Sport
12 September, 2022
Lexton’s remarkable finals run continues
CARISBROOK (33) def by LEXTON (40) Lexton have charged into the grand final from fifth position at the end of the home and away season following a seven-goal victory over Carisbrook on Sunday afternoon. The Tigers’ formline has shown that they...
CARISBROOK (33) def by LEXTON (40)
Lexton have charged into the grand final from fifth position at the end of the home and away season following a seven-goal victory over Carisbrook on Sunday afternoon.
The Tigers’ formline has shown that they have truly earned their place in the showpiece A grade decider, with wins over Newstead, Harcourt and the Redbacks on their way to Saturday’s encounter with Natte Bealiba.
The Tigers’ experience through mid-court was telling on the big stage, with Julia Parkin and Kimberley Roberts relishing the opportunity to lead the way through their excellent defensive play, which generated many scoring opportunities throughout.
It was Carisbrook that made the slightly better start, however. They were able to get on an early run, but Lexton quickly pegged them back to ensure the damage was only one goal at the first change, with the Redbacks leading nine goals to eight.
That scoreline was a sign of things to come — it was an incredibly taxing defensive game from both teams, with scoring coming at a premium.
The second quarter was another tight affair, with both teams scoring 12 goals. However, there was a sense that Lexton were right in the game — despite halving the quarter with the Redbacks, they were able to generate six more scoring opportunities throughout the quarter.
Lexton started to take advantage of their mid-court dominance during the third quarter, again creating more chances than the Redbacks with 18 shots on goal to 10. However, their inability to convert was proving to be a threat to bringing themselves undone, with the scores level at 28 apiece going into the final change.
However, the Tigers were the ones who proved to be the strongest with the game on the line. Carisbrook’s injury toll — which saw backup centre Emma Rumpff and Sherriden Byrne go off during the game, on top of losing Nalder Tracey winner Laura Hurse pre-game, started to take its toll.
Nevertheless, Lexton dominated the quarter, having 24 shots on goal to just six from Carisbrook, with Leesa Donhardt scoring 10 goals to help them secure their first grand final appearance since 2012 with a 40-33 victory.
Donhardt scored 25 goals in the Tigers’ win, while Andrea Schafer led the way for Carisbrook with 26 goals.
Lexton coach Sarah Fisher was excited about the prospect of playing Natte Bealiba next week, citing the turnaround in form from their last encounter with Carisbrook as a key contributor to their grand final appearance.
“We’re so pumped. We have so much trust and belief in ourselves. We knew we could win. We have been playing good netball, and taken the momentum from last week into today. It was a 31-goal turnaround from last time we played them. It’s awesome,” she said.
“We just wanted to redeem ourselves after the way we played against Carisbrook earlier in the year, and we just had the belief that we could do it.
“We are the only Lexton team left in the competition, so we are out here doing it for the club as well.
“Kimberley Roberts was saying at the start of the game that these opportunities do not come around often and it really spurred us on.”
Fisher paid tribute to the defensive efforts which was a factor in the Tigers’ win, as well as Donhardt’s game, which saw her take control of the game in the midst of Rachel Phelan having a great battle with Carisbrook goal keeper Elise Mottram.
“I think our pressure all the way down the court helped us keep our heads and allowed us to win the ball in good spots,” she said.
“Leesa stepped up in the last quarter and shot so well. We have a great A grade side, with all of them having the ability to play well across a whole game.”
Fisher missed the corresponding clash with Natte Bealiba earlier in the season given the impending birth of her child, but is hoping that the Tigers can turn around their earlier result in a similar fashion to their game on Sunday.
“I can’t wait to come up against Natte. I actually wasn’t there when we played against them as I gave birth to my baby, but we had a similar performance against Carisbrook in the home and away season, but you only need to look at this preliminary final to show that, although we are the underdogs to everyone, we can be the team to beat."
