BFNL ROUND 7 NETBALL PREVIEW
Roos meet Magpies in Indigenous Round match
IT’S the Kangaroos against the Magpies as Kangaroo Flat faces Castlemaine in the A-grade netball match in this Saturday’s Indigenous Round in the Bendigo Bank Bendigo FNL season.
The ladder-leading Kangaroos will start favourite on their court at Dower Park as the league marks the seventh round.
Since a seven-goal loss to Sandhurst in round one and then a bye, Kangaroo Flat is on a four-game winning streak.
The Jayden Cowling-coached Kangaroo Flat has shown it has plenty of scoring power but is also strong defensively.
Highest score against the Roos was 46 by Sandhurst in the season opener at Dower Park.
The Roos defeated South Bendigo, 60-27, and then won 90-35 on Golden Square’s court at Fur Life Oval in Wade Street.
Arguably the most impressive performance was the 76-15 result at home against Eaglehawk in the fifth round.
On day one of the split sixth round, Kangaroo Flat won 59-31 against Strathfieldsaye at Triple M Park.
The rampaging Roos take on an opponent determined to regain confidence.
Castlemaine made a great start when it won 41-27 on South Bendigo’s court at Kennington’s Harry Trott Oval in round two.
The Chloe Hughes-coached Magpies have since endured home-court losses to Golden Square and Strathfieldsaye.
The Pies were also defeated in the Pat Cronin Foundation feature round match at Eaglehawk’s Canterbury Park.
Huge challenge for Castlemaine, especially in mid-court against a confident and skilful Kangaroos’ trio.
It’s second against fourth as Gisborne is home at Gardiner Reserve to take on Strathfieldsaye.
The Tarryn Rymer-coached Gisborne is unbeaten as it chases back-to-back premierships.
A great run for the red, white and blue began with a 42-38 victory against Sandhurst in the ’23 grand final rematch at Queen Elizabeth Oval.
After a rest for A-grade in round three as the club was drawn to play Maryborough, Gisborne has beaten South Bendigo, Golden Square and Eaglehawk.
The Bulldogs achieved scores of 61, 58 and 53 goals in wins by 24, 27 and 28 goals.
Strathfieldsaye Storm rolls into Gisborne following a tough round six clash with Kangaroo Flat.
Another big test for the Steph Freemantle-coached Storm which bounced back from a two-goal loss to South Bendigo at Triple M Park to win its next three matches.
The Sandhurst and Eaglehawk rivalry always generates a hard-fought match.
The Tamara Gilchrist-coached Sandhurst will start favourite to take the points against the Borough at Queen Elizabeth Oval.
It’s been a disjointed season for Sandhurst which after being defeated by Gisborne had a two-week break because of a bye and then drawn to play at Maryborough the following round.
Latest hit-out for the maroon and blue ended in a 72-26 result at Golden Square on Ron Best Memorial Shield day.
The Kylie Piercy-coached Eaglehawk completes a tough three-match streak which began at Kangaroo Flat and was followed by a home game against Gisborne and now faces last season’s runner-up.
It’s a rest for Golden Square in A-grade, but the blue and gold will trek across to Maryborough to play in the lower grades on the Princes Park courts.
South Bendigo has the bye.
Standings in the Bendigo FNL A-grade netball competition:
Kangaroo Flat 210 per cent, 16 points; Gisborne 163, 16; Sandhurst 181, 12; Strathfieldsaye 112, 12; Eaglehawk 72, 8; Castlemaine 78, 4; Golden Square 56, 4; South Bendigo 54, 4.
