By Romy Stephens
OUTER EAST NETBALL
REVIEW – ROUND 17
PREMIER
With only one round left to play in the regular season, Olinda Ferny Creek has all but secured a perfect run after once again firmly defeating another top-tier side.
The Bloods hit the road to take on third-placed Cranbourne in blustery conditions on Saturday and showed no signs of discontent with the weather as they stormed away with a 52-33 win.
After second-placed Beaconsfield closed the gap against the Bloods back in Round 15, it was expected the Eagles may come out and do the same. But the top side clearly wasn’t keen for a contest and a four-goal lead at the end of the first quarter was extended at every change.
Madi Taylor and Alice Pagent were both influential in the win while Elly Stewart proved her versatility at both ends of the courts. Meanwhile, goal shooter Peri Stewart once again dominated with 47 goals.
The Bloods will take extreme confidence out of the win and have put themselves in good stance to finish the season undefeated as they take on seventh-placed Wandin next week.
It was a long time coming, but Healesville finally recorded it’s first win of the season after defeating Wandin 41-39 in a tussle on Saturday afternoon.
The bottom-placed Bloods proved hungry to finish their season on a positive note as they came out competing early and took a two-goal lead into the second quarter.
Despite extending this lead out to four goals by half-time, the Bulldogs clawed back to level things up by three-quarter time.
A hard-fought final quarter saw the Bloods edge in front and finally clinch the win they had been waiting for all season.
In other games, Upwey Tecoma pulled off a close 41-38 win over Berwick and Woori Yallock defeated Narre Warren 51-35.
DIVISION 1 (ROUND 16)
In the final round of the season, Pakenham provided a massive upset as it toppled ladder-leaders ROC 34-28 on Saturday afternoon.
Despite the first half being a tussle between both sides, it was the Lions who proved on song early. They edged in front during the first quarter and held onto a two-goal lead at half-time.
But the Kangaroos were determined to finish their home and away season on a positive note and take some momentum into finals. They fought back after the main break and took a four-goal lead into the final quarter.
In what ended up a rollercoaster of a game, the Lions gathered a wave of momentum in the final quarter and overran the Kangaroos to take home the six-goal win.
In other games throughout the final round, Warburton Millgrove finished in the top five after convincingly defeating Doveton 56-26, while Mount Evelyn defeated Emerald 48-22 and Monbulk finished the season in style with a solid 61-38 win over Belgrave.
Looking ahead to the first round of finals next weekend, the elimination final will see Pakenham take on Warburton Millgrove. The Lions will take plenty of confidence into the game off the back of their upset win over ROC.
In the qualifying final, Mount Evelyn will face the Monbulk Hawks. The Rovers will head into the game favourites considering they defeated the Hawks by eight goals both times they met this season.
