The highlight from an Orbost Snowy Rovers perspective in round seven of East Gippsland Netball was the outstanding wins by the under 17 and 15 teams over Boisdale Briagolong at Lochiel Park last Saturday.
The Blues consolidated their hold on fourth spot on the ladder in the under 17 competition, with a clinical dismantling of the Bombers, capitalising on numerous turnovers on the way to an impressive and confidence boosting 28-goal victory.
The Seal sisters, Phoebe and Lara were in outstanding form, led the way in a great team performance over four quarters by the
entire squad.
The fifth-ranked Blues stayed in touch with the top four with an impressive win over the sixth-placed Bombers in the under 15 competition.
Orbost capitalised on a great start and with some outstanding full court transition, they ran out 31-goal winners in a match where they showed off the continued improvement which the coaching panel has been witnessing over the past seven weeks.
Leila Barnes and Holly Hanratty were standouts for the Blues.
Orbost Snowy Rovers, the reigning premier in the “A” grade took the match right up to the Bombers, discovering some of the form that made it so great in the last month of 2024, but it was the Bombers who had all the answers in final stanza, hanging on for a hard fought 56-52 win.
Jorja Savory and Hayley Boxall inspired the Orbost resurgence, showing there is still plenty of fight in the champs despite their current predicament.
The Blues are now precariously placed two games outside the top four, with Lucknow, Wy Yung, Boisdale Briagolong and Stratford looking the goods at present above them.
The unbeaten Boisdale were always going to be a tough proposition for the Blues in “B” grade, but to the home side’s credit, at times they took the game right up to the ladder leaders, challenging them and making them work for every goal.
The Bombers were too good in the second half, but Orbost was far from disgraced, going down by 15 goals, with another win not too far around the corner.
Tahlia Easton, Tamara Heyne and Chloe Shanahan led the way for the improving Blues outfit.
Boisdale Briagolong dominated “C” grade, restricting the Blues to just nine goals in their sensational 57-goal win.
Laura Poole and Nakeetah Rogers tried hard for the Blues in a tough match for
the hosts.
It was a similar result in “D” grade with another rampant unbeaten Bomber outfit making easy work of the hosts, winning by 46 goals, 66-20.
Caitlin Schafer, Belinda Borley and Megan Sage were the best for a Blues side which struggled for positional winners.
Boisdale Briagolong proved too good in the under 13s, ramping up their game in the second half on the way to a 22-goal win.
Hayley Russell and Mila Mundy were shining lights for the Blues.
After a week off for the Kings Birthday long weekend, Orbost Snowy Rovers will head to Lakes Entrance to tackle their arch rival at the Lakeside Oval.
The two sides look well matched in most of the netball clashes, which should make for interesting matches with both sides fancying their chances of victory.
