Olinda Ferny Creek ventured to Holm Park Reserve in Beaconsfield for round six of Premier League netball in the AFL Outer East competition.
The A-grade was a clash of the competition’s heavyweights with Olinda Ferny Creek and Beaconsfield both undefeated and sitting first and second respectively on the ladder.
This promised to be a classic and spectators weren’t disappointed.
In an extremely physical game, the Bloods jumped out of the blocks with a 13 goal to four first quarter.
Beaconsfield hit back hard in the second quarter, with both sides scoring 14 goals each.
After leading by nine goals at half time, the Olinda Ferny Creek girls slowly pulled away in the second half to enjoy a 19-goal victory.
Elly Stewart proved her value at both ends of the court and was judged best on court, ably supported by Madi Taylor and Alice Paget.
The Bloods now sit alone at the top of the table, undefeated at the third-way mark of the season.
The day started with 17 and under which saw the young Swannies put in one of their best performances of the season against a very good Beaconsfield side.
Although going down by 16 goals, the girls teamed together very well and are showing great improvement week by week.
Among the best players were Charlotte McGrath, Kate Mikulandra and Adriana Hawkins.
Beaconsfield was far too strong for Olinda Ferny Creek in D-grade, with winners right across the court.
The game was broken apart with a powerful 12 to five goal second quarter and the Bloods couldn’t get back into the game, with Beaconsfield running out 16-goal winners.
Sarah Seddon, Kate Mikulanda and Abbie Gunn all played well for Olinda Ferny Creek.
C-grade was similar story, with Beaconsfield just having that extra bit of class and blowing Olinda Ferny Creek out of the water with a 13 goal to five third quarter, putting the game out of Olinda Ferny Creek’s reach.
Beaconsfield again won by 16 goals.
Caz Bates, Jess Horner and Mary Taylor all had good games for the Bloods.
B-grade saw a battle between the top-placed Olinda Ferny Creek and third-placed Beaconsfield and it was a cracking game of netball.
After a very tight first quarter the Bloods slowly pulled away, but Beaconsfield kept at them throughout.
The Olinda Ferny Creek girls were victorious by nine goals and remained undefeated for the season.
The side’s best players were Jess Tossell, Rhi Pendleton and Bron Simpson.
This coming Saturday 8 June, Olinda Ferny Creek is on the road again, travelling to Edwin Flack Reserve in Berwick to take on Berwick. The action starts from 11.25am.
