Another round of Kyabram District League netball has come and gone, round six not posing any trouble to a clinical top five, while at the lower end, Stanhope clawed its way off the bottom with a maiden victory.
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The round
Lancaster 50 d Murchison-Toolamba 27
Nagambie 45 d Merrigum 25
Violet Town 46 d Undera 24
Rushworth 63 d Avenel 31
Stanhope 33 d Longwood 30
Girgarre 21 lost to Shepparton East 65
Tallygaroopna bye
Stanhope vs Longwood
The Lions’ wait for a win ended in a gritty performance over fellow struggler Longwood at Stanhope Recreation Reserve.
Neither side was able to establish a significant lead during the game, and it remained anyone's to claim in the fourth quarter, Stanhope holding its nerve late to prevail 33-30.
The Lions’ poor goal difference still sees them at the bottom of the group of sides with one win, sitting in 12th ahead of winless Undera.
Lancaster vs Murchison-Toolamba
Lancaster sits just behind the league leader.
Photo by
JORDAN TOWNROW
The middle-of-the-road Murch proved no match for a title-contending Lancaster side, the second ranked Wombats rolling to a big win.
On the home court at Lancaster Recreation Reserve, the Wombats always looked in control in the 50-27 victory.
Lancaster has a narrow goal-difference advantage over Nagambie, holding on to second place as the best of three 4-1 teams.
Rushworth vs Avenel
The third of those 4-1 sides is Rushworth, who had a similarly comfortable result over Avenel this week at Rushworth Recreation Reserve.
The Tigers controlled the game well in possession to drain 63 goals, while keeping the Swans to only 31.
Rushworth is significantly behind both Nagambie and Lancaster on differential due to a more porous defence through the first five games.
Girgarre vs Shepparton East
Girgarre faced the dauning task of Shepparton East.
The Roos went into the clash with the league leader and defending champion with no expectations, at Girgarre Recreation Reserve.
True to form, the Eagles fought their way on top from the outset and never gave Girgarre much of a sniff, scoring a 65-21 result.
Now 1-4, the Roos sit in 11th among a cluster of lower-performing sides.
Nagambie vs Merrigum
Merrigum has shown plenty of quality so far this campaign, but wasn’t able to match the Lakers at Nagambie Recreation Reserve.
The host has title aspirations and kept those dreams on track with a strong 45-25 victory.
Merrigum sits in the mid-table through five games with a 2-1-2 record, with the opportunity to move up or down significantly pending upcoming results.
Violet Town vs Undera
Undera remains the only side without a win in the league, after falling on the road to Violet Town.
The Lions fought hard but couldn’t match the Towners at either end, slumping to a 24-46 defeat.
Undera is in a similar place defensively to some of the other lower placed sides, but the difference has been their attacking play, which is significantly behind all other sides but Stanhope.
Tallygaroopna sat out this week with the bye.
The leader Shepparton East has the bye in the upcoming round, giving those below a chance to draw level on points.
Lancaster travels to a rested Tallygaroopna, Rushworth visits Undera and Nagambie heads to Longwood, with all three sides able to take a share of the lead with a victory.
Other action sees Merrigum host Girgarre, Murchison-Toolamba at home against Violet Town, and Stanhope visit Avenel.