Sport
28 August, 2023
Undefeated hopes for Carisbrook continue after qualifying final win
Carisbrook are two games away from completing an undefeated season, beating Lexton in a spirited affair by 15 goals at Camp Reserve. The Redbacks needed a fast start to produce in warm conditions, and they duly delivered, scoring 17 goals from 21...
Carisbrook are two games away from completing an undefeated season, beating Lexton in a spirited affair by 15 goals at Camp Reserve.
The Redbacks needed a fast start to produce in warm conditions, and they duly delivered, scoring 17 goals from 21 shots in the opening term, with Paige McLean in particular proving to be a handful for the Lexton defenders, scoring 10 goals. In comparison, the Tigers scored 10 goals for the quarter from 15 shots.
Some changes were made for the Tigers, with Evelyn Reid going off, replaced by Linley Eastick at wing defence.
This wasn’t enough to stifle Carisbrook’s forward thrusts, as they were able to take control of the game, scoring 15 goals to just seven for the quarter to take a handy 15-goal lead into half time.
Both teams made critical changes, with Annika Munn sitting out the second half for Carisbrook, while Kimberley Roberts also sat out for Lexton.
It was the Tigers who started making a run during the third quarter, enjoying a large majority of the crowd support, and scoring 13 goals to nine to keep the game interesting, reducing the margin to 11 goals at the final change.
But the Redbacks were not going to deny Byrne’s crowning moment on her big day, scoring 14 goals to 10 in the last term to ensure that it would be a day of celebration for the Redbacks, with both football and netball senior teams progressing to the preliminary final and enjoying the week off.
Andrea Schafer and McLean shared the load for Carisbrook, scoring 28 and 27 goals respectively, while for Lexton, Rachel Phelan scored 27 goals and Leesa Donhardt 13.
Carisbrook coach Emma Rumpff said it was defence that was the order of the day for the Redbacks, having held Lexton to 17 goals in the first half, as being key to the win, especially given the potency of the Tigers offence.
“Lexton are a great team, but we were the number one team defensively in the competition for a reason. All the way down the court, when you have players like Sherriden and Elise in defence and bringing it back down, it’s our specialty,” she said.
Rumpff also paid tribute to Schafer and McLean, who have caused headaches for opposition defenders.
“Our attackers are amazing, we feed the ball beautifully and our goalshooters are always in sync. We need it, otherwise we can’t win games. Andrea and Paige are a good duo and they work beautifully,” she said.
While Lexton had more crowd support, given Carisbrook’s footballers were also playing at the same time at Newstead, Rumpff said the Redbacks were simply focused on playing to their own structure.
“Lexton are a team that are loud, especially their supporters, and we made sure that didn’t get into our heads. We don’t always have a big crowd unfortunately, and it made it tough with the footballers at the other ground. But the girls back each other and we just went out and played our game,” she said.
After last year’s qualifying final success against Natte Bealiba, the Redbacks were unfortunate to suffer significant injury concerns between then and the preliminary final, which they ultimately lost to the Tigers.
Rumpff says there will be no changes to any plans, saying it is business as usual.
“There’s no point changing anything, and we’ll just play our game,” she said.
“Last year, we were injury-prone at the wrong time, and hopefully that isn’t the case this time around.”
It’s all part of the chase for Carisbrook’s first A grade netball premiership since 1999.