By JUDY ORREN
THE sun shone bright on Yarra Glen on Sunday.
Rainbows were on the ground and on jumpers.
The second Pride Game, which was against Warburton Millgrove this year, was an outstanding success, with Yarra Glen claiming the four points. Lachlan Telford from Yarra Glen and Bianca Daniels from Warburton Millgrove were awarded the Pride Cup medals.
Division 1 seniors
Yarra Glen 13.14 (92) d Warburton Millgrove 11.14 (80)
Yarra Glen has come away with a great win after trailing by 19 points at half-time. Warburton looked to have the better running game early and it showed on the scoreboard, reading 8.6 (54) to 5.5 (35) at the long break.
In the third term, Yarra Glen’s defensive game came to the fore. Warburton did attack but only managed 1.6, while Yarra Glen on the rebound booted 4.4 and the margin was reduced to just three points in Warburton’s favour at the last change.
Yarra Glen’s last quarter was a great performance, even though they didn’t blow the opposition away, they looked hungrier and gave themselves more scoring chances. They booted 4.5 to 2.2 to win by 12 points in a real gutsy display.
Yarra Glen best players: L. Telford (Pride Cup Medallist), R. Gurney (1 goal), J. Baughan.
Warburton best players: M. Kocher (2 goals), L. Barnard (1 goal), T. Walker (1 goal).
Monbulk 13.16 (94) d Belgrave 13.12 (90)
This was a fantastic battle, where unfortunately there had to be a loser. The first half was a goal-for-goal affair with Monbulk just holding sway at half-time by nine points. The third term remained a tight battle. Monbulk did look to be getting on top but they only increased the margin to 16 points by the last change.
The last term was a cracker. Belgrave started to look a bit slicker over the ground, and they gave themselves plenty of chances as they booted 3.4, but Monbulk’s 2.3 was enough for them to hold on to win by four points in an absolute thriller.
Monbulk best players: S. Williams (1 goal), M. Favrin (4 goals), D. White
Belgrave best players: B. Dadswell, J. Cameron, P. Gough.
Wandin 17.16 (118) d Olinda Ferny Creek 3.15 (33)
Wandin look to be unbeatable at this stage, this time with a big 85-point win over Olinda. Wandin wasn’t actually at their best in the first half as they were wasteful, booting 6.12, but they held Olinda to just 1.8 to have a handy 34-point lead at the half. The second half was where the real Wandin showed up. They straightened up and went a lot more direct hitting the scoreboard regularly. They added another 11 goals to their total while Olinda could only manage two goals to see Wandin run away with a big victory.
Wandin best players: S. Dwyer (4 goals), J. Myers, R. Ross (1 goal)
Olinda Ferny Creek best players: D. Noorda, K. Currie, D. Rohrmann
Upwey Tecoma 15.18 (108) d Mount Evelyn 15.13 (103)
Mount Evelyn will be kicking themselves after leading by 25 points at half-time and letting this game slip away. Mount Evelyn booted eight goals to four in the first half and arguably could have been further up if they were a little more precise with their ball movement. Upwey turned this game around in the third as they really took the game on. They booted an inaccurate 6.7 to 3.1 and all of a sudden Mount Evelyn’s lead was reduced to just one point at the final change. The last quarter was a dire battle, with both sides giving their all. But it was Upwey that took the lead after scoring 5.3 to 4.3 and were able to hold on to win by five points and break Mount Evelyn’s hearts.
Upwey Tecoma best players: T. Robinson (5 goals), D. Sloane (1 goal), K. Hinton
Mount Evelyn best players: M. Martin (6 goals), S. Tesoriero, R. Cowan
Woori Yallock 10.13 (73) d Healesville 6.14 (50)
Woori Yallock’s form has been a bit up and down this season, but they produced a decent four-quarter performance to get over an improving Healesville side. Goals were hard to come by early with both sides’ defences playing well, but it was Woori that just had the edge at quarter time, leading by four points. Woori’s hardness in the second looked to rattle Healesville a little. They made the most of it as they slotted four goals to one to lead by 23 points at the main break. The second half was a very even contest, but despite everything Healesville threw at Woori they just weren’t able to reduce the margin significantly enough to be any real threat as Woori came away with a pretty good 23-point win.
Woori Yallock best players: S. Kennedy, B. Sneddon (2 goals), M. Lowe.
Healesville best players: A. Hamer (1 goal), D. Plozza, J. Goding.
Division 2 Seniors
Gembrook Cockatoo 13.14 (92) d Alexandra 7.13 (55)
Gembrook is starting to find its feet after a poor start to the season and have come away with a good 37-point win over Alexandra after a tight first half. Gembrook certainly had the better of the play early, but just couldn’t put a big gap between them and their opponents as there was just 11 points at half-time. Gembrook’s third term was where they made the most of their play down forward, booting 4.2 and even though Alex weren’t playing bad they only managed 1.4 which saw them looking at a 27-point deficit at the last break. Gembrook finished the day off pretty well. They only booted three last-quarter goals but held Alexandra to just one major to win well and keep their season well and truly alive.
Gembrook Cockatoo best players: R. Wilson (1 goal), C. Vernal, E. Tomlin
Alexandra best players: W. Goonan, C. Pearce, B. Cooper (1 goal)
Thornton-Eildon 14.7 (91) d Emerald 9.7 (61)
Thornton-Eildon has inflicted Emerald’s first loss of the season, handing them a five-goal loss. Thornton’s pressure throughout the day was sensational as they slowly wore Emerald down. Emerald did lead by nine points at quarter time, but Thornton’s relentless pressure in the second term paid dividends as they booted four goals to one. They went into half-time with a three-goal advantage. The third term was a great contest with Emerald reducing the margin to just 12 points by the last change, giving them a real sniff going into the last quarter. Thornton’s last quarter was their best as they were the team finishing full of run. They slammed on six last-quarter goals to three to come away with a 30-point win and cause one of the upsets of the round.
Thornton-Eildon best players: Z. King (2 goals), T. Keating, A. Marshall
Emerald best players: J. Donders (2 goals), R. Simpson, C. Porter
Kinglake 14.16 (100) d Powelltown 6.7 (43)
Kinglake best players: J. Butterworth, J. Nixon (7 goals), J. Walker.
Powelltown best players: T. Hallmark, S. Sanders, S. Carter.
Yarra Junction 22.17 (149) d Seville 11.11 (77)
Yarra Junction best players: C. Spaulding (1 goal), D. Williams, J. Chenhall (8 goals)
Seville best players: N. O’Keefe (6 goals), T. Baseden (4 goals), K. Mullett (1 goal).
Yea: Bye
Under 18s
Emerald 21.9 (135) d Belgrave 7.5 (47)
Yea 24.19 (163) d Powelltown 3.0 (18)
Olinda Ferny Creek 9.14 (68) d Wandin 6.4 (40)
Upwey Tecoma 16.27 (123) d Mount Evelyn 7.7 (49)
Woori Yallock 11.3 (69) d Monbulk 7.11 (53)
Yarra Glen 16.10 (106) d Warburton Millgrove 4.4 (28)
Healesville: Bye
Sticks Division 1 A Grade Netball
Monbulk Hawks 45 d Belgrave 37
Monbulk Hawks best players: Sophie Byatt (22 goals), Lisa Boyle, Claire Weickhardt
Belgrave best players: Angela Jeffery (4 goals), Kara Salmon (24 goals), Danielle Weisgerber.
Olinda Ferny Creek 45 d Wandin 36
Olinda Ferny Creek best players: Tamara Luke, Gretta Hankinson, Ashlee Howard (22 goals)
Wandin best players: Ella Priestley, Tayissa Coppinger, Melissa Martinov (23 goals).
Healesville 49 d Woori Yallock 25
Woori Yallock best players: Jordan Kennedy (13 goals), Heidi Summers, Kimberley Williams
Warburton Millgrove 42 def Yarra Glen 41
Yarra Glen best players: Georgia Taylor (32 goals), Hillary Grubb, Elizabeth Kay (9 goals)
Warburton Millgrove best players: Bianca Daniels (25 goals), Karly Wappett, Grace Barnard.
Mount Evelyn: Bye
Division 2 A Grade Netball
Emerald 75 d Thornton-Eildon 16
Powelltown 57 d Kinglake 35
Seville 57 d Yarra Junction 22
Alexandra: Bye
