A LOSS to North and a close victory over South have made for a tough opening for the reigning premiers, but as they continue to work with their new look combination, they will be looking to put together a four-quarter performance against Casterton Sandford.

The Bulldogs are yet to put out their preferred seven on court and that has been a similar problem for the Cats, who are also still working around player unavailability and looking to find the best combinations as we move deeper into the 2022 season.

Charlotte Rice, Caeleigh Humphries, Claire Foster and Ebany Jarrad are the rising talent of this line-up and they will only continue to improve as the season progresses.

Humphries, Foster and Jarrad bring tenacity and a willingness to contest every ball to the defensive end, while Rice looms as a strong target for the Cats in the shooting circle.

Scarlett Jarrad has been Casterton Sandford’s best in the opening two rounds and her hard running in the mid-court, having an influence at both the defensive and attacking end of the court, has been the glue that has held the Cats’ performance together in the early going of 2022.

Her battle in the middle with Emily Hunter will be physical with neither taking a backward step, while the hard running of Tarsh McCallum and strong positioning and accurate finishing of Amryn Bosko will be critical and will certainly test the young Cats defensive line.

At the other end, Bo Creek, who played her first game for the year in round two, showed her full bag of tricks in the chaotic final quarter in the narrow win over South as she dominated the air and picked off any wayward passing.

Creek’s combination with Morgan Amy will take some time to gel, despite having played together in previous seasons, but their tight checking will ensure the Cats have to be patient and careful in their delivery into their shooters.

East should rack up its second win of the season but expect the Cats to fight hard.

North Gambier V South Gambier

THE traditional ANZAC Day clash looms as one of the most competitive in recent memory, with South Gambier keen to make their mark after years of letting the Tigers be the dominant force.

Of course, with Caroline Wakefield starting the season with two outstanding games, showing her usual accuracy and being such a strong target for North Gambier and with Brianna Walters, the 2021 Shirley Underwood Medallist, using her speed and class with ball in hand to great effect, the Tigers will still start favourite.

Mel Renko has returned to the defensive circle and her tight checking and ability to create turnover ball will also be critical.

The Demons welcome back defender Ellie Bouchier, after she has missed the opening wo rounds and with Grace Edwards, provides some serious tall timber to combat the influence of Wakefield.

The battle between Bouchier and 2022 A Grade debutant Macey Griffith will be one of the most pivotal of the match.

Griffith has shown great composure and a willingness to attack the post in her first two outings, while Bouchier reads the play well and will look to use her height advantage to make life tough for the Tigers frontline.

Megan Reid will get the job of going toe to toe with Walters through the centre and the young Demon has the pace and smarts to match it with the clever North midcourter, while in the Demons shooting circle, Alyssa Duncan and Lara Munro will need to be patient, smart and accurate and make sure as many scoring opportunities as possible end up on the scoreboard.

Recent ANZAC clashes have seen South have one or two strong quarters but totally lose concentration for periods of time that have cost them dearly on the scoreboard. If the Demons can stick with the Tigers, who opened their 2022 season with a solid win over East, this could be one of the more entertaining and gripping clashes and while the Demons might not take the points, they should well and truly make North earn them in a nailbiter.

West Gambier V Millicent

IT IS a top-of-the-table clash, but with the Roos missing star shooter, Sarah Ritter, on state duties at the national championships and her sister, Jade – who would normally take the goal keeper bib – also on the sidelines supporting her sister, it will not be a true test of these two classy line-ups.

Missing Jade Ritter from the defensive circle also adds to the challenge of stopping Tabatha Sanderson, who has started the season with two dominant performances, especially when you consider the star shooter is fortunate to have the precise delivery from Demi Verbena and Paige Nitschke, ensuring she has the ball in good shooting position.

The good news for the Roos is Claire Hunter took the goal shooter bib in Sarah Ritter’s absence last round and showed great confidence in taking the shot and combined well with coach and goal attack Lisa McGregor.

The West mid court of Tara Bryant, Mikaela Horrigan and Zoe Malseed looks set to be formidable and the trio have played so much netball together now that they have a great understanding,

Bryant’s battle for Daisy Tunkin will be a highlight of the match, as will be the way the young Roos mid court looks to work their way through the defensive pressure of Georgia Clarke, Hannah Nitschke and Portia McRae.

It is hard not to see the Saints remaining undefeated, but it will still be a great hit out for the Roos to see where they are at despite missing two key pieces of their line-up.