Jo Connolly
IT was preliminary final week in the Gawler & District Netball Association, with Williamstown booking a rematch with Gawler Central in the A1 final, while Dragons won a nail-biter to set the A2 decider.
Williamstown and Willaston met in the A1 preliminary final where Williamstown showed finesse in the first quarter, feeding the ball brilliantly to goals.
Willaston dug deep in the second, turning over critical play to bring the score back to within two goals at half time, but eventually ran out of steam in the third quarter as Williamstown pulled away to win by 18.
In A2, Central District had its second chance to qualify for the grand final, but crashed out in straight sets as Dragons won a terrific game of finals netball.
The height of the Dragons goalies proved troubling for Central District early as both teams were locked away 10-10 at the first break.
Central District was first to turn the game over with tight mid-court play to take a two-goal lead into the last quarter, but Dragons dug in their heels to complete a come-from-behind one-goal win and setup a showdown with
Sandy Creek.
In B1, South Gawler Blue responded to its first loss of the season in the semi-final with an eight-goal win over Williamstown.
In B2, Central District Blue settled early in the match against Lutheran, making the most of Lutheran’s hesitant start.
Central District’s goalies shot with high accuracy to lead by eight at halftime, and while Lutheran started to make its move in the fourth quarter, winning the period 13-6, it left the run too late as Central District held on to
win by two.
In B3, after being forced to forfeit its semi-final due to unavoidable circumstances, Freeling regrouped against an experienced Central District team.
Freeling showed why it finished so highly in the minor rounds by taking an early lead which it never surrendered, taking a statement-making win by 20 to get another crack at Sandy Creek.
In C-grade, Barossa District and Xavier Saints lined up evenly on paper, with the Saints taking a two-goal lead at quarter time.
Xavier flipped a switch after that, shutting down the Barossa attack the rest of the way to take a 19-shot win and cruise through the grand final against Gawler Central – which beat Barossa District by 26 last week.
In under-17s, both Kapunda and South Gawler were energetic as they fought for a place in the grand final against Nuriootpa.
Both teams played attacking netball across the court, with defenders for Kapunda rebounding nicely to lead by two at the first break.
South Gawler was persistent and did not give Kapunda any space to progress their lead, but ultimately could not close the gap, with Kapunda winning by three.
In under-15s division one, Gumnuts and Sandy Creek had the crowd on the edge of their seats as the ball flew from end-to-end the entire game.
Both defences were solid, and Sandy Creek’s mid-court change at halftime helped it head into the last period with a two-goal lead.
The last quarter was frantic, with both teams desperate for the win, but it was Gumnuts’ finals experience which proved the difference in the one-goal win.
In under-15s division two, Gawler Central and Barossa District both played possession netball from the first whistle as the Tigers tried to earn another shot at knocking off Xavier.
Barossa District ended up winning the mid-court battle, and held on to win by two goals after a tough game.
In under-13s division one, Freeling had a good start over Central District to lead at quarter break, but Central District was determined to not get blown away, sticking with Freeling in the second
quarter.
Freeling’s defence combined with the mid-court to make the most of forced errors by Central District in the final quarter, winning by 10.
In under-13s division two, both Xavier Saints and Gawler Central started with some nerves as the mid-court players did their best to set the pace of the game.
Xavier Saints settled first and gained the lead by five at the first change, which it never surrendered to hand Gawler Central a 30-goal loss.
In under-11s division one, Sandy Creek jumped out of the blocks in the first quarter, not allowing Kapunda to make its way into the game.
Kapunda won the third quarter; however, Sandy Creek had done enough to build its lead and win 18-5.
In under-11s division two, South Gawler and Xavier Saints Green had a lower scoring game, with both defences rising to the occasion.
The lead bounced between the two teams before South Gawler outscored the Saints in the last quarter to win the match by
four goals.