Sport
17 June, 2024
Ella Patten and Darcy Wood shine on the interleague stage in their respective sports
It was interleague season for a number of Maryborough’s brightest young talents, with netball and soccer stars taking centre stage. Maryborough’s 17 and under star Ella Patten took to the court at the State Netball Centre on Sunday as the...
It was interleague season for a number of Maryborough’s brightest young talents, with netball and soccer stars taking centre stage.
Maryborough’s 17 and under star Ella Patten took to the court at the State Netball Centre on Sunday as the Netball Victoria Association Championships were played.
Patten played for the Bendigo Football Netball League (BFNL), and played a crucial role in helping the league qualify through tournaments in Echuca and Mildura in the leadup to the championships.
The BFNL showed that they were most certainly no pushovers in the shorter games, getting off to a sensational start with wins over North Gippsland, Parkville and Goulburn Valley to remain undefeated after three games.
While a loss to Ballarat followed, the BFNL rebounded with wins over Manningham and Sunraysia.
A tough loss to Gippsland, followed by a draw against the Banyule and District team, meant that after the BFNL’s win over the Ovens and Murray, they needed a result against Hampden to progress to the finals.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t forthcoming, with a 14-7 loss hurting their chances, despite finishing strongly with a win over Casey, just narrowly missing out on the finals via percentage.
Nevertheless, Patten still played a big role throughout in a defensive sense, continuing to star as she has all season long with her intercept game.
There was also good news for Maryborough Soccer Club’s Darcy Wood, who was also participating in interleague across the King’s Birthday weekend.
Wood was able to participate in a 16-player squad for the Ballarat District Soccer Association (BDSA) in Mildura at the Country Leagues Football Association Country Championships.
The competition attracted over 1400 players from regional associations, and Wood was part of the under 14s squad.
Games against Sunraysia, Bendigo, Geelong, Albury-Wodonga, Warrnambool and LaTrobe Valley were on the agenda.
Ballarat won through to the grand final after finishing second in the pool rounds, with their grand final against Sunraysia.
The score was tied at nil-all after full time and extra time, with a penalty shootout needed to determine the winner.
Wood was one of the penalty takers for the BDSA, and scored to level the shootout at 2-2.
But Sunraysia were able to find an extra gear, scoring another penalty to win 3-2.
Despite the result, it was Wood’s first chance to compete at a representative level, and continued the form which has seen him play a starring role for Maryborough in the under 14 competition throughout the season.
