Tiger shines at both ends of the court

AN IMPRESSIVE 18-goal second quarter netted Bendigo victory in the 19-and-under interleague clash against Netball Geelong. Bendigo cruised to a 19-goal win, 54-35, and was too good for Netball Geelong at Kardinia Park on Saturday. With scores tied at 10 at quarter time, the girls from Bendigo, led by midcourter Steph Strachan, put the foot on the accelerator in the second term. Netball Geelong’s Colette Gelliln said Bendigo’s second quarter deflated the young Geelong players. “In the second quarter they went a bit astray and Bendigo was able to turn the ball over and just capitalise on some mistakes that Geelong made,” she said. Buy the Colac Herald print edition, which has full coverage of all the region’s news and sport. Where To Buy “They weren’t used to playing with each other and they just didn’t gel.” Ms Gelliln said the Geelong girls continued to fight out the match despite the lopsided score line. “They kept trying, they were behind but they never dropped their bundle,” she said. “You’ve got to give Bendigo their dues, they played well. They had terrific goalies who didn’t seem to miss too many. “They never gave up. In the last quarter they were pretty even and sort of got it together.” Ms Gelliln said South Barwon midcourter Cassie Boak, who was best-on-court for Geelong, was “wonderful” in defence “She took some wonderful intercepts and got the ball down there but they weren’t able to finish it,” she said “She was just wonderful – all day she kept going in that goal circle.” Ms Gelliln said Colac Tiger Georgia Berry was versatile in attack and defence. “Georgia and Cassie worked extremely well together,” she said. “She started in goal shooter and then went into defence and she played really well.” Ms Gelliln said interleague fixtures were an important opportunity for players to compete at a representative level. “I think they do get a lot of out of it,” she said. “They seemed to be very excited that they were in the team and they get to play with girls they normally play against.”