By Carli Mitchell
IN PERFECT netball conditions, last year’s reigning premiers played Upwey Tecoma at home at the weekend, and Mount Evelyn continued in the same form that saw it win last year’s honours.
It was a struggle throughout most of the game, but Mount Evelyn was much more polished with its defending and passing, which saw it win 58-33.
With accurate scoring from Sarah Hogan and Kat Youlten, Mount Evelyn should be going into Round 2 against Woori Yallock with lots of confidence.
Olinda Ferny Creek, moving up from Division 2, travelled to Monbulk this week, and the Hawks beat the visiting team in what would be a very satisfying win.
Coming off a strong pre-season and playing at home, it gave the Hawks a good advantage over Olinda in a game that saw both clubs in a struggle for the four points.
Monbulk defeated Olinda Ferny Creek 42- 28 in what was to be the closest match of the round.
Olinda should be strengthened next week with the return of several players from the gruelling Oxfam 100km walk.
Healesville hosted Gembrook Cockatoo at Badger Creek Primary School and it saw the home team win 71–26 in a dominant performance in all aspects of the court.
Healesville played with confidence and daring, an improvement from last season.
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YARRA Junction played at home against Alexandra and scored a good win. Coming off a loss last week, the Junction was looking to improve and did, beating Alexandra 38–21 in a match that was close until the last.
Although Alexandra didn’t get the four points, it played well against a team that finished in the top five last season.
Thornton Eildon also finished in the top five last year, but this time suffered a loss at the hands of Seville, which is improving on last year’s form after a strong pre-season. After its first-round win and beating ThonrtonEildon 55-11, Seville enters its third-round clash with Belgrave with confidence.
Powelltown its fine form from last season with a strong win over Belgrave at home. The reigning premiers played great netball with strong defending, precision in the centre court and accurate shooting.
Winning by 69 goals, Powelltown should be a finals contender once again this year, with the 88-19 win against Belgrave boosting its confidence.
Yea hosted Yarra Glen and continued its good form with a second successive win. After a finals appearance last season that saw it narrowly miss the grand final, Yea is looking to make up for that missed chance. It beat Yarra Glen 69-12.
In the upset of the round, Kinglake procured possibly its best victory by defeating the highly talented Emerald outfit in a tough encounter. Kinglake’s Stacey Chalmers starred with an outstanding performance.
Kinglake got off to a flyer and was leading 13-6 at quarter-time. By three-quarter-time Emerald had eroded Kinglake’s lead to only one goal and it looked like Emerald was gearing up to run away with victory.
But Kinglake had other ideas and drew clear in the final stages for a 34-31 victory. Emerald will next week welcome back several of its key players who participated in the 100km Oxfam Walk.
