Dragons fire against Gisborne as netball finals begin
SANDHURST showed it will be tough to beat in its quest for a fourth consecutive A-grade netball premiership in Saturday’s start to the Bendigo Bank Bendigo Football Netball League’s finals series.
Qualifying final day at Queen Elizabeth Oval was capped by the A-grade clash between Sandhurst and Gisborne.
Stung by a one-goal loss at Castlemaine in the final round of the home and away series, the Dragons also faced a team which three weeks earlier had beaten Kangaroo Flat at Gisborne.
The Tamara Gilchrist-coached Sandhurst had won the previous two clashes with the Bulldogs by margins of 33 and 16 goals in matches played at Gisborne, round one, and QEO, 10th round.
In the qualifying final it was the Dragons who held sway in each third of the court for many minutes.
Strong defence was again a key factor for Sandhurst as it held Gisborne to just 33 goals to claim a 15-goal victory.
The Dragons will now prepare for next Saturday’s second semi-final showdown with Kangaroo Flat.
The Roos and Dragons will clash from 3.20pm.
In A-reserve, Sandhurst began the play-offs in fine form as it scored a 41-33 win against Gisborne in the qualifying final.
The Dragons will now play Kangaroo Flat in the second semi.
Unbeaten in the regular season, the Roos drew 41-all with Sandhurst in the 13th round on the Kangaroos’ court at Dower Park.
Fans witnessed an exciting finish to the B-grade qualifying final between Kangaroo Flat and Gisborne.
At the final whistle, the Roos led 46-45.
It’s a clash between Sandhurst and Kangaroo Flat in the B-grade second semi-final.
Gisborne and Kangaroo Flat were represented in the B-reserve qualifying final.
The team in red, white and blue marked a 49-44 victory.
A big day for Sandhurst next Saturday includes the Dragons in the B-reserve second semi against Gisborne.
The maroon and blue will be chasing their 17th victory of the ’22 campaign.
It was a closely-fought contest between Kangaroo Flat and Sandhurst in the 17-and-under qualifying final.
This season’s meetings stood at two-nil in favour of the Roos after they won 45-40 at the QEO in round four and 38-29 at home in the 13th round.
It was Sandhurst which began the finals in style with a 42-37 win against Kangaroo Flat.
First of the second semi-finals on Saturday will be played from 10am when Gisborne faces Sandhurst in the 17-under match.
The rising stars from Gisborne had an unbeaten run in the home and away series.
Schedule for Saturday’s second semi-finals at Queen Elizabeth Oval:
17-and under at 10am: Gisborne v Sandhurst.
B-reserve at 11.20am: Sandhurst v Gisborne.
B-grade at 12.40pm: Sandhurst v Kangaroo Flat.
A-reserve at 2pm: Kangaroo Flat v Sandhurst.
A-grade at 3.20pm: Kangaroo Flat v Sandhurst.
Written by Nathan Dole.
