By Marcus Uhe
Pakenham’s chances of sneaking into the top two of Outer East Football Netball Premier Division netball competition come season’s end are well and truly alive, having prevailed in a vital contest on the road against fellow finals-bound Monbulk by three goals.
The closest fixture of the round in a week of blowouts, Pakenham acquired a slim advantage over the middle quarters of the contest and held off a late charge from the Hawks to secure its 13th victory of the 2024 season, winning 48-45.
16 goals from Charlotte Hudolin off the bench gave the Lions an added spark, as Lions captain Caitlin Cooke kept Hawks shooter Peri Reid to a miserly 23 goals.
As a result, Pakenham has locked itself into the top four, and can climb as high as second, depending on the outcome of round 18’s fixtures.
All eyes will turn to Kalora Park, where the result of Narre Warren’s clash with Mt Evelyn carries enormous weight in the context of finals seedings.
Mt Evelyn will secure second and the double chance if they can down the Magpies, who may opt to rest players with nothing to play for in the final round, now 10 points clear of the Rovers at the top of the table, and ahead of a potential match up with Mt Evelyn in the finals.
However, if the Magpies do wish to make life tougher for the only side to have taken points off them this season, a win opens the door for both Pakenham and Wandin to climb into second place, both two points Mt Evelyn.
Both sides will be confident in their respective fixtures, with Wandin heading to Olinda Ferny Creek to tackle the Bloods and the Lions hosting Woori Yallock, two opponents out of finals calculations with one round to play.
With the Magpies and Rovers clash beginning at 11.30, both Wandin and Pakenham will know if second place is up for grabs by the time the first centre pass is thrown in their respective games.
Wandin’s begins at 12.30 and Pakenham’s at 1.30, giving the Lions a complete picture of what is at stake, but the Bulldogs are in the box seat, currently in third place.
Emerald, meanwhile, were the other major winner from Pakenham’s win, jumping Monbulk into fifth place.
Monbulk’s loss and the Bombers’ 70-48 win over Woori Yallock at home has taken the high-flying Bombers to three consecutive wins and in the box seat for the better of the two elimination final matchups, should they get the job done against Berwick Springs in round 18.
Emerald never trailed in its win, extending its lead at every break to grab win number 11 of 2024.
Powered by Kaylah Loulanting and with an average of 58.7 goals per contest, the Bombers possess a powerful front court, the third-highest scoring team in the competition, and bettering sides above them on the table in Mt Evelyn and Pakenham.
Despite 48 goals from Loulanting, she lost top spot on the leading goal scorer table after Wandin’s Emmalia Blake nailed a whopping 83 against Gembrook Cockatoo.
It helped Wandin to a 99-40 win over the Brookers, now locked into a bottom-three finish to end the season.
Narre Warren similarly cruised to a 51-goal win over Olinda Ferny Creek, highlighting just where the two programs now sit, less than 24 months removed from an epic grand final battle in 2022.
It’s now eight wins in a row for the Magpies ahead of their clash with nemesis Mt Evelyn in the final round.
The Rovers, for their part, thrashed Berwick Springs by 74 goals, and ROC went down by 29 to Upwey Tecoma.
