Sport
6 June, 2024
Magpies look to move up
Maryborough will have the opportunity to move up the ladder in the A reserve netball competition when they come up against Eaglehawk tomorrow. With the draw working out in their favour, a win — coupled with top side Gisborne meeting sixth-placed...
Maryborough will have the opportunity to move up the ladder in the A reserve netball competition when they come up against Eaglehawk tomorrow.
With the draw working out in their favour, a win — coupled with top side Gisborne meeting sixth-placed Castlemaine — means that the Magpies would move up to at least third position, while also extending their advantage to three and a half games inside the top five.
Should second-placed Strathfieldsaye lose to fifth-placed Sandhurst, a Magpies win would move them up to second place on the ladder.
That’s what is at stake for the young Magpies team, who recorded another victory last week when they were able to defeat Golden Square by 12 goals.
Square were tenacious throughout the final three quarters of their meeting last week, but it was a fast start which allowed Maryborough to dictate the pace of play.
Good feeding from Maryborough’s midcourt allowed Megan Kelly and Jordan MacIlwain to share the load of goalscoring throughout the afternoon, with MacIlwain finishing with 23 goals, and Kelly 22.
The defensive unit of playing-coach Maggie Tranter, Ella Patten and Amanda Durbridge held firm again throughout on Saturday, restricting the Bulldogs to just 33 goals, and the Magpies currently sit fourth in the competition for fewest goals conceded, with 258.
With Eaglehawk sitting eighth with one win, the Magpies will be favoured to take victory, with the Hawks having lost five games in succession.
Maryborough had competitive performances across the board last week, and will be hoping to convert into some results this week.
B grade are continuing to seek a win, and will play the sixth-placed Hawks, and the same can be said for the B reserve team, who will also be looking for another good competitive effort.
The under 17s continue to sit in third position on the ladder, but lost ground last week after second-placed Golden Square defeated them to move two games clear.
With the Bulldogs due to have a bye next week, the Magpies will be hoping to keep track with the competition’s top two by taking a victory against the eighth-placed Hawks, which will be followed by an important game against Strath-fieldsaye — the Magpies’ nearest challenger to the double chance at the moment.