WESTERNS is the only team in the South West District Football Netball League to remain undefeated after two rounds after the Roos accounted for Cavendish by 10 goals on Saturday.

With four of the first six rounds of the competition to be played at Alexandra Park, the Roos could well take a sizable lead into the second half of the season if they continue to perform at their current level.

Due to upgrades happening at their home base in Portland, the team will play the majority of its home games in the first half of the season, giving the team the chance to build strong momentum.

Westerns was so settled against the Bloods on Saturday that the only change that was made throughout the match was that of Kate Gleeson swapping with Rachel Gleeson, moving to Goal Defence from Centre for the second half.

The move paid dividends for the home side, as it recovered from a three-goal deficit to go on and record a strong 10-goal victory off the back of a dominant third term which saw the Roos pile on 16 goals to nine.

With a four-goal lead going into the last quarter, the Roos were never going to relinquish their lead, as they again dominated the play to outscore the visitors, 11-5.

Westerns goalie, Jemma Nelson, missed her first shot at goal for the match, but from then on until the three-quarter-time break, she would knock down 31 goals from 32 shots to be the dominant scorer on the court.

The first quarter saw both teams come out strong and scoring one after the other, as the two sides worked out their new combinations.

Nelson started strongly in her first game after missing last week due to COVID restrictions with the blue and white finishing the first term with a one-goal lead.

 Teams remained the same heading into the second quarter and Cavendish got a jump on Westerns due to the high number of unforced errors the young Westerns side made.

Experienced Cavendish playing-coach, Marni Luhrs, worked hard to convert each turnover and combined well with Carly Behncke, who played her first game for the season after coming out of retirement to play in the Cavendish side.

 Cavendish held a four-goal at half time, but the third quarter started with Westerns making the earlier mentioned positional change with immediate benefit.

 The attacking team of Ruby Church (GA) and Brooke Morrissey (WA) came into the game and started to control the play more and Westerns was able to outscore Cavendish by seven goals to turn the lead over again to be up by three going into the last quarter.

The final quarter was all Westerns, as the Roos continued to extend their lead with strong passages of play.

The home side’s defensive efforts held Cavendish to only six goals for the quarter, eventually claiming a 49-39 victory.

Dartmoor d. Tyrendarra

AFTER a complete mismatch last round against Branxholme-Wallacedale that saw the team post 105 goals, Tyrendarra was brought back to earth with a thud on Saturday.

Dartmoor unveiled new recruits, Danielle Van kalken and Leesa Logan, with the Giants recording a strong 47-29 victory at Tyrendarra..

The first quarter saw Tyrendarra shooters, Eliza Alexander and Amy Cawthorne, only convert four of their combined 11 shots at goal saw the home side fall behind early, as Dartmoor shooters, Van kalken and Georgia Bryden, put up 11 goals from 14 attempts to open up a lead that was never relinquished.

While the Dartmoor shooting percentages improved as the match progressed, the early margin was never recouped and Van kalken and Bryden found their range to shoot at 100 per cent in the second half.

 Turnovers proved costly for the Darras, as the ball rebounded from attack too many times to put the visitors under the pressure required at this level with the home side eventually losing by 18 goals at the final whistle.

Heywood d. Branxholme-Wallacedale

IN hot conditions, Branxholme-Wallacedale came out in the first quarter with accurate shooting to grab the early ascendency in its round two clash against Heywood on Saturday.

The Saints had four goals on the board before the home side scored its first, but once Heywood got into its rhythmn, the defensive pressure increased and the flow down the court started to improve.

 The second quarter saw some changes from both sides, as both teams looked for an edge.

The defensive combination from Branxholme-Wallacedale’s Tara Meade and Alice Keatley forced Heywood’s goalies, Shakira Stuchbery and Hayley Ball, to work on their positioning.

The third quarter offered some great passages of play from both sides with Heywood capitalising on Branxholme-Wallacedale’s missed opportunities with consistent rebounding from Marni Gordon and Emma Lynch.

This did not deter the visitors though, as they continued to apply pressure all over the court.

The last quarter saw Heywood make some positional changes, bringing on two young juniors for their A grade debuts.

Maddie Barr and Belle Wallis will be better for the run, as the Lions went on to record a 60-34 win.

All teams now have the week off for Easter and will return to the court on April 23.