By Marcus Uhe
Wandin has sent a message to the rest of the Outer East A Grade netball competition with a thumping 66-34 win over reigning premier Olinda Ferny Creek on Saturday.
It was the second and fourth quarters in which the Bulldogs did the major damage on the scoreboard, scoring 19 goals in each in a dominant performance.
Emmalia Blake scored 51, to cement her place at the top of the leading goalscorers list on 129, and Lauren Spinks added 15.
For Olinda Ferny Creek, Grace Kelly led the way with 16 goals.
It leaves Wandin and Beaconsfield as the only remaining undefeated sides, after Elizabeth Murphy powered the Eagles to a 17-goal win.
Beaconsfield’s tight defence held the Tigers to just five goals to afford them a 10-goal buffer at the first break which grew to 14 at halftime.
Upwey Tecoma didn’t score in double figures for a quarter until the last, when they scored 11, but they fell 17 short, 49-32.
Murphy scored 36 for the Eagles while Kirra Parks top scored for the Tigers with 19.
Beaconsfield host Olinda Ferny Creek in a huge contest at Holm Park next week.
Narre Warren’s blistering first quarter put the game to bed by the end of the first period in their clash with Monbulk, scoring 24-4 in a brutal 10 minutes of netball.
The increased the margin at every break, finishing 66-25 winners at Kalora Park.
Remarkably, they were even more miserly on defence in the third period, where they only allowed three goals.
An even spread of scoring saw Clare Vearing score 30, Chelsea Tonna 21 and Jemma Osborne 15.
At Gembrook, slippery conditions plagued both sides as light rain made the ball difficult to grasp.
Mount Evelyn’s steely defence, which has them ranked third for total goals conceded, was at its best again Gembrook Cockatoo, restricting them to only two goals in the second quarter and eight for the first half.
Their goalers in Rory Barr and Kaila Swindell were ably supporters by the defenders who provided run and support from behind and left their opponents out of the contest.
While the Brookers outscored the visitors 17-15 in the second half, their poor first two quarters meant the deficit was too much to overcome, falling short 25-35.
At Toomuc, Pakenham were held to just 19 goals against an excellent Berwick side.
After three quarters, the Lions had scored just 10 goals, and trailed by 23 goals.
They finished the game with their highest-scoring period, scoring nine goals, but were 31 goals adrift of Berwick, who played a four-quarter performance.
The goals were shared evenly for Berwick’s Emma Clarke (17), Darcy Utber (19) and Brooke Abu-Jaber (14), while for the Lions star Defender Eliza Molino was moved from her customary defensive circle to the other end of the court, where she scored four.
The Lions and Gembrook Cockatoo remain the only winless sides after three rounds.
