Sports Reports: Netballers tune up for 2022 SA Country Championships

This post includes contributions from Charli Austin, the River Murray Netball Association, the River Murray Football League and Daniel Irvine.

Skip ahead to:

• River Murray netball A grade results
• River Murray football A grade results
• Rifle club championship enters its final stages

On May 22, River Murray netball representative teams took part in a Mid Hills netball carnival against other netball associations.

The under-17s had a strong win against the Mallee in the first of their five games, 27-8, thanks to strong defensive pressure on the wing from Narelle Griffiths and great accuracy from goalie combo Georgia DeMichele and Bridie Loller.

Great Southern were next, a tough and tall side whose physical domination rattled the River Murray girls in a four-point loss.

The third game versus Mid Hills started strongly, and Briannah Griffiths and Olivia Eldridge worked tirelessly in defence, but the River Murray went down 15-11.

Game four was against another tall, strong side; captain Bella Schubert created space down the court, but Loller came off halfway through the first with a knock to the calf and the River Murray went down by three.

In the final game of the day versus Hills, Sophie Edwards jumped into the circle for a run at goal attack, and combined with feeders Piper Wegener and Bella for a confidence-building seven-goal win.

The versatile side will surely go far in June.

In a very even first under-15s game of the day, Mid Hills managed to pull away and win by three.

The girls came out firing in their second game against a strong Hills team and were even at half time, but ended up going down by one.

In the third game against Great Southern, the girls had a shaky start against a strong opposition and went down by 15 goals.

They bounced back in their fourth game of the day against Mid Hills, with great defensive efforts and easy transition down the court, helping them to a 23-all draw.

In the final game of the day fatigue started to be noticeable, with wasted opportunities allowing Hills to win 24-14.

But the day wasn’t about bringing home a grand final victory; it was about trialling combinations for country champs and playing good netball against quality sides.

The first game the 13-and-under team played was against the Hills, which they lost 16-9 as nerves were felt by all players.

The team won their second game against Great Southern with great defence and attack.

Its third game resulted in a loss against Mid Hills division one by a score of 22-13, despite a lot of defensive pressure.

The team went into the last game of the carnival with a fighting spirit against Southern Hills, went goal for goal and came away with a draw.

The carnival was a great result in the lead-up to the country championships on the June long weekend, as the players each learnt how the others played and to play as a team and the coach was able to work out the best player combinations.

With this year’s Woodside carnival being the first time that the RMNA was represented in the under-11 age group, there were 10 very excited young girls at 9.30am on the Sunday.

In their first game, the youngest representatives come out firing, with Indii Garrett shooting at nearly 100 per cent, Indigo Hincks taking intercepts from every pass that came her way and Lucy Mason absolutely owning the wing attack position in a win against Mid Hills.

In game two the River Murray girls came up against a strong Hills team but never gave in; Bella Marchetti was spectacular in goals, Lucinda Temby played a strong game and Taylor Lienert applied strong pressure, but unfortunately the girls went down 21-7.

They came up against Kangaroo Island in their third game; goal attack Sadie Vowles put up shots all around the ring and combined well with centre Azalea Baker, and Matilda Harvey and Lainie Peacock were able to shut down the opposing shooters, leading to a 10-all draw.

The young players were exhausted by games four and five, but still had some amazing passages of play and showed other associations their skills.

The River Murray under-11s finished with one win, one draw and three losses, but played all their games with passion and tenacity.

River Murray netball A grade results

Mannum 45 defeated Tailem Bend 33

Mypolonga 57 defeated Ramblers 40

River Murray football A grade results

Tailem Bend 13.13 (91) defeated Mannum 11.11 (77)

Tailem Bend best: Nick Westhoff, Robert Young, Harry Porter, Charlie Fisher, Daniel Perks. Goals: Jacob Wilson 3, Charlie Fisher 2, Dylan Hogarth, Steven Clay, Tom Starkey, Harry Porter, Robert Young, Connor Smelt, Lachie Jones, Nick Westhoff 1.

Mannum best: Blake Tabe, Matthew Weistra, Mitchell Heward, Harrison Hawkins, Dylan Ribbons. Goals: Jake Keller 3, Dylan Ribbons, Gene Budel 2, Matthew Weistra, Danny Walker, Blake Tabe, Jake Venning 1.

Jervois 17.10 (112) defeated Meningie 6.13 (49)

Jervois best: Ben Hansen, Dylan Barry, Josh Scott, Will Farrer, Mitchell Noye. Goals: Josh Scott, Will Farrer 6, Dylan Barry 3, Hayden Schulz, Mackenzie Hansen 1.

Meningie best: Mark Ploenges, Jack Holliday, Tyler Robinson, Adam Terrell, Dylan Biggins. Goals: Sam Sanders 3, Brad Thompson 2, David Wilson 1.

Mypolonga 16.6 (102) defeated Ramblers 10.7 (67)

Mypolonga best: Kelvin Smith, Jack Wilkins, Hugh Mason, Sam Elliott, Timothy Atkins. Goals: Jack Wilkins 5, Sam Elliott, Simon Norris, Regan Gotch 2, Brady Wrigley, Mackenzie Butler, Riley Walton, Kai Martin, Timothy Atkins 1.

Ramblers best: Jayden Parker-Menzies, Alex Pfeiffer, Jacob Trevorrow, Andrew Holland, Aaron Pratt. Goals: Nelson Miller, Matthew Brooks 2, Aaron Pratt, Keynan Harradine, Lual Kelei, Alex Pfeiffer, Connor Baker, Jacob Trevorrow 1.

Rifle club championship enters its final stages

Cool but mostly dry conditions, apart from a single short shower, have greeted shooters at the Deed Range, Monarto for the penultimate stage of the Murray Bridge Rifle Club championship, from 500 metres.

The breeze blew fairly consistently across shooters’ right shoulders for most of Saturday afternoon and, once competitors got its measure, it generally didn’t hold too many surprises.

That is not to say some shooters weren’t caught out, with Peter Casley and Daniel Irvine winning the Magpie Awards for their respective classes.

In a more positive vein, several shooters did have great rounds, including John Elson in target rifle, who shot a personal best 48.05 in his first round, leaving him a centre ahead of Greg Traeger at the halfway point.

Traeger had his measure in the second round, though, scoring a possible 50.05 to give him the off-rifle win for the day.

There was also some impressive shooting in F-class, with David McDonald the pick of the day with a 59.06 in the first round.

He scored a possible 60.05 in the second round to claim the top off-rifle award, and also claimed the handicap award by a point from Gordon Harrison, who topped the list of F-standard shooters.

Email your sports reports to peri@murraybridge.news or call 0419 827 124.

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