Western Roar held onto second place on the ladder after defeating Curtin Hamersley Comets 50-41 on Friday in the Gold Industry Group West Australian Netball League.
Comets were hoping to gift captain, Lindal Rhode, with a win as she celebrated her 200th league game however Roar spoiled such hopes as they responded to every challenge put forth by Comets.
Comets had first hands to the ball and shortly found great chemistry to open up the attacking circle with Sloan Burton and Lindal Rhode’s chemistry in shooter and wing positions. It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Comets’ attack as Roar’s keeper, Annabel Saggers, started sharp by making two intercepts in the circle.
Centre player and key playmaker, Cleo Kenny, did her part in staying open to receive passes and feed through to shooter Sophia Lamers in the circle. Roar were conscious of their options to feed through as they worked the ball back and forth before passing it off.
The second quarter saw Comets’ GS, Aitaua Enari, hold close to the body of her defenders and then drop to receive feeds from Rhode at the circle. Roar’s strength continued to build as the game went on and they found their rhythm as a team. Winger, Isabella McLernon, sliced in and out of players to find space to create options for her side. The whistle closing halftime left Roar with the upper hand as they headed into the second half of the game by four goals.
Comets decided to take a page from Roar’s playbook as they played the ball back to use options on the circle. Roar’s GD, Chelsea Barlett, created many turnovers in the game as she intercepted great passes to turn the game around.
Roar’s shooters mixed it up in the final quarter by dragging the defenders out of the circle and swiftly cutting back in to receive the ball and score. Rhode turned the game around for her team and managed to secure an intercept right on the transverse line. Keeper, Liz Dronfield, joined Rhodes in the attempts as she made an intercept in the circle, trying to rattle Roar’s attack. However, Roar challenged Comets by applying one on one pressure which resulted in Comets being called for two held balls in one quarter.
Western Roar’s coach, Dylan McPherson, was proud to secure the win.
“I thought we were really good. It’s the closest we’ve come to playing 60 minutes, they’re a really quality side so we’re really happy with that. We’ve just got to keep moving forward,” he said.
Roar’s shooter, Sophia Lamers, scored a tidy 25 goals from her 28 attempts alongside Maddison Schultz as she once again scored some incredible goals in 11 successful shots from her 14 attempts, all whilst finding a way to settle the play as the ball made its way up the court.
“I thought Maddy Schultz had a really great game today, she shot beautifully, and pulled off shots and clutch shots for us which is always helpful,” McPherson said.
McPherson told his team to think critically once they had secured a lead and to follow it up by scoring.
“I felt like we were getting leads and then them giving them back, I think we went out to five or six twice. We made a change [during half time] with Emma Putt coming on and just changed our attack end a bit and it looked good.
“We really looked at what we do in our critical moments, we want to play our own game; so, keep it short, and if we can move the ball really quickly. Overall, they all played really well.
“It’s a really tight ladder, our job at the moment is to make sure we’re sticking to our processes and our structures that we think will win us the game and then the results will come. It’s exciting! It’s good for netball in WA to have five teams still in contention for finals and we’re glad we’re one of them.”
OPEN LADDER
1 Warriors 20 PTS
2 Roar 13 PTS
3 Sharks 12 PTS
4 Jets 11 PTS
5 Demons 10 PTS
6 Comets 10 PTS
7 Rangers 6 PTS
8 Peel 4 PTS
