By Marcus Uhe
A shock defeat of first-placed Narre Warren in Saturday afternoon’s second semi-final saw Wandin book its ticket in the Outer East’s A-Grade netball grand final in two weeks’ time.
A seesawing affair saw the Bulldogs reel-in a three-quarter time deficit to defeat the Magpies 53-50 at Officer Recreation Reserve, forcing the Magpies to earn their spot in the decider the hard way.
Narre Warren started slow out of the gate, as it got back into its groove following a week off, trailing 12-15 at quarter time, but quickly found its touch in the second term with a dominant 19-10 quarter for a six-goal lead at the long break.
Wandin clawed its way back in to the contest in the third term to shrink the lead to just four goals, before tightening the clamps in the final quarter with a stellar defensive performance, holding the Magpies to just seven goals while shooting 14 themselves.
It was Narre Warren’s second-lowest scoring quarter of the year, just ahead of the six they managed in a quarter against Beaconsfield in round nine.
But the Wandin defence, led by Maddy George and Ruby Tidd, appear to have solved part of the Narre Warren equation; the Bulldogs held Narre Warren to two of their lowest scores in the campaign, and even got the better of the Magpies at home in one of their few losses this season, which featured an eight-goal quarter.
Narre Warren extracted revenge in the return clash at Kalora Park later in the season, but a 2-1 head-to-head record in Wandin’s favour will give them a mental edge ahead of a potential grand final bout.
The Magpies will play Mt Evelyn in the preliminary final, which took care of business against Beaconsfield in the other semi-final.
The Rovers led at every break in the game, putting their foot down after halftime to break free from the Eagles’ grip in in the 52-35 win.
A five-goal half time lead quickly became nine early in the third quarter as the Rovers nailed five of the first six goals.
Where Mt Evelyn shooters Rory Barr and Kaila Swindell were clinical in their goal circle, Beaconsfield’s were not able to capitalise on their opportunities to the same degree.
28 goals to 16 saw the Rovers cruise home in the second half to set up the clash with Narre Warren, a side they have beaten twice in 2023 including as recently as round 17.
