By Marcus Uhe
Pakenham has all-but secured a finals berth in Outer East Football Netball A-Grade netball in 2024 following an important win in trying conditions over Emerald at home on Saturday afternoon.
Sitting third with 40 points midway through round 14, the Lions are four games clear of seventh-placed ROC with four matches to play, and boast a far superior scoring percentage.
Should Pakenham get the better of ROC in round 15, they will book their ticket back to the finals after not featuring in the previous two years.
The Lions moved into third courtesy of a 41-36 win over Emerald in a game with finals permutations for both sides, and provided an early taste of September netball.
Emerald’s height in the front court saw Matt Cooke tweak his starting line-up, with Evie Drake, so often a defensive wing, moving to wing attack in the opening stages.
An even first quarter saw goals traded and Emerald pocket a slim leading at the first break, but the first four goals of the second term saw the Bombers jump to a six-goal lead.
Drake moved back to wing defence to resume her triumvirate with Charlize Reid and Caitlin Cooke, and the trio thrived in making life tough for Emerald star Kaylah Loulanting.
The trio, supported by the midcourt teammates, shut off the easy short passes and forced Emerald to take risks with long balls over the defence, allowing Pakenham to make easy interceptions.
It forced Loulanting away from the post, where she wins so many of her scoring opportunities, and took away a major weapon for the Bombers in the process.
After trailing by six goals early in the term, Pakenham rallied to tie the scores at 18, and 11 of the half’s final 12 goals saw the Lions edge ahead 22-18 at the long break.
Charlotte Hudolin replaced Rose Laidlaw at goal shooter and combined well with Kelly Cousins to help the Lions rally back into the contest.
Whatever they discovered in the second quarter clearly worked, carrying their momentum into the third term with four of the first five goals to lead by as many as seven.
Cooke’s rebounding and run from the defensive half was extremely influential and led Pakenham into a number of easy scoring opportunities as Millicent Utber and Jordyn Adams helped to advance the ball down the court at lightning speed, with Emerald’s defenders struggling to keep pace.
The situation became even harder for Emerald, when goal defence Naomi Larsen was ordered off for two minutes, leaving her side at a numbers disadvantage on the court.
Pakenham’s lead reached eight goals during the quarter but Emerald nailed the final three goals of the term to make it a five-goal margin at the final break.
Pakenham needed a burst to shut the contest down early in the final quarter and got exactly that, nailing six of the first eight goals to reach a nine-goal advantage.
Emerald closed the contest stronger but could not breach a six goal gap in the quarter, with the Lions prevailing by five goals.
Hudolin nailed 23 goals of the bench was supported by 11 from Kelly Cousins.
Loulanting was left wanting for a similarly supportive teammate, scoring 31 of her side’s 36 goals.
It was a far-simpler task for Narre Warren, which dismantled ROC by 41 goals at home.
In true magpie fashion, the reigning champions finished strongly, their largest lead coming at the end of the game in the 75-34 result.
Unsatisfied with the 29-goal lead at the final change, a 19-7 final quarter in the Magpies’ favour showed an unrelenting and unsatisfied urge to flex their muscle over the competition, finishing with 15 of the final 18 goals.
Sophie Hennessey excelled in a new role at centre without Brittany Mashado, and Grace Ioelu did the majority of scoring, nailing 43 goals.
Isabella O’Shanassy scored 19 for ROC thanks to a positional swing.
Elsewhere, Wandin was forced to grind a 10-goal victory over Wooir Yallock, courtesy of 37 goals for Emmalia Blake.
It’s a much-needed win for the Bulldogs, having lost two of its last three and falling back into the top six quagmire.
