Western Roar claimed their biggest win of the season on Friday night after defeating Curtin Hamersley Comets 61-41 in the Semi-Final of the Gold Industry Group West Australian Netball League.
It was a re-run of the Semi-Final last season which saw both teams face each other, however this time around, Roar claimed redemption as they kicked Comets out of finals contention winning by a whopping 20 goals.
Roar had first hands to the ball at the opening whistle with Sophia Lamers putting Roar on the scoreboard early; shooting one of 43 goals from her 49 attempts. There was little room for error as centre player, Cleo Kenny, and winger, Isabella McLernon, worked the ball back and forth before feeding into the shooters. The passes into the circle commonly consisted of bounce passes to feed compared to Comets’ shooters who were repetitively receiving lob passes.
It didn’t take long for Roar’s Annabelle Saggers to pick up on the feeds into the circle as she went on to intercept four passes which denied Comets the opportunity at goal. Comets continued to look for shooter Aitaua Enari despite Sloan Burton being open for the pass, Chelsea Bartlett caught onto the drill and managed to snatch the ball back. Bartlett and Saggers held down their end as the first quarter left Comets trailing 15-8.
Roar’s wing defender, Zoe Spencer, found space out wide and always remained an option for her side to pass to. Shortly after, Spencer created a turnover in mid court after a clean touch to the ball. Turnovers played to Roar’s advantage as the ball found its way to the shooters who rewarded the efforts by finding the net.
Comets made positional changes, trying to find the right chemistry which would bring them back into the game. Roar stuck to their strengths and went into the second half leading by 15 goals.
Roar didn’t let the intensity decrease; they continued to play for a bigger lead. Shooter, Maddison Schultz, dragged her defenders out of the circle which left Lamers open and perfectly set up to score. Comets skipper, Lindal Rhode, managed to turn the ball over off a first centre pass and the ball found its way to Enari who adjusted her usual style to receive the pass in front and score.
The final quarter approached and Roar proved too strong for Comets as they held onto their significant lead to secure the win.
Western Roar goalkeeper, Annabel Saggers, said she was really excited to progress to the preliminary final.
“We went down to them in the semis last year so it’s so exciting to get one on them this year and hopefully just make it all the way. We’ve had such a great season and we really built into it; I think this team really deserves it,” she said.
“Everyone was getting around me and it was such a nice feeling, but I wouldn’t have been able to do it without everyone else in front of me. It looks like in the end it’s all me, but it was actually all the other defenders out in front of me. It was nice to get the recognition, but it was the hard defence all the way down the court.
“We’ve got a reputation of having a bad start so I think what really helped was having a really good start and just being able to build on and have that confidence after the first quarter like okay we can get a lead and we can keep pushing it out, I think that really helped a lot.”
Western Roar coach, Dylan McPherson, said his team had an exceptional performance.
“I’m really proud of them, it’s our biggest win of the season. They played 60 minutes; they were pretty exceptional,” he said.
“We want to go the whole way and it doesn’t really matter where you finish in finals you’ve got an opportunity but I’m really proud of them. We felt like we were the better team and I’m glad we got a win.”
Western Roar will face ECU Souwest Jets in the preliminary final on Friday night. Jets lost to Warriors, who have now secured the first spot in the WANL grand final.
SEMI-FINAL RESULTS – OPEN:
Roar 61 defeated Comets 41
Warriors 62 defeated Jets 30
