Sport
4 September, 2023
17 and unders out in heartbreaker
Maryborough’s 17 and under campaign is over at the first hurdle, having lost to Strathfieldsaye by a single goal on Sunday morning. The game was played at a high intensity, but it was the Storm who were able to keep their noses in front for much...
Maryborough’s 17 and under campaign is over at the first hurdle, having lost to Strathfieldsaye by a single goal on Sunday morning.
The game was played at a high intensity, but it was the Storm who were able to keep their noses in front for much of the morning.
It was a tight encounter in the opening term, as neither team could get out to a big lead, with Strathfieldsaye leading by a goal after the opening term.
Things remained tight throughout the second and third quarters, with the Storm still leading by just three goals at the final break.
However, a quick run by the Storm in the final term saw the margin extended to a game-high six goals early in the quarter, with Maryborough needing a response to fight back.
Thankfully, they were able to, with the work of Millie Cassidy and Megan Pritchard in particular across midcourt, as well as the defensive work of best and fairest winner Ella Patten, helping drive multiple opportunities as the Magpies fought to keep their season alive.
As a result, Zali Linton and Abbey Nalder were able to finish off some good opportunities in front of goal, and scored eight of the next 10 goals to reduce the gap to just one goal.
With seconds remaining, Maryborough had one last forward thrust, but a pass to Nalder in the goal circle was miraculously intercepted by her Storm opponent, with the siren sounding just moments later, with Strathfieldsaye holding on to win 36 to 35.
It means that Maryborough just missed out on matching their achievements of 2022, which saw them knock out Golden Square in the first week of the finals, before ultimately going down to Kangaroo Flat in the semi-final.