Victorian Fury kicked off its ANC Campaign with a win. (Photo: Netball Victoria)
The first day of the Australian Netball Championships proved to be an exciting one with eight out of the ten teams taking to the court for the first time. The Southern Force and West Coast Fever Reserves had the bye on Day One.
Victorian Fury (66) defeated Sunshine Coast Lightning (58)
Victorian Fury have claimed the first win of the Australian National Championships with a dominate final quarter seeing the Fury claim an eight goal win over the Sunshine Coast Lightning.
The match saw the battle of the holding shooters with Emma Ryde (53 goals) dominating for the Fury, while it was Annika Lee-Jones (51 goals) for the Lightning that took on most of the shooting.
The Fury midcourt was strong for most of the match with Tayla Honey and Hannah Mundy combining nicely having 16 and 14 goal assists respectively. Fury Co-Captain Olivia Lewis won plenty of ball back for her side, finishing the game with four intercepts.
The Sunshine Coast Lightning mounted a comeback in the third quarter, bringing what was an eight goal margin back to as little as one. Unfortunately for them though, the Fury were able to open the game back up in the final quarter scoring 20 goals to 15 goals to finish the match.
There were plenty of positives to take away for the Sunshine Coast Lightning with Reilley Batcheldor, proving to be a focal point in the Lightning attack end shooting 13 goals at 100 per cent accuracy.
The Fury will face the Southern Force tomorrow at 3pm while the Sunshine Coast Lightning will face Tasmania at 1pm.
Queensland Sapphires (59) defeated QBE Swifts Academy (53)
The Queensland Sapphires kicked off their ANC campaign with a six goal win over the Swifts Academy side. It was a dominate start from the Sapphires, scoring 18 first quarter goals to the Swifts’ nine goals.
Macy Gardner (nine goal assists) and Leesa Mi Mi (27 goal assists) combined nicely in the midcourt for most of the match. This was interrupted when Mi Mi left the court for a period of time due to what seemed to be an ankle injury.
The combination of Remi Kamo and Ashleigh Ervin proved to be a handful early for the Swifts shooters in Alison Miller and Sophie Fawns. Hulita Veve played well for the Sapphires, winning plenty of ball back out at wing defence, she had two intercepts in the opening quarter alone.
The Swifts launched a comeback, scoring four consecutive goals to start the second quarter, with Miller (42 goals) providing a strong option under the post for the Swifts. Lili Gorman-Brown and Jessica Colan were strong in wing attack with the pair rotating positions.
The Swifts continued their fine form into the third quarter by once again outscoring the Sapphires, this time 15 to 12, which meant going into the final quarter trailing by a goal. The Sapphires regained their dominance in the final quarter as goal shooter, Charlie Bell (46/50) continued to dominated under the post for the Sapphires.
The Sapphires will close out Day Two of the ANC competition when they face the Collingwood Magpies, while the Swifts Academy will open Day Two proceedings when they take on the West Coast Fever Reserves.
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Collingwood Magpies (69) defeated Capital Darters (51)
The Collingwood Magpies have claimed their first win of the tournament with an 18 goal win over the Capital Darters. The Magpies were on from the very first whistle with most of the damage being done in that opening half. The Magpies outscored the Darters 39-24.
Jane Cook (26 goals) dominating under the post for the first half of the game, with the Darters defenders struggling to find an answer for her. Ramayer Gourley was strong when she took to the court for the first half of the game having four intercepts.
The second half was hotly contested from both sides, with a run from the Darters in the third quarter allowing them to get back some momentum. For the Darters, Millie Roach (28 goals) was a strong option under the post, while former Swift and Giant Taylah Davies (25 goal assists) was a strong option, especially on circle edge.
A few changes were made for the Magpies across the second half but overall Olivia Wilkinson (18 goals) and Uneeq Pallavi (21 goals) proved too good for Darters defenders, Emma Smith and Olivia Coleman.
The Magpies will be facing the Queensland Sapphires in the final match of Day Two, while the Darters will have a bye before facing the West Coast Fever Reserves on Wednesday.
Tasmania (29) defeated by Giants Netball Academy (63)
The final game of day one saw a comprehensive win going the way of the Giants Academy with a 34 goal win over Tasmania (63-29). Most of the damage was done early when the Giants jumped out of the blocks early for a 17-2 goal opening quarter.
Matisse Letherbarrow (20 goals) was on fire early, putting together a fantastic opening half of netball before moving to the bench. Eliza Burton was strong in the midcourt, especially when in the second phase and combined nicely with the likes of Amy Sligar and Emma Thompson.
After only scoring seven goals in the first half of netball, Tasmania had a better second half, scoring 22 goals in the last two quarters of the match. Grace Pullen (eight goals) was strong in goal shooter in the third quarter before moving into wing attack for most of the final quarter where she had two goal assists.
In the final quarter it was Hayley McDougall and Ashlea Turner with six goals apiece for Tasmania, while Angelina Frketic (27 goals) took the second half of the game by storm for the Giants shooting at 100 per cent accuracy.
The highlight for the match Giants was their team defence with defensive acts coming from across the board for the eventual winners.
The Giants Academy will have a bye before facing the Southern force to open Day Three of action, while Tasmania will face the Sunshine Coast Lightning at 1pm.
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