HEYWOOD caused a huge upset on Saturday as they overcame second placed Westerns at Alexandra Park despite dropping to sixth spot on the South West District Football Netball League (SWDFNL) ladder with a 48 to 47 victory.

Westerns started with a slightly different goal shooting line up seeing Ruby Church (GS) and Rachel Gleeson (GA) work the shooting circle for Westerns.

The first quarter was a seesawing event with both teams finding their combinations as Heywood controlled the play more so than the Westerns line up and at the end of the quarter, Heywood held a one-goal lead.

Westerns made changes in the second term by bringing Jemma Nelson into the (GS) position with the hope of increasing the height in the circle.

She was up against more experienced defenders who read the ball delivery well and turned over the ball to Heywood’s advantage that helped them extend their lead going into the half time break with a five-goal lead.

  Westerns again made changes trying to inject a change in the game at the half time break, Toni Rowe at (GK) worked tirelessly attempting to create turnovers, however Jess Lovett-Murray in the midcourt managed to get her hands on the ball and pull back the turnovers, penalising Westerns for their errors.

Shakira Stuchbery was damaging and moved well - she was accurate for Heywood who pulled away to a nine-goal lead at the three-quarter break.

Westerns came out in the final quarter and finally turned up to play as Dannielle Marley at (WA) fed her shooters well and Westerns started to claw back the nine-goal deficit; with time being the factor against the young side.

The Roos scored at double the pace of the Lions in the final term, but they couldn’t reel in the three-quarter time deficit and the Lions held on to the victory by a single goal.

With Westerns having the bye next week they will need to regroup and train hard to get back to where they need to be heading into the closing stages of the season, while Heywood has another game against a team higher on the ladder than it when it hosts Cavendish.

Tyrendarra d. Cavendish

CAVENDISH hosted ladder leaders Tyrendarra for its round 11 match in A grade at the Cavendish Recreation Reserve courts on Saturday with the Bloods looking for a vital upset.

Cavendish started well by hitting the scoreboard with consecutive goals before their opponents settled and began to take control of the first quarter.

Hannah Von Gemst (GA) made her impact on the game early for Tyrendarra, scoring a huge 16 goals from 17 attempts to guide her team to an 18 goal to 12 goal lead at the first break. 

The second quarter saw the Cavendish girls find some momentum through the midcourt, with Hayley Boxall in the centre providing strong attacking drives down the court.

Marni Luhrs at (GA) and Carly Behncke at (GS) rewarded their hard-working teammates with accuracy in the goal circle but Tyrendarra worked overtime at their defensive end led by Andrea Smith at (WD) and put a stop to the Bloods momentum, finishing the first half leading 34 goals to Cavendish 24. 

Tyrendarra took complete control of the third quarter, dominating its attacking end as Van Gemst was again a standout for her side, shooting accurately and providing strong movement across the court.

Cavendish worked its way back into the game with Luhrs providing a handful for the Tyrendarra defence through quick ball movement within the Bloods goal circle, but at the last break Tyrendarra led 48 to 35. 

The last quarter saw both sides come out strongly hoping to finish off their respective games on a positive note as Cavendish began to chip away at the deficit and brought the game back to a single figure gap.

Once again, the game was dominated by both attacking ends with Luhrs and Behncke continuing to make an impact on the scoreboard while Smith continued to take several interceptions for Tyrendarra in the quarter and slow Cavendish’s momentum down, this allowed Van Gemst to score freely.

At the final whistle Tyrendarra took the game 64 to 52, but it wasn’t without a fight from the Cavendish girls.  

Coleraine d. Branxholme-Wallacedale

COLERAINE was missing a few players this week and it was a slow start from both the Maroons and Branxholme-Wallacedale as the players took the first quarter to get into their respective grooves.

In a low scoring first quarter, Coleraine took a 7-3 lead into the first break as both teams struggled to find form.

Coleraine were able to get the best of the Saints for the next two quarters coming off the back of some great defensive efforts from the Maroons as Claire McKenry (GD) and Abbey Irving (WD) rebounded the ball back up court for the home side.

Coleraine went into the three-quarter time break with a comfortable 29-14 lead that ensured they had victory sewn up, but the Saints came out with something to prove in the last quarter.

They matched it with their hosts by exchanging goals as Jasmine Smyth (GK) and Jade Millard (GD) stood tall for Branxholme-Wallacedale, but Coleraine finished the day off by winning, 38-23.