After a tight start, Victoria settled in first and took control of the game. Victorian goalers Emily Andrew and Olivia Wilkinson were exceptional, putting on an unstoppable shooting performance. At quarter-time, Victoria was ahead, 10 to 5 points.
Cheered on by a loud and enthusiastic crowd (with chants and clappers a plenty), Victoria piled on the pressure to lead 21 to 12 points at half time.
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Victorian goal keeper Melissa Oloamanu took plenty of intercepts, applying strong physical defence in one-on-one contests. Western Australia had several effective passages of play across the court, but were unable to match Victoria’s aggression.
At the final siren Victoria sealed their fate to win by 19 points against Western Australia.
Impressed by her team’s tenacity, Victorian head coach Wendy Jacobson said it was fantastic to see such a great team effort over the four quarters.
‘We stuck to our game plan today and were aggressive in both attack and defence,’ said Jacobson.
‘We were able to turn the ball over positively and convert.’
Jacobson continued to explain the team will continue work on their decision making as they move into remaining games.
Western Australia head coach, Karly Guadagnin, said her team failed to hit some personal targets in the contest against Victoria.
‘Today was a really good test for us, but we did not play as smart as we could have,’ Guadagnin said.
‘We will need to bounce back from this.’
Round five of the 17/U competition saw Western Australia and the ACT battle it out in a fast and physical game. Tensions were high from the start, with some intense game play from both teams. The end of the first quarter saw scores tied, 7 points all.
Western Australia came out firing in the second quarter, surging to a 21 to 12 point lead by half time. With strong drives and smart passing into the goal circle, centre-court dynamo Maya Kenny dominated for Western Australia. Teammate Aitaua Enari was also a force to be reckoned with, managing 16 goals in her first half as goal attack.
The ACT put up a solid fight, testing their opponents speed and skill. ACT athlete Sophia Martinussen proved her ability in the goal circle as a fierce and consistent goaler.
This energy was replicated by ACT goal defence Elise Robinson, who managed several high-flying intercepts and rebounds. Western Australia worked hard to come out on top against the ACT, finishing 39 points to ACT’s 24.
Western Australia team captain, Scarlet Jauncey, said it was pleasing to finally get a win.
‘We had a great game and really showed some fantastic teamwork.’
Thinking ahead, Jauncey said her team needed to ‘work on coming out at one-hundred percent from the start of each game.’
ACT team captain, Elise Robinson, said her team put in a courageous effort against a tough Western Australian opposition.
‘We went out hard, but we dropped the intensity a bit throughout the game,’ Robinson said.
‘It was a good game, and we gave it our all.’
In the fifth round of the 17/U division, South Australia dominated against Tasmania, winning 37 to 13 points. New South Wales managed to come out on top in their game, beating the Northern Territory 54 to 21 points. Victoria took a comfortable win over Queensland, finishing 40 to 23 points.
Wrapping up the 19/U competition for round five, South Australia managed to outscore Tasmania, winning 36 to 25 points. Queensland were victorious against the Northern Territory, finishing 50 to 28 points. New South Wales performed strongly to beat the ACT, 42 to 16 points.
