BY NATHAN DOLE
All clubs represented as netball finals begin
ALL nine clubs in the Bendigo Bank Heathcote DFNL will be represented across this weeekend’s start to netball finals.
Action begins with Saturday’s qualifying finals at Lockington and rolls into Sunday’s elimination finals at Leitchville.
Clubs with the highest number of teams competing are Huntly and Lockington Bamawm United on six.
There will be five teams from Elmore taking to the court.
White Hills has three teams in action, and there are two line-ups each from Colbinabbin, Heathcote and North Bendigo.
Leitchville Gunbower and Mount Pleasant also feature.
In the A-grade action, Elmore and Colbinabbin clash in Saturday’s qualifying final at Lockington from 2.30pm.
This season’s meetings between the Bloods and Grasshoppers stand at one-all.
The Allira Holmes and Gabe Richards-coached Elmore started the season by scoring a 57-52 win at home against Colbinabbin in round one.
Next time around it was the Jen McIntyre-coached Grasshoppers who dominated play on their court at M.J. Morgan Oval to mark a 63-53 victory.
A tally of 13 wins, two defeats and a draw meant the Bloods finished the home-and-away series in second place.
Colbinabbin’s tally was 13-3.
Winner of Saturday’s match moves to meet the Lauren Bowles-coached White Hills in the second semi-final on August 24 at Pigeon Park in Heathcote’s Barrack Reserve.
On Sunday it will be Leitchville Gunbower and Heathcote fighting to stay in the premiership race.
The Bombers will have home-court advantage at Leitchville to take on the Saints in an elimination final which begins at 2pm.
This season’s showdowns between Leitchville Gunbower and Heathcote have gone the way of the Bombers by margins of four and 10 goals.
The Caitlyn Hamilton-coached LG team has a win-loss record of 11-4 and a draw.
Being the “underdog” is a tag being embraced by the Brooke Bolton and Kelsey Hayes-coached Heathcote.
The fifth-placed Saints have not beaten any of the teams which finished above them.
Heathcote will draw on the experience of last season’s elimination final to motivate it to win this match and move into a first semi-final against Elmore or Colbinabbin on August 25 at White Hills.
Schedule for Saturday’s qualifying finals at Lockington:
13-and-under at 8.45am: Lockington Bamawm United v Huntly.
17-and-under at 8.45am: Huntly v Lockington Bamawm United.
15-and-under at 10am: Lockington Bamawm United v White Hills.
B-grade at 10am: White Hills v Huntly.
B-reserve at 11.30am: Lockington Bamawm United v Huntly.
A-reserve at 1pm: Elmore v Huntly.
A-grade at 2.30pm: Elmore v Colbinabbin.
Schedule for Sunday’s elimination finals at Leitchville:
13-and-under at 9.30am: Elmore v Heathcote.
17-and-under at 9.30am: Elmore v White Hills.
15-and-under at 11am: Huntly v Elmore.
B-grade at 11am: Lockington Bamawm United v North Bendigo.
B-reserve at 12.30pm: Mount Pleasant v North Bendigo.
A-reserve at 12.30pm: Colbinabbin v Lockington Bamawm United.
A-grade at 2pm: Leitchville Gunbower v Heathcote.