Hawks Netball has chalked up another milestone in its first season in new colours, with all three of its Victorian Netball League teams registering wins on the same night for the first time.
The wins included a maiden victory for the 19/U squad, which toppled the Selkirk Sovereigns to cap a memorable evening for the club.
Here’s our Round 5 wrap.
19/UNDER
The Hawks’ 19/U team had to wait five rounds to put their first four-quarter performance together, but they did it in style against Selkirk Sovereigns.
Where in previous weeks the girls had been right in the contest in the first half, only to fall away after half-time, in Round 5 they showed plenty of grit and resolve to slowly increase their lead throughout the match.
The Hawks led 11-10 at quarter-time as both teams battled to find fluency in transition, before settling in the second term to increase their lead to five goals.
An impressive defensive performance from Gemma Thomas, Chelsea Bowman and Holly Keating held Sovereigns to just seven goals in the third quarter, while Ellie Karaula and Hayley Matthews netted 12 at the other end to extend the advantage to 10 goals – 38-28.
That was enough to see the Hawks home, with the team splitting the final quarter 12-12 to cap a watershed 50-40 win for our girls.
Vice-captain Karaula said the win proved the team could string a full team performance together across an entire game.
“We were one unit last night,” she said.
“The defenders played with confidence and were able to continue producing turnovers from the start of the game right through to the end.”
“Overall the girls played great to get our first win on the board.”
The win has the Hawks sitting at 1-4 and in eighth place on the ladder, with a good opportunity to win two on the trot against the winless Melbourne University Lightning next Wednesday.
CHAMPIONSHIP
The Hawks’ Championship division team turned in an impressively disciplined performance to secure a huge 49-goal win against Selkirk Sovereigns.
A 20-4 first quarter set the tone for the 76-27 result, with goal keeper Shannon Rennison running riot in defence in one of her best performances since crossing to the Hawks in 2017.
The Hawks didn’t skip a beat in the absence of goal shooter Kim Commane, with Nat Billings and Tayla Shannon combining beautifully throughout the game, while Tayla Kearns returned to the side after missing Round 4 and was exceptional through the midcourt in the first half with Lil O’Sullivan.
Another 18 goals in the second quarter, and 19 in each of the third and fourth quarters, helped deliver a significant percentage boost that now has the Hawks sitting in second spot on the Championship ladder, with four wins and one loss.
The win also sets up an exciting first versus second clash next Wednesday night against the undefeated Melbourne University Lightning.
DIVISION 1
The Hawks’ Division 1 team bounced back from its first loss of the season to knock off the second-placed Selkirk Sovereigns in a dogged, come-from-behind victory.
Trailing by four goals at quarter-time and half-time, and by as many as eight goals partway through the second quarter, the Hawks showed the same determination that saw them hunt down 2017 grand finalists DC North East Blaze a fortnight ago, to wrap up a 57-50 win against Sovereigns.
Trailing 26-30 at half-time, an 11-goal third quarter from goal attack Bridgette Furphy, along with seven from shooter Daisy Hill, who shot 35/41 for the game, saw the Hawks grab control and lead 44-41 at the final change.
From there it was the defence end’s turn to shine, with Chloe Sinclair and Clare Johnson grabbing six turnovers in the final quarter and helping to keep Sovereigns to just 20 goals for the second half.
The win took Hawks ahead of Sovereigns and into third place on the Division 1 ladder, with the seventh-placed MU Lightning awaiting next week.
Great reporting of 3 great games – thanks