PORTLAND’S Hampden league Open netballers served up a solid contest to North Warrnambool Eagles at Hanlon Park on Saturday but ultimately fell short, with the final score of their clash 53-42 the way of the Eagles.

The Eagles opened up a strong nine-goal advantage by half time, but the Tigers certainly weren’t going to go down that easily, and a 15-9 third term their way meant it was anyone’s game heading into the final quarter.

It was at this point the Eagles finally let star goal attack Skye Billings loose after sitting on the bench for the first three quarters of the match.

From there, the Eagles rattled off a whopping 18 goals in the final term to claim an 11-goal win.

Heidi Jones was once again formidable in attack for the Tigers, scoring 33 of their 42 goals in a dominant performance.

Jaymie Falconer also stepped up to the plate for the Tigers, lining up at goal keeper in the second half and putting together an impressive display.

Tigers captain Remy Grant said her side would remain upbeat despite the loss, adding that they’ll take plenty away from a solid contest.

“There were some positives to take out of that game and we were right in it for most of it, just some little panics here and there,” Grant said.

“We had some really good passages of play out of defence, some things just flowed, and it worked – we probably just need to keep our eyes up a bit, look down court instead of across.

“It was a physical game and a really good contest every time.”

Grant credited Jones for her performance, saying her consistency and reliability has been key for the side.

“I can’t say enough about Heidi, she just runs the game out and does what she needs to do,” she said.

“She is put under so much pressure each week and just goes about her business – she was outstanding, and she is every week.”

Grant also paid homage to her Eagles counterpart in Maddie Vardy, saying it’s a matchup she takes great pride in contesting.

“Maddie is so impressive – there’s times on the circle edge where you’re thinking you’ll get hand on ball and she just plucks it out of the air,” Grant said.

“I feel like she is the best centre player in the league as well as Ally O’Connor and to play against her is actually a privilege, it’s always a good contest.”

Grant said her side has plenty of areas to work on and develop in the coming weeks, chief among them being adjusting to their opponent’s defensive structure.

“We had a few changes and adjusted quick enough – their zone threw us a bit in the last quarter,” Grant said.

“As a side their vision was down court the whole time and timing and ball placement was really good from them.”

In other Open grade matches Koroit scored a 42-31 win over Warrnambool, while the other clashes were one-sided with Terang-Mortlake beating Port Fairy 68-28, South Warrnambool winning 62-39 over Hamilton Kangaroos, and Cobden thrashing Camperdown 81-27.

Other grades

Portland’s division one side earned a strong win over the Eagles in their matchup, taking home the points after a 45-34 win, with Casey Anson named as their best player.

The division two side lost in a close contest, with the final score 35-33 as Kloe Payne took out best player honours for the Tigers.

Division three saw the Tigers take out a huge win, with the final score in that clash being 38-20 as they took out their second win of the season.

The 17 and under girls were able to hold on for a tight win in their matchup, with Millie Ferguson claiming the honours.

15 and under was a different result, as the Eagles ultimately came away eight-goal winners with the final score being 31-23, while in the 13 and under match North Warrnambool was much too strong, winning 29-3.