB def Girton Grammar School 19-7
• CMCB def Notre Dame College 13-5
• CMCB def St Joseph’s College Echuca (White) 24-4
• CMCB def Moama Anglican Grammar 21-8
• CMCB def St Mary’s College Seymour 19-3
• CMCB def St Joseph’s College Echuca (Green) 21-3
• CMCB def Ballarat Clarendon College 13-5

YEAR 8 TEAM: Mrs Julie Fennell (Coach), Ava Hope, Harper Gordon, Sienna Raco, Evie Gretgrix, Macey White, Forest Jackson-Leahy (Helper), Ellie Macumber, Marlie Skinner, Elle Gilchrist, Milla Dalton, Georgia Bray

Intermediate Team 1

The Intermediate Girls’ Team 1 were eager to get off to a good start. Their sights were firmly set on reaching the Finals Day in September, and to do this they knew they needed to win all games.

Game 1 against Crusoe College proved to be a nicely paced game to ease into the day, and the girls won comfortably 25-3. Games 2 and 4 saw the girls face the two St Joseph’s College Echuca teams and once again these games were nicely paced which enabled plenty of player rotations to occur. (Round 2 – win 21-2 and Round 4 win – 20-4).

In Round 3, the team faced Moama Anglican Grammar, and to Moama’s credit they challenged the girls with some slick passages of play and physical defence. However, the height and athleticism of the CMCB team saw them negate most of Moama’s attacking third entries as they again recorded a comfortable win 24-7.

The final round against Ballarat Clarendon College was anticipated to be a close game and despite the girls being fired up for a good start in this match, the absence of a number of players for the warmup soon became evident as they had a very lack-lustre start. This was a valuable lesson as Ballarat hit the court with determination and really threw out the challenge. At the end of the half scores were close, with CMCB holding a slender 8-4 lead.

Fortunately, the second half saw the girls regroup and play some of their better netball for the day as they combined brilliantly to record a strong win 14-5. A big thanks to the injured girls who came and offered support roles on the day – Mia Cox, Imogen Brown, Lexi Brennan and Eden Pollard. The team now looks forward to the Final’s Day on Wednesday 10 September.

INTERMEDIATE 1 TEAM: Dempsey McDonnell, Sophie McDermott, Ginger Hay, Adeline Neilson, Eva Grant, Mrs Clare Hope (Coach), Maggie Lamb, Tarli Nihill, Lexie Fennell, Juliet Hogan, Lilly Teuma

Intermediate Team 2

On a beautiful sunny day, the Intermediate Girls Team 2 were excited for the day and the experience that this tournament offered. The girls had just come together as a team for this day, so with no training sessions in the bank the girls knew that they definitely had their work cut out, but were eager to get on court and have a red-hot go.

In their first match of the day against Girton Grammar, the girls came out strong as they went goal-for-goal in the first half against a confident and well-drilled team. However, as the girls were still navigating their team dynamics, Girton were able to convert some key shots in the second half, resulting in a loss 9-6.

By their second game, which was against Notre Dame College, the girls had settled and had found some flow as they went on to record a terrific win 19-13.

The third game, against Crusoe College, was one that consisted of ebbs and flows as the girls managed to keep the lead but struggled to play in top form. They still came away with a 5-goal win, (11-6) but there was room for improvement. The girls’ fourth game of the day was against St Mary’s College Seymour, who proved to be a very physical opposition. Despite this, it ended up being the team’s best game of the day as they battled strongly, holding onto their calm to win by 2 goals (13-11).

The final game of the day was against St Joseph’s College Echuca, who were undefeated for the day at this point. Despite enormous effort and hard work from the girls, they eventually went down 19-5. It wasn’t the ending the girls had hoped for, but their game play and effort across the day was incredible. Coming together for the first time on the day of the event, and playing so well as a team was brilliant, and we commend the girls for this – your efforts were terrific.

Thank you so much to Macey Pinner for scoring and helping out on the day.

INTERMEDIATE TERM 2: Macey Pinner, Lexi Jones, Poppy Gladstone, Madeline De Haan, Bella Lalor, Rhylie Jones, Mrs Jess Baird (Coach), Lexi Arundell, Bonnie Flynn, Grace Mulqueen, Chella Fitzgerald

Senior Girls

Game 1 vs Notre Dame College
The girls started slowly, which gave Notre Dame the chance to settle and gain the upper hand. However, once the girls settled, they started to play their brand of netball. The girls started the second half 3 goals down and despite their best efforts, were unfortunately unable to reduce the margin. The 13-8 loss left the team feeling a bit flat.

Game 2 vs St Joseph’s College Echuca (White)
Game 2 saw the girls come out determined to make amends for the Game 1 loss, and they did it brilliantly. A much-needed win resulted on the back of some terrific court play which saw the girls regain their confidence and reignite their desire to win the day. In this match, the team defended exceptionally well, giving the goalers plenty of opportunities to score. Final score was 19-8.

Game 3 vs Ballarat Clarendon College
The girls got off to a flying start right from the first whistle, quickly establishing a 5-0 lead. The defensive trio of Harriett, Lila and Charlize were amazing, stopping everything in sight, and our goalers of Maeve and Lexie were shooting with confidence and accuracy. However, a late and undisciplined hit to Maeve saw her needing to come from the court with a head knock and a decent amount of skin missing from her hands, and this proved to be a turning point in the match. The girls were rattled and were unable to regain their composure and fluent court flow, resulting in their scoring opportunities drying up. The girls tried to regroup, and fought hard, especially late in the match, but they just couldn’t close the gap that Ballarat had gained, going down 14-11.

Game 4 vs Girton Grammar
Once again the team started strong and established their usual flow, to dominate the game. This dominance allowed for plenty of player rotations throughout. High defensive pressure limited Girton’s scoring chances and the girls capitalised on all of their opportunities as they secured a brilliant 25-7 victory.

Game 5 vs St Joseph’s College Echuca (Green)
The last game of the day, which was against St Joseph’s College Echuca Green was relaxed and fun as the team once again started brilliantly. They enjoyed their time together on court and realised that despite their days’ frustrations, that they can bounce back, and learn from these experiences. Once again player rotations saw all players get valuable court time as the girls ran out 17-9 winners, to cap off the day.

Dropping two games was too much to overcome, and when the girls realised that Ballarat Clarendon College finished on top of their pool, they were left to rue a missed opportunity. Despite being disappointed about this result, the team can refocus as they still have the SSV State Finals to look forward to.

Great efforts today team … let’s leave this day behind us as we look forward to the next competition.

Mrs Sharna Frawley (Coach)

SENIOR GIRLS TEAM: Neve Pinner, Charlize Pinder, Charli McInerney, Tess Mills, Lexie Austin, Mrs Sharna Frawley (Coach), Maeve Cass, Harriett Whiteacre, Ciarah McDermott, Lila Kelly, Jaida Raco
Absent from Photo: Diana Napoleon