The QGSSSA Open Netball title could still go one of four ways with St Margaret’s, St Peters, Brisbane State High and Moreton Bay College extending their unbeaten records leading into Round 4. The QGSSSA netball junior ranks continued to excite the crowds with hotly contested battles and a few unexpected upsets as the season rolls on.
Brisbane State High had a very successful round against Somerville House winning 9 of the 12 games. The Year 7 teams executed a clean sweep, winning all divisions across their age group. The 9A side continue their third year dominating the QG competition, with a dominant 74-18 win. Queensland Shooter Eden Ah Toon is in stellar form with an almost flawless goal sheet, and joined the cracking mid-court combination of Mia Makras, Harley Kingi and Abby Mifsud ensuring the ball spent a lot of time in State High hands.
The QGSSSA record books will need to be investigated for the highest score ever, with the State High 8A’s hitting triple digits and piling on an incredible 106 goals. Stand-out performances were across the team, with the precision accuracy of shooters Madeline Millis and Alyr Hogarth particularly notable.
Somerville’s Senior B’s triumphed over Brisbane State High 25-13, a reward for the effort this team has been putting into games and preparation. They are catching momentum and are a team to watch as we head into Round 4. Somerville’s Senior C’s recorded their first win, defeating BSHS 41-25, and the 10A’s came from 4 points down in the final 2 minutes to draw 44-all against State High. An impressive fight between these two teams across all four quarters.
Clayfield College travelled to the Gold Coast to play St Hilda’s. The Senior A team for Clayfield had a fantastic game with seamless passing and tight cohesion across the team. Special performances were from Jasmine Barnett who shot with accuracy and was well supported in the goal circle by Mackenzie Robbins and Matilda Fenn. Final score of 39-18 to Clayfield College.
St Margaret’s played Brisbane Girls Grammar in a home round with a difference. Still unable to play at their Windsor Park home since the latest floods the teams enjoyed a morning out at Bill Brown Sports Reserve. In a story of family sporting synergy, St Margaret’s star 10A Goal Shooter, Georgie Brown, was this weekend the first of her family to play on the ground named after her famous Australian Test Cricketing Captain and Great Grandfather, Bill.
The St Margaret’s Open Team continued their undefeated season campaign thanks to some superb shooting accuracy from Sienna Small in the second half, combined with the relentless defensive combination from Syren Letizia, Lauren packer and Verity House. The Senior A’s had a great win with St Margaret’s Netball Captain Chelsea Johnson hitting the court for the for the first time this season after returning from national Water Polo duties in the USA. Chelsea’s throwing arm understandably a major weapon for her team.
The St Margaret’s 7A’s had a close call with a 1-point win that included a stand out performance by midcourter Emma Hicks. The teams worked hard to keep their game intact against a very determined Brisbane Girls Grammar.
Moreton Bay College teams were welcomed to a sunny Ipswich winters morning to play Ipswich Girls Grammar, the early rounds saw the youngest netballers from both schools go head-to-head in some hard-fought games. Both the MBC Year 7A & 7B teams continued their undefeated seasons with convincing victories. In the 7A’s the Inguanzo twins Jenna and Liana from Moreton Bay both played fantastic games, as did Ava Sherer who was dominant through the mid-court. The 7B’s were relentless with their full-court defence, with Ava Longhurst, Molly Dell, and Niamh Capper all standouts.
In the Year 8 games Ipswich Girls’ Grammar and Moreton Bay College split the points. MBC’s 8A’s came out on top with Annie Keough strong through the middle and Linda Muller shooting accurately. In their first game for the year, the 8B’s took a while to get going, but despite a better second half and strong game from Belle Norton, went down to IGGS. The Ipswich 8B team are growing in strength and confidence, and are benefitting from the Coaching of the school’s Netball Captain, Lydia.
The final match in the first round of games saw Ipswich pick up their second win for the day, defeating MBC in the Senior B division by 7-goals. Lily Selman and Abbey Johnson were the best performers for the away team.
In the second round MBC’s Open, Senior A, 10A and 9A divisions, with all teams picking up wins and remaining undefeated for the season. In the 9A’s Claudia Hill was unstoppable in Goal Attack, and Avy Paternoster unpassable in defence. The 10’s welcomed back Rosy Ryan from swimming commitments last week with a best-on-court performance, whilst Briar Duffield stepped up with a fantastic performance in GS. In the Senior A’s, MBC Netball Captain’s Charlotte Craig and Ellie Ryalls both had fantastic games, along with MBC College Captain Emma Watson who was dynamite through the mid-court.
The Open game was hard-fought for the whole 60-minutes. In the end MBC pulled away and came out on top with a 57-34 victory. Brooke Marchant was on fire in WA, with Australian U17 squad member Sophia Dobson creating havoc in the defensive end and providing great drive down the court. Next round sees MBC taking on BSHS, although it will be split over 2-weeks as both schools will be competing in the Vicki Wilson Championship Finals next weekend.
St Peters played St Aidan’s where the St Peters 7A went down by 8, Laura McKinnon had her best game of the season in GS and Elyse Rolison was also very good in Centre. The 9A game drew at 33- all, with the first 3/4 of the St Peters 9A game fraught with errors, but the team was able to regroup at the 3rd quarter break and come back strong with some precise passing and accurate shooting. Twelve goals down, the girls threw out everything they had. With Grace Dickson in WD and Charlotte McMahon in GD, St Aidan’s struggled to penetrate into their goalers. Turn overs were swiftly played down the court, orchestrated by Amelia Ruthenberg into Izzy Perry of St Peters who shot 10 straight goals under immense pressure from St Aidan’s defenders to secure the draw.
St Peters Senior A’s defensively took clean intercepts and cut down many of St Aidan’s options in attack. This team is playing very nicely with the way they are backing each other up, and chasing down loose balls. Bronte Jamieson playing in GS had a good volume of shots and Lucy Gehrke’s movement out the front gave us lots of strong options. Jess Harrison was good both in defence and attack.
Finally, it was a big dominant first quarter from St Peters Open players with Renee Cubby and Milly Thomas outstanding in the Centre Court, Renee was taken off after first quarter to rest for her Rugby State League Grand Final Saturday evening. Makayla Cubby and Ella McCartney were hard to stop in goals with strong holds and fancy shooter-to-shooter passes. They were classy and fast. Mia Baker was outstanding in GD cutting off lots of St Aidan’s ball. Kayla Newberry also had a strong performance with her fast footwork, she gets around her opponent cleanly and took a great number of intercepts.
The QGSSSA netball season will march on towards Round 4 this Saturday the 6th of August.
Susan Uhlmann
QGSSSA Content Coordinator
Tuesday, 2 August 2022